D32-33: Why The Land Of Israel Will Only Produce When God’s Chosen People Are Living There

“Rather, their vine is from the vine of S’dom,
from the fields of ‘Amora —
their grapes are poisonous,
their clusters are bitter;
their wine is snake poison,
the cruel venom of vipers.
Isn’t this hidden with me,
sealed in my storehouses?”
-Deuteronomy 32:32-34

Up to this point in the Song of Moses we have witnessed Israel’s rebellion against the Lord and how Hashem will punish His people by sending a series of heartbreaking disasters their way.

These punishments consist of all the things a nation hopes will never happen to them.

I’m talking about famines, wars, diseases, crop failure and the ultimate nightmare: exile from one’s own homeland.

We were next told that Hashem would NOT do to Israel what they so rightly deserved for their rebellion which was to eliminate them from the face of the planet.

Why?

Because God has decided that for the sake of His own reputation this is something He will just not do.

Onward, in verse 32, we are shown a picture of Israel’s enemies gloating in pride and boasting because they have defeated God’s people.

However, we’re also told their pride is going to be short-lived.

Because the Lord is going to turn around and judge them for not only being so cruel to His people…

…but also for their deliberate and arrogant lack of acknowledgement of the sovereign Creator of the universe.

God’s judgements against the wicked gentile nations who attacked Israel will be harsh indeed.

We’re told their destiny will be as Sodom and Gomorrah so many centuries earlier.

To this point, we find something interesting when we read verses 32-34.

Note the part where it says…“their vine is from the vine of Sodom, from the fields of ‘Amora —their grapes are poisonous“.  

This is referring to the phenomenon where the exact same grapevines and fields that produced an abundance of healthy food for the children of Israel will suddenly stop producing once the conquering gentiles enter into the land.

And boy has history proven this to be sooooooooo true.

Here’s a simple fact of history you can bet every penny you have in your bank account on.

Ever since the point AFTER Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, whenever Israel was exiled and replaced by a non-Hebrew race, the land began withering away…rapidly.

And I don’t mean in some “spiritual” sense.

I mean LITERALLY!

All of the vines and orchards one by one stopped producing food.

All of the fields turned into swamps.

And all of the green pasture land turned into hard and dry ground to the point where it became impossible to raise up farm animals there.

What was once a land flowing with milk and honey seemingly overnight turned into a huge garbage dump.

Sure, when the conquerers first entered the land, they were able to enjoy the delicious grapes, fruits and olives that Israel had cultivated up until then.

But their enjoyment would not last.

For it was only a matter of time before the land would wither away and become the most useless piece of real estate on the planet good for nothing but to serve as a trade route for nomads and merchants to cross over.

Or to serve as strategic war location for armies to gather due to Canaan being situated right smack dab between the African and Asian continents.

Here’s what’s also fascinating.

Photography was first invented in the mid 1800’s and it was during this time that the land of Canaan was occupied by mainly Arabs.

Now here’s the thing.

When we examine old photographs of the land of Israel from this time period, what we see is a land as barren and lifeless as an abandoned homeless shelter.

Here’s another interesting historical fact.

During the Crusades, the Pope gifted some military leaders plots of land in Canaan as a reward for their participation in the wars against the Muslims.

However, when we examine the accounts written by those crusaders, what we read is anything but positive.  

Apparently, the conditions of the land were so disappointing they felt like they had been cursed instead of blessed. 

And their sour disappointment wasn’t just because the land when they first got it was an unusable, barren, and soulless wasteland.

They were bitter because all their efforts to make the land usable for food production also ended up in failure.

No matter what they did, the ground still stubbornly refused to produce food.

And that’s just how the land of Israel operates per divine law.

The ground will only be productive when the children of Israel are living there.

Let’s take a look at the opposite side of the coin.

Rewind the tape of history back to the time just after World War I.

This was when anti-Semitism in Europe was flourishing and as a result many Jews were escaping off to Palestine.

When these early Jews arrived back, what they found was a barren wasteland that seemed impossible to make usable.

Yet, what happened?

After only a few short years…

…the deserts bloomed AND…

…the swamps transformed into fertile fields of wheat and barley AND…

…all of the orchards and vineyards were resurrected back to life again!

In fact, Israel became so freakin’ productive that it became a net provider of food to the surrounding nations who ironically want to exterminate the Jewish people off the face of the earth.

I know this article is getting long but let me give you one more example.

Consider the Gaza Strip.

When Israelis were living in the Gaza Strip, this piece of real estate was considered to be one of the most prized and productive farming areas in the whole land of Israel.

Yet, what happened after the Gaza Strip was turned over to the Palestinians?

Long story short, the fields and orchards so deteriorated that food now has to be imported into Gaza just so the Palestinians living there can survive.

But wait. 

It gets worse.

Who do you think the Palestinians blame for their pathetic situation?

They blame Israel.

Can you believe this crap?

But actually in a funny and ironic sort of way, the Palestinians are right in saying Israel is the cause of their current plight.

Because when the Lord’s chosen people are not living in the land, divine law says the land will NOT produce.

It’s just as simple as that.