13. The Ploughman
CHAPTER XIII (d) “THE PLOUGHMAN”
“ GIVE ear and hear my voice; hearken and hear my word.
“ Does the ploughman plough all the day to sow? Does he lay open and break up his soil? When he has levelled its surface does he not scatter black cummin and sprinkle cummin, set the wheat in rows, the barley in marked-out order and rye in its borders? And his God trains him aright; He teaches him; for black cummin is not threshed with a sharp stone nor is a wagon-wheel turned about upon cummin. But black cummin is beaten out with a staff and cummin with a rod. Bread corn is beaten out because he will not ever be treading it out, and though he urge forward the wheel of his wagon and his horses, he does not crush it.
“ This also came forth from the Lord of Hosts.
He makes wisdom distinguished; He exalts understanding.” Isa 28:23-29. In justification of the inclusion of this homely agricultural song among the Parables of the Old Testament, reference need only be made to the Gospel of Mark 4:26-33, where Jesus is reported to have spoken in parables when He used forms of speech not dissimilar to that form which appears in the closing verses of Isaiah xxviii. Mark does not describe the parables as having been delivered in the form of narratives of fact, but rather as an appeal to the minds of Christ’s listeners. ’ So is the Kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground...’ As Jesus applied the routine of agricultural labour to express a truth, even so in our parable did Isaiah also utilise it to show that each class of seed requires its own soil, treatment, harvest and threshing, and to direct the thought of his audience to God, whose wisdom is manifested in all the care and prevision which inspire the ploughman in his tasks. With a thrust which is straight and unerring he points the nation to God’s unfailing mercy and protection of those who trust in Him.
Commentators are almost unanimous in their appreciation of this parable alike for its song, its comfort and its lesson. There are divers opinions regarding its historical setting and textual associations, but in respect of its spiritual value and message there is agreement. Orelli regards the chapter as a gloomy discourse which closes with a sunbeam in the form of “ a calmlyconceived and instructive parable,” while Delitzsch says that Isaiah here proves himself a master of the mashal by giving a mashal-song, which is left for interpretation by his hearers.
God in its heart is the inspiration, key and director of all. The song’s theme revolves around revelations of God and of His wonderful goodness. The ploughman’s art is shown to be God-inspired, not self-created or self-suggested.
“ His God trains him aright.” God’s purposes are declared to be consistent with rational laws, and what is regarded as thus divinely provided in the simple functions of husbandry, is set forth as applicable in the life of nations and of individuals. Where men see chaos, upheaval, disaster, disappointment and decay, God works consistently towards a definite achievement. His methods are not stereotyped but varied, just as the agriculturist must study seasons, seeds and soils as well as the different modes of treatment and development to get the best results.
Harvesting and threshing processes are also varied delicate grains will not be threshed with a sharp stone and the wagon-wheel will not be turned about upon them. In like manner God’s dealings with the many types of men are shown to be exercised in accordance with human capacity and divine requirement. In order to receive from a nation or an individual that response to His love and care which God anticipates He deals with His people in accordance with natural and acquired endowments, opportunities and character.
Whatever may have been its historical background, the parable appears to have been written in defence of God’s control and direction of national affairs. It is no merely modern complaint against God that He measures out His mercies unequally and unjustly. Some people are called upon to endure more suffering and loss than others, and there are many seemingly inconsistent circumstances. By means of the parable Isaiah indicates that in all God’s dealings there is consistency of aim if not of method, and that God’s works must be contemplated not by their divergent operations but by their ultimate purpose. Thus might men be encouraged to put their trust in God. For its practical information upon agricultural work, the parable has a special value quite apart from its parabolical meaning. It sheds light upon a domestic and social aspect of Hebrew life, which is nowhere else in the Bible so well portrayed. The opening clause arrests a modern reader by its question, “ Does the ploughman plough all the day to sow? “ This is doubtless a reference to the practice of sowing the seeds first and thereafter ploughing so as to cover the seeds as a protection against the ravages of insects and birds and as a means of conserving moisture for the seeds. The ploughshare did not go deep, and sometimes it became necessary to have more than one ploughing to secure a safe sowing. It is very doubtful if there was any harrowing in the modern sense of that word. The soil having been levelled in a simple and rather rough manner, the seed was sown according to its kind and covered in the process of subsequent ploughing. To conclude the first clause with the word ’ day ’ and carry forward the words * to sow ’ into the next clause renders a more intelligible meaning which coincides with the Septuagint translation, “ Does the ploughman plough all the day (i.e. continuously)? Does he make ready the sowing before the working of the soil? “ Here we learn that God’s plough must follow the sowing of the seeds in human hearts, and that what men may think will destroy will be for their protection and prosperity.
Each class of seed requires its own particular form of sowing in order that it may bear fruit.
Some seeds must be broadly scattered whereas others need only be slightly sprinkled black cummin is scattered and cummin is sprinkled. The former seed is supposed to have been a type of fennel-flower which was used for seasoning purposes by bakers, although some commentators have regarded it as black poppy seed.
Cummin is grown for use as a condiment. Other seeds such as barley, wheat and rye, which were more valuable and were sown in the winter, had to be laid in furrows by hand. This explains the term ’ marked out ’ because each seed had its own place in the row. Just as a heavier and rougher type of oats is frequently sown around fields of good grain in this country, so rye was set in the borders as a protection from birds, rodents and wild animals. The ploughman followed the sower and his plough turned over the soil upon the seeds. Unless given their particular forms of treatment the seeds would not germinate properly, and from this fact the parable goes on to answer the natural questions, “ How does the agriculturist know all this? Who has taught him? “ The answer is that God has trained him, that the farmer depends upon God, and that his faith in God encourages him to sow the seeds. As with the sowing so it was with the harvesting and threshing. There cannot be similarity and identity of harvest processes, since what might suffice for one crop may be injurious to another. The harvest-period was usually free from rain, and threshing took place in the open air. Spread out upon the threshing-floor the finer crops were threshed by means of a flail or rod or by treading under foot; the coarser and heavier crops required either the threshingsledge or the threshing- wagon. The former consisted of wooden planks joined together, which had stones or knives set in the under-side, and it could be drawn by man or beast, usually beast. The latter was the ’ wagon-wheel,’ and to-day it consists of several parallel rollers each of which has three or four iron discs so arranged that the discs of one roller extend into the spaces left by the others. This explains the introduction of the words ’ wheel of the wagon ’ and ’ his horses,’ although some authorities omit reference to the horses and suggest a change of text. But the point of this threshing reference is quite clear. Under a process which might be expected to destroy it, the bread-corn (as distinguished from the spice-corn) is safe from injury. From an experience so simple and so common in a land of husbandry, there is no difficulty in deducing a spiritual lesson.
Since the husbandman knows this to be an instinct-experience given him by God, surely the God who has taught him and so planned to provide harvest fruits by means which would threaten to destroy them, is a God of such wisdom and understanding that man may say, “ Though He slay me yet will I trust in Him.” Not only is God’s wisdom unsearchable but His counsel to men is most wonderful and through them He exalts understanding. In his poem “ The Everlasting Mercy “ our Poet Laureate, Mr. John Masefield, describes a lesson derived from the ploughman’s task. He refers to Jesus as the “ ploughman of the sinner’s soul “ and indicates how necessary it becomes that the plough’s colter should be driven deep in certain lives before they can provide satisfactory fruit. When Saul Kane beheld an old ploughman at his task he meditated upon the parable of that task to his own soul. If our study of Isaiah’s parable has spoken a message to our souls regarding God’s wonderful and merciful works in our lives we shall henceforth “ welcome each rebuff “believing that “ all things work together for good to them that love God.”