The Isaac Harvest

“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and a great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.”

Genesis 26:12-14

Where did Isaac sow his seed? In a land that was experiencing famine. When did he sow his seed? During a time when nobody was reaping a harvest. In fact, he sowed his seed during a time when many of God’s people were fleeing to Egypt due to the economic hardships that were in the land. But, as others were fleeing to Egypt, God speaks to Isaac and tells him not to follow the crowd and go to Egypt but to remain in the land that he was in, a land that was in the midst of famine.

God then speaks to Isaac and tells him, “If you will obey me and remain in the place you are in, then I will bless you greater than you have ever been blessed.” God said “I will bless you in the land you are in, a land that is in the midst of famine.”

I’m sure Isaac didn’t understand what God was telling him. In the natural it didn’t make any sense. How could God bless him in the midst of famine? How could God bless him in a time that no one was being blessed? Even though it seemed impossible-God did exactly what he said and blessed Isaac greater than he had ever been blessed.

If Isaac would have disobeyed God and did what was popular and left for Egypt, he would have never have been blessed to the degree that God blessed him. There is a great blessing in obedience!

“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:”

Isaiah 1:19

It is amazing how many of God’s people disobey what God tells them. And then they wonder why they find themselves in all kinds of problems and troubles. If you want to be blessed you need to learn to walk in obedience. Isaac obeyed God and God blessed him right in the place where he was. God wants to do the same for you! He wants to bless you greater than you have ever been blessed and He can do it right where you are. You don’t have to go to another state, city, or neighborhood. He can do it in the place you are now in! Not only can He bless you at the place you are, He can bless you in the midst of a suffering economy.

God told Isaac, don’t follow the crowd, don’t do what everybody else is doing, I want you to remain in the land you are in, a land in the midst of famine. God said if you obey me:

“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father;”

Genesis 26:3

Isaac obeyed the voice of God and remained in the land of the Philistines. But, then Isaac did something that made no sense in the natural-

“Then Isaac sowed in that land…”

Genesis 26:12

He sowed in a land where nobody was sowing due to the famine! I’m sure people laughed at Isaac as they watched him sow in a land that in the natural could not produce a harvest.

Why would Isaac sow in a land that nobody else was sowing in? He sowed because God promised to bless him. God promised to bless him regardless of the hard times that were in the land. Isaac sowed because he had a promise. That’s why you need to sow, even if others are not sowing. That’s why you need to sow, regardless of the condition of the economy, regardless of the financial crisis that you may find yourself in. You have a promise that if you sow a seed you will reap a harvest.

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Genesis 8:22

People in the world will not understand you when you sow during difficult times. Even a lot of church people won’t understand you. In fact, most people will think you are crazy! The reason most people will not understand you or even may think you are crazy is because they don’t understand the principle of giving and receiving.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”