"This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, And in the second year what springs from the same; Also in the third year sow and reap, Plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. And the remnant who have escaped of the house of Judah Shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, And those who escape from Mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." 2 Kings 19:29-31
"God graciously gave Hezekiah a sign of His good intentions for His people. Despite the fact that the Assyrian invasion had adversely affected the crops for that year and the next, by the time of the third year the fields would again yield a plentiful harvest. Even as a natural growth would remain for the two years preceding the harvest of the third year, so God left in Israel a spiritual remnant that would in a future day swell into a mighty harvest of souls." Commentary on Verse 29, Nelson Study Bible
"The Lord's plan for your life will happen. Some plans are not meant to come to pass overnight. Sometimes the plan God has for you is a process that takes time to become reality." Pastor John Hagee, Facebook, Earlier Today
I read that passage of scripture last week and it has stuck with me; I can't help wondering if we're witnessing something similar in the United States today.
Read in context, this passage describes God's deliverance of the Southern Kingdom, under King Hezekiah, shortly after the fall of Israel in 722 B.C. God was in the process of rescuing Judah. But the roots had to go down before the vineyards could produce fruit.
But when the time was right, the fruit came. Under Hezekiah's godly leadership, Judah was blessed with a national revival that lasted decades. But doing it right takes time.
Over the past few years, we've had some obvious setbacks, but we've also seen a lot of good. On the surface, things look grim. But there could be a lot going on under the surface that hasn't yet produced fruit.
Or maybe the United States is Israel, and Texas needs to prepare to be Judah; but that's a topic for another day.
