You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. (Psalm 65:10)
In this verse, David continues to recount the blessing of the water cycle — how God causes the rain to water the ground in order that life might be sustained. He does this for the benefit of all living things — the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and of course, for man — thus demonstrating His loving kindness and compassion. But in man’s case, He provides for the preservation of life even though, at large, mankind has chosen to go his own way. And for that reason, we are compelled to toil and labor and eat bread by the sweat of our brow; however, it was not always so.
Before man fell, Adam was placed in the garden and told, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat” (Genesis 2:16); in other words without physical exertion. Therefore, it is understood in Jewish commentary that David’s words hint of that time when all of man’s needs were provided for him. God designed the world in such a way that the staples of life (fruits and grains) were produced without requiring man’s input by and large, thus allowing mankind to concentrate exclusively on his relationship with God. One can see remnants of this ideal in the Levitical priesthood; God provided for them through offerings so that they could focus on serving in the Sanctuary.
But when man chose to forsake what rendered life in deference to what was forbidden, the consequence was exile and tending ground that brought forth thorns and thistles — i.e. weeds. At that moment, it became necessary to work very hard in order to survive. Furthermore, when we are forced to contend with drought, famine and other agricultural conditions that complicate the matter further, we are reminded that we have gone our own way. In other words, such conditions bring us face to face with the fruit of our disobedience, and yet in His mercy, God will send rain and water the ground. In so doing, He challenges us to return to our purpose, in effect, reminding us of what was and what can be if and when we determine to turn our back on the other tree and embrace the Tree of Life.
In short, for those who love Him and serve Him willingly, there is coming a day when things will be restored to how they were before Adam made that fateful decision; when the Lord walked with man in the cool of the day in the midst of Paradise. For now we must labor, and as we do, we look to Him to bless the work of our hands. But we also look to tomorrow with hope for what shall be when “God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God” (Revelation 21:3).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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