The significance of the soil to physical life on earth is often overlooked. Without the soil… plant, animal and human life could not be sustained. In reality, the ground is the foundation of all physical life. That is both a scientific fact as well as a Biblical one. In the Genesis account God uses two words to describe how His world came to be: create and made or formed. Create means – out of nothing. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Made means – out of something. You’ll notice that when we read the 6 Day Creation account, the soil, ground, dry land “appeared”. It already existed. Created in the beginning. Water also existed. Created in the beginning. The 6 Days of Creation begin with God separating the waters and dry land appearing.
“Out of the GROUND the Lord God made every tree grow… Out of the GROUND the Lord God formed (or made) every beast of the field and every bird of the air… Out of the GROUND the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.” Genesis 2:9,19, 7 respectively. The elements of physical life for plants, animals and people – the source – is the ground.
However, mankind was also “created.” “So God created man in His own image…” Genesis 1:27. That creation directly refers to the spiritual life source. The unseen “breath of life” that inhabits this physical body. Genesis 2:7
Consider the seed again for a moment. It contains the POTENTIAL for producing new life, but in and of itself cannot. In its dormant state, with its hull intact, and stored in a cool dry place, seeds of all kinds can be stored for years! Remember the story of Joseph storing up grain in Egypt? Grains are seeds of grasses. The seed’s hull provides a natural and amazing shelf life! This fact leads us to the reality of…
From DEATH comes LIFE.
How do dormant seeds produce new life? They die. In order for the seed to produce life it must DIE IN the SOIL. Water and sunlight are also a part of the equation. The process of life begins with death. This concept is science. According to the Center for Biological Studies and Research article: “Do Seeds Die When They Germinate?” states that: “The moment that germination begins, disintegration or death of the seed, as such, begins also.” This concept is Biblical. “Unless a grain of wheat fall in the ground and dies…if it dies, it produces much grain.” John 12:24
The process of germination or sprouting is actually a process of death for the seed.
This dying process takes place buried IN the soil. When seeds are sprouted or germinated, they can also be sprouted IN WATER. “For if anyone is IN Christ, he is a NEW CREATION.” II Cor. 15:7. The seed no longer is a seed. It has a complete new identity through this death process. “We have this treasure (new life) in EARTHEN vessels (physical bodies)…” II Cor. 4:7
Death is SEPARATION. Physical death is separation of the spirit from the body. Spiritual death is separation of our spirits from God’s spirit. This separation of the seed materials produces a completely new organism. Why is death even a reality? Why is degeneration woven into every fiber of life forms on earth? The answer is simple: The GROUND became CURSED. God’s original design for regeneration and life became corrupted by UNBELIEF. The Serpent in the Garden didn’t convince God’s created humans to murder or curse God or hate each other.
He simply questioned God’s intentions.
He deceived Eve to no longer TRUST God. “Has God said?” Genesis 3:1 Basically, “Does God really have your best interest at heart?” That lack of belief led to an act of disobedience. That act of disobedience rooted in unbelief called The Fall resulted in a series of curses and rippling consequences. Physical degeneration began. In fact it REIGNED. “Death reigned from Adam to Moses…” The ground was cursed. What was once the source of physical life now has the shadow of death. And it became necessary for life to require death.
Before I started studying nutrition, I thought “organic” was just a bunch of hype. I could just rinse the pesticides and fertilizers off and be fine. But what I didn’t realize was that its the SOIL quality that has to meet such high nutrient standards to be labeled organic. The nutrient and microbe quality and quantity determine the nutrient and microbe quality of the plants/foods. The nutrient quality of the plants determine the nutrient quality of our animal foods. And the nutrient quality of both determine the nutrition and health for us as human beings!
It all begins with the soil.
But the Fall and Curse resulted in work. The ground has to be worked. It no longer produces on its own. Man’s effort is required. “Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread. Till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3: 17-19 But man’s effort is NOT enough. This is illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel’s offerings of Genesis 4. The work of the ground needed something more. It needed DEATH. This curse affected our food system. Death to life nutrition is now required.
The soil is what God covered with water at Lucifer’s fall. The soil is what was cursed at The Fall on mankind. The soil is what God broke apart and flooded in Noah’s day. And the soil is what God will RESTORE one day!! “Behold, I saw a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH…” Revelation 21:1
You may be wondering… what’s the big deal? It’s the curse of the ground lays the foundation for the nutrition science principles I learned! You may be thinking… even though the ground is cursed and soil depletes, needs work to conserve, renew, protect… The soil can still produce nutritious food. So how exactly does the ground being cursed affect our food system?
In next week’s Food Faith Friday video on our FACEBOOK PAGE and E! Journal post we’ll take a closer look at how specifically the Fall and Curse affected our food system.
I’m excited to share more with you through the E! Journal and our Eureka! Holistic Nutrition Facebook Page Live each Friday afternoon!
You’re also invited to join our private Eureka! Holistic Nutrition Facebook Group for more nutrition and healthy living resources shared from a Christian, faith based perspective!
Here is the link for this week’s – Food Faith Friday VIDEO: The Soil