The Fallow Ground
T. Binney. Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD… Very often the prophet had to reprove and call the people to repent. Hosea is doing this in the passage before us. I. THE PARTICULAR SORT OF CHARACTERS HERE INDICATED. They are figuratively indicated by the term, "fallow ground," or land lying fallow, producing nothing. The figure must not be taken quite literally, because there are some points in which it will not apply. The point in the figure is this. There is a human heart, producing nothing; there is a man, whose character has no religious fruitfulness, no religious excellence in relation to God. It is not verdant soil. It is not like the soil of the primitive forest, which never has produced any thing, for it has had its crops. That is the character here represented, — a nation, a Church, or an individual, that was fruitful, that was religious, but it has been neglected, and it is now lying barren, fallow, producing nothing. But the farm land is left fallow intentionally, and for a good purpose. In the fallow ground which is a man, and not a farm, there, is not one thing done with thought, delibera tion, purpose, or plan. Man's heart is left fallow by temptation, negligence, ignorance, sin, backsliding, and instead of being the better for it, its condition is an injury and a curse. II. THE EXHORTATION. "It is time to seek the Lord." The Hebrews ought never to have needed a time for seeking the Lord. Heathen might feel after God, but Hebrews knew Him. The Hebrew child had to seek God for himself, but that is quite a different thing. Though, therefore, this exhortation ought not to have been needed, by the mercy of God it is given. It may be enforced in the sense in which the apostle uses an expression of the same sort, "It is high time to awake out of sleep." It may be used in the sense of a time being propitious. An accepted time. Observe what man is told to do. Four things are figuratively expressed in the text. 1. Repentance. 2. Reformation. 3. Prayer. 4. Perseverance. III. THE RESULT. "Till God rain down righteousness upon you." God rains down, not righteousness absolutely, but that which will produce it. IV. THE WHOLE IS IN MERCY. "Reap in mercy." (T. Binney.) Parallel Verses KJV: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you. WEB: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness. Break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Yahweh, until he comes and rains righteousness on you.