You may have heard the proverb about sowing to the wind and reaping the whirlwind? Do you know what it means? Did you know it was taken from the Bible? In ancient times the farmer carried a basket and scattered the seed around him as he walked. He took care to scatter it evenly but some fell in unproductive places, as the parable of Jesus tells us. It was unwise to sow on a windy day.

In Hosea 8 God, through His prophet, tells the nation, “For they sow to the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind” (verse 7). The spiritual application is about how we use our life, our intellect, and our energies. At school you are “sowing” for your future. Those who sow to the wind blow the seeds of thought and purpose in their minds all over the place. Lots of useless stuff comes into their minds that will be of no benefit in the future, and might even be destructive.

The context in Hosea is that Israel had done just that! “Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel”. They have become a ‘vessel’ sailing they know not where – there are no thoughts about direction, only about their immediate future. Isaiah, Hosea’s contemporary prophet in Judah, was telling them, “…the Lord God … called for weeping … and behold (instead) joy and gladness … drinking wine (and saying) ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die’” (Isaiah 22:13). This is living for the enjoyment of the moment, today, this week, this month …

The fault, as Hosea puts it, is that “… Israel has forgotten his Maker” (verse 14) which is just the case today. Most do not want to believe their Creator even exists! The result of this non-belief, this sowing in the wind, is that our world is getting worried about the whirlwinds looming on the horizon. Some of these are literal as the effects of the apparent climate change become more and more evident and violent.

Jeremiah said, “I know O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps” (10:23). We can only direct our steps, our future, in a meaningful way if we direct our minds to the ways of God. Daily Bible reading and meditative reflection will lead us to know how to direct our steps, not only preventing us from sowing to the wind, but giving us a wonderful eternal future.