Land use His way!

This is a KJV Bible study guide on using land, farming and ranching God’s way. This is not all inclusive. Exodus 23:10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:Exodus 23:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive yard. Leviticus 19:9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.Leviticus 19:10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God.Leviticus 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.Leviticus 19:23 And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of.Leviticus 19:24 But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal.Leviticus 19:25 And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 25:3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;Leviticus 25:4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.Leviticus 25:5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.Leviticus 25:6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,Leviticus 25:11 A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.Leviticus 25:12 For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. Deuteronomy 22:9 Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.Deuteronomy 22:10 Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together.Deuteronomy 24:19 When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.Deuteronomy 24:20 When thou beatest thine olive tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. From the angle of the poor, this can be rather surprising. God has already provided for them, in what he has given the community. Even if they have no land of their own, in an agrarian community, there is no need for the poor to be destitute. God has already allocated them food, if only the farmers will not get in the way of letting them get to their food. It is not the farmer’s responsibility to take the food to the poor; the poor must come and claim it. But it is the farmer’s responsibility to refrain from taking to himself what rightfully belongs to the poor. This is not redistribution with the aim of eliminating socio-economic differences. That is simply not the point of this passage. This is caring for the poor, regardless of how they became poor, and enabling them to survive. Gleaning would not provide amply for them, but it would provide. The poorest ancient Israelite should never have had to worry about survival, if the laws were followed. And every single farmer had a choice to make, every time he harvested a field: would he maximize his profit or would he remember the poor, and not steal what God had allocated to them?Proverbs 3:9 Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:Proverbs 3:10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.Food for thought:Nearly 99 percent of the world’s daily calorie intake can be traced back to soil. The plants we eat require soil to grow, and the animals we eat require plants to grow. Soil is vital for human survival, yet modern farming and agricultural practices are quickly destroying it. Worldwide, one-third of the Earth’s soil is at least moderately degraded, and over half Due to intense, mismanaged farming, soil nutrients are declining. Nitrogen stores have decreased by 42 percent, phosphorus by 27 percent, and sulfur by 33 percent. To grow optimally, plants require these nutrients for photosynthesis, enzymes, protein synthesis, and more. As a result of declining soil fertility and selective breeding, the nutritional contents of some fruits, vegetables, and grains have also been compromised. In a 2004 study, 43 garden crops were analyzed to compare nutritional content in 1950 versus 1999, using USDA data. Some nutrients were unchanged, but calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin, and vitamin C were all lower in 1999 compared to 1950, ranging from a 6 percent to 38 percent drop.Consider the following additional data:
The protein content in corn declined 30 percent to 50 percent from 1920 to 2001, while the starch content increased.


The magnesium content of vegetables and wheat has declined by up to 25 percent.


Trace minerals in vegetable crops, including manganese, zinc, copper, and nickel, have decreased over the last several decades, while toxic minerals like aluminum, lead, and cadmium have increased.
 

These numbers are worrisome, and we should re-examine our farming and agriculture practices to preserve the soil’s fertility and thus the nutrients that should be there and passed on to us; it needs to be done God’s way.There is a right way and a wrong way to do pretty much everything, including land use/farming/ranching, etc. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. If you choose to do it mans way, what is the result? See the above and the following verse: Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. If you choose the way of God, what is the result? See the following verse:Jeremiah 17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 Chronicles 15:2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. [This verse is conditional. Seek Him and the LORD is with you. Don't seek Him, He is not with you. It is so simple! Your choice]! 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (If you do not study God’s word, you are forsaking Him. Do you really want to be in that boat)?