Causes the seed to grow

"… the garden causes that which is planted in it to grow …" according to Isaiah. The seed, while containing life, cannot grow by itself. It is the garden that causes the seed to grow.

There are a couple noteworthy elements about a garden. The harder and more compact the dirt, the fewer seeds will sprout to begin with, and the slower growth will be, once a seed does sprout. I do not know all the scientific elements of clay, but I do know that it is extremely compact. Very little can get through it, and very little growth can be attained in soil that is primarily clay. The other important item about a garden actually is beyond the gardener’s control, and that is moisture. Some soils retain moisture longer, but any soil needs rain from time to time. Watering works in a pinch, but there is nothing quite as effective as rain.

Planting seed is comparable in the scriptures to a few different things. Jesus compared his burial with a seed being planted in the ground, noting that unless it was planted, it would be alone, but when it was planted, it would sprout and multiply itself. God compares His words to seed, and our hearts are the garden that causes that seed to grow—or not. We also have the analogy of a man’s seed being planted in a womb, in which case it is the woman’s body that causes the seed to grow—and we all know that seed can be aborted or miscarried, just as easily as it can be carried to full term. Even the idea of having a treasure in a clay pot—or earthen vessel—is similar to the planting of the seed, because there is a power that comes out from it. The treasure does not have to show its power to the whole world—that does depend somewhat on the pot.

If we look back—way back—we see something interesting that happened between the time of Adam and Noah. During that time, the garden doesn’t seem to have caused the seeds to grow. There was a curse on the ground. I don’t fully know what that meant, but I know for certain that those who lived at that time (and they lived a long time, poor folk!) fought with the ground in order to come up with something to eat. Oddly enough, there is some scientific evidence that the atmospheric conditions were such that plants should have grown like crazy. Maybe they did—I don’t know the answer to that, but I know they had a fight on their hands, because of the cursed condition of the ground.

Since the flood, the ground has no longer been cursed. God did two things at that time: He broke up the deep (perhaps so seeds could sprout?) and He opened the heavens (so that rain could come down).

It was catastrophic.

It was perhaps the second greatest blessing ever sent to mankind.

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