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Cultivating the Soil Is Doing God’s Service, August 27
“And behold, this vine” “was planted in good soil by many waters, to bring
forth branches, bear fruit, and become a majestic vine.”
Ezekiel 17:7, 8
,
NKJV.
The tithing system was instituted by the Lord as the very best arrangement to
help the people in carrying out the principles of the law. If this law were obeyed,
the people would be entrusted with the entire vineyard, the whole earth....
Human beings were to cooperate with God in restoring the diseased land to
health, that it might be a praise and a glory to His name. And as the land they
possessed would, if managed with skill and earnestness, produce its treasures, so
their hearts, if controlled by God, would reflect His character....
In the laws which God gave for the cultivation of the soil, He was giving the
people opportunity to overcome their selfishness and become heavenly-minded.
Canaan would be to them as Eden if they obeyed the word of the Lord. Through
them the Lord designed to teach all the nations of the world how to cultivate the
soil so that it would yield healthy fruit, free from disease. The earth is the Lord’s
vineyard, and is to be treated according to His plan. Those who cultivated the soil
were to realize that they were doing God service. They were as truly in their lot
and place as were the men appointed to minister in the priesthood and in work
connected with the tabernacle. God told the people that the Levites were a gift
to them, and no matter what their trade, they were to help to support them.—
The
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, vol. 1, p.
1112
.
Through disobedience to God, Adam and Eve had lost Eden, and because of
sin the whole earth was cursed. But if God’s people followed His instruction, their
land would be restored to fertility and beauty. God Himself gave them directions
in regard to the culture of the soil, and they were to cooperate with Him in its
restoration. Thus the whole land, under God’s control, would become an object
lesson of spiritual truth. As in obedience to His natural laws the earth should
produce its treasures, so in obedience to His moral law the hearts of the people
were to reflect the attributes of His character. Even the heathen would recognize
the superiority of those who served and worshiped the living God.—
Christ’s Object
Lessons, 289
.
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