“…Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through? And the Lord said, ‘Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it…” (Jeremiah 9:12-13).
Here, the biblical laws regarding a “sabbatical” rest for the land are especially noteworthy. Mankind would do well to understand the value of resting occasionally from the production of goods and services. “In the seventh year there shall be a sabbath rest for the land, a sabbath to the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. What grows of its own accord of your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your intended vine, for it is a year of rest for the land” (Leviticus 25:4-5). Furthermore, at the 49th year according to sabbatical law, there would be two years in a row of rest for the land because the year after the seventh sabbath year is the year of Jubilee, in which the land would again rest (Leviticus 25:8 17). Rests for the land have been scientifically shown to work better than intensive tillage in the long run, in preventing soil erosion and managing agriculture production for profit. This is especially important for land which is less than ideal farmland.
Studies have compared long-term productivity, topsoil retention, and organic matter content. Farms now considered “conventional” (using large-scale intensive tillage, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, and producing a cash crop every single year) have been compared to so called “organic” farms (tilling “green manure” crops back into the soil every several years, lying fallow about every seventh year, no chemical fertilizers, and only occasional spot application of pesticides around field edges). Although crop yields may vary, the organically managed farms can outperform the intensive “conventional” farms. And soil losses due to water erosion are much less for the organic farms than for conventional farms. In addition, the soil in organic farms have higher levels of microorganisms, enzymes, and moisture. The organic farm soil is also softer, making it more suitable for the emergence of seedlings.
Crop yield reductions due to erosion can at some point exceed the diminishing yield increases due to intensive application of modern technology. And when the topsoil is gone, crop yields plunge. Unfortunately, in the face of heavy debt financing (another unscriptural practice), many farmers worldwide cannot afford to periodically leave fields out of production.
Fortunately, the simple application of biblical principles and wisdom in stewardship can avoid many of these problems. In spite of the curse on sin in this fallen world (Genesis 3:17-19), which makes for the labor and irritation and even futility (“vanity”, “under the sun”, Ecclesiastes) that frustrate the inventions of mankind, and which ultimately require the intervention of God in Christ. Through good management of soil and cultivation methods including crop, animal, and pasture rotations, integrating rather than segregating food systems, people in many places are mitigating these problems, bringing a “healing” of the land. They are building up good topsoil and even turning “deserts” into “gardens” by exercising “dominion over creation” in the biblical sense of good stewardship.
– Mark Cadwallader, Board Chairman of Creation Moments
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