Sow to Yourselves in Righteousness (Hos. 10:12)

“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 (Hos. 10:12).”

One interesting thing about the Bible is that it uses commonplace imagery to teach important spiritual concepts. One image it uses is the idea of sowing something. In the verse above, sowing and righteousness are used together. This image would naturally lead people of Hosea’s day to think of a farmer sowing seed onto the ground. In the parable of the sower, Jesus uses this simple action to great effect (Matt. 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:1-15). In the parable, Jesus discusses the different responses to the Word of God based on the type of soil the seed fell upon. On one soil, the seed was devoured by the fowls of the air, in another the thorns choked it.

To a farmer these events would be unfortunate and reduce the amount of food reaped at the time of harvest. Turning to the psalms, we see that “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy (Ps. 126:5).” I know that there are times in my life where I have desired to grow in righteousness, yet sin and pride held me back. Sometimes I think of fellow brethren who are struggling, and that also builds sorrow in my heart.

Despite these sad moments, it is important to remember that such seeking for righteousness is worthy to be done. It has a sure reward (Prov. 11:18). As the opening verse above teaches us, we should seek the Lord. If we do seek him, and obey Him, He will come and rain righteousness upon us. If it doesn’t happen in this life, we can know that it will be done in the life thereafter. As it says in Jeremiah, the Lord is our righteousness (Jer. 23:6).

The righteous must not despise sinners (Luke 18:9)

“And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:” (Luke 18:9)

Though growing in righteousness is a good thing, it is possible for us to become arrogant concerning our walk with Christ. This is something that must be fought at all costs. Even as we repent of our sins and no longer that activity, we need to remember that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). When we become convinced of our own righteousness, that is when we really need to be careful (1 Cor. 10:12; 1 Tim. 3:6).

If these problems are not nipped in the bud, it is possible for us to be ineffective in preaching the gospel to the lost. The reason for this is because we would despise the lost so much that we would never know them long enough to teach them the gospel. For instance, we are supposed to instruct people in a spirit of meekness (2 Tim. 2:25). Further, we need to remember that we may have been fornicators, thieves, or drunkards prior to becoming Christians (1 Cor. 6:9-11). As such, we need to remember that fact, and teach people with love, and not be high-minded in our own perceived righteousness.