Isaac reaps a hundredfold
An obscure multiplication example in the Old Testament
At the beginning of the year, I started another read-through of the Bible. One of the important things about reading a lot of Scripture, of taking some time to just read—not necessarily to meditate or do Bible study—is that you can remember a lot more. And you can see some ideas and principles that get repeated all over the place, indicating they are deep parts of the wisdom of God.
One of those things, you guessed it, is MULTIPLICATION. If we said to ourselves, where are we most likely to see multiplication as a concept in Scripture, we would think of basically two places: the Creation of Adam and Eve, and the Parable of the Sower. God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and MULTIPLY. And in the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about how sowing seed can produce a harvest, 30, 60, 100 TIMES what was sown.
But multiplication is everywhere! Think of the 70 members of Jacob’s family that enter Egypt at the beginning of Exodus, and the 600,000 who leave.
As I was reading early in the month, I was in the section of Genesis about Isaac’s adult life. Genesis 26:12 says “Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.” You say, “but Pastor, that is just an accurate reporting of natural processes that happen when you prepare ground, plant seed, cultivate it, there is adequate rain, and you harvest diligently.”
Stop! You’re making my point for me! If God wanted to bless Isaac with crops for the purposes of His blessings, how much more does He want to bless His church with a multiplication of spiritual fruit! He showed us in Isaac and Jacob the power of His promise over and above human plans! If we will go into all nations, making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He commanded—how much more will His promise to be with us until the end of the age come true?! If we go and prepare the ground and sow, and God gives the increase, and one reaps what another has sown, won’t God multiply that harvest?
Don’t think of adding more members to your church. Think of making disciples who make other disciples. Think of sending out people to start new churches, so that the Kingdom grows exponentially, not just by adding a few here and there.
Isn’t it weird that we all depend on multiplication growth in retirement? You invest now, you reap compound interest. In fact, if I offered you a retirement plan that added a couple bucks every year, you would run away and find a new investment adviser! But if a pastor tells you to sow generously across town and into the world, so the Kingdom will grow, all you can think about is that you might not get to see some people you have loved seeing in church! We are glad to invest so much time and money for a few years of retirement, but we are hesitant to invest for the Kingdom of God in the ways that He has promised to bless, in the ways that He has asked us to.