Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai

INTRODUCTION:

In the last study, we looked at “Qualifications for Walking in Prosperity.” We learnt that the “qualification” referred to in the title is the condition that must be fulfilled before the “right” of walking in prosperity can be acquired. We concluded that God wants us to prosper in every area of our lives but He does not want us to live our lives in misplaced priorities. And that our material and physical prosperity are hinged on our spiritual prosperity. Today’s study is titled; “The Good of the Land”.

What do you think of when you hear the phrase, "the good of the land"?

The Amplified versions refers to it as “the best of the land”; the NIV says: “the good things of the land.”

To go to through today’s study, we shall be splitting this verse of scripture into two parts

1. “If ye be willing and obedient” – the action
2. “ye shall eat the good of the land” – the outcome

 I. THE OUTCOME: THE GOOD OF THE LAND

What does THE GOOD OF THE LAND refer to?

1. The good of the land refers to the material blessings that God provides through the abundance of the earth.  Psalm 67:5-6 SAYS

“Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.”

1. The good of the land is God’s provision provided for our enjoyment.

1 Tim. 6:17: "As for the rich in this present world, instruct them not to be conceited and arrogant, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Material blessing is a part of God’s goodness. He delights in our enjoyment of the increase of the earth. Jer.2:7 says:

“And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof;”

1. The good of the land refers to possessions, property, fruitfulness and growth!

In Gen.45:18-20, Pharaoh said to Joseph:

“And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat of the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye; take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.”

And in Genesis 47:27, the Bible records that the Israelites gained possessions and acquired property there and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.

 

II. THE ACTION: WILLINGNESS AND OBEDIENCE

Obedience and submission are two different things. Obedience is an action and submission is an attitude. God looks at our heart. He knows whether we are willing to obey Him or not. It takes humility to submit to God’s authority in our life and to do what He says. So, we must be submitted to God with all our heart and we must obey Him by doing everything He says to do.

(a) Willingness: Willingness refers to us consenting in our wills to the Father. Mark 14:36 (NLT): “Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine"

Willingness also refers to a desire to obey; not coerced, not cajoled!  A willing spirit is what sustains us; keeps us from falling in life. David prayed in Psalm 51:12 (AMP): “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”

 (b) Obedience: Obedience here implies our being submissive in our actions. To be compliant with an order, request, or law or submission to another's authority. Abraham was completely obedient. Genesis 12:4 says: “So, Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.:”

James 1:22 (NIV) says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Obedience implies doing what the Word of God says.

1 Kings 2:3 (NIV) says: “Observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go”

For obedience to accomplish its purpose, it must be complete. Partial obedience is disobedience

 

CONCLUSION

God is the author and source of all the blessings in our lives. Psalm 50:10-11 says that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills; and all the animals of the field are His! It is Him who also causes the land to produce goodness. Psalm 85:12 “Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.”

For us partake in eating the good of the land, we must be submitted, spirit, soul and body, to Him. God does not force His will on us; so, we must make the choice ourselves to yield our wills to Him.

Let us learn from an encounter Kenneth Hagin had about Isaiah 1:19. God asked him to leave a church and go into the field and he obeyed but he really didn’t want to go. Afterwards, he started having financial issues and he went to God quoting Isaiah 1:19. God told him that although he qualified on the obedience side, he didn’t qualify on the willingness side. And because it is one and the other not one or the other he therefore didn’t qualify to eat the good of the land! To be willing and obedient implies keeping your motives pure. God sees our hearts, and He knows what attitudes are motivating us (1 Sam. 16:7).  If a person's motive is not right, he needs to repent and make the necessary adjustments; because God is not going to bless someone whose motives are impure.

To eat the good of the land, we must therefore be both willing and obedient!