Psalm 72:3
Psalm 72:3
The fruit of righteousness
Can mountains bring prosperity to people? In Israel they can. To the north of the country, on the border with modern day Lebanon, is the rugged range of Mount Hermon. In winter, Hermon is snow covered and modern-day Israelis take to their skis. In all generations this mountain has provided water for the land, the streams that flow from Mount Hermon converge to form the River Jordan that flows south, through Galilee to the Dead Sea, and it is this river that is the main source of drinking water and irrigation for the people living in Israel. Without the mountains, the land would be a desert.
The Psalm goes on talk about, hills producing the fruit of righteousness. I suspect that this is all tied up with the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 27-28. If righteousness reigns in the land, then the Lord will provide, “He will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 28:12. Rain is so important in hot countries and righteousness is likened to fertilizing rain, if the people obey the Lord, then He will prosper them. Do you remember these words from Psalm 65?
8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
where morning dawns, where evening fades,
you call forth songs of joy.
9 You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.
How we need to pray for the rain of righteousness upon our own land, for without it the spiritual life is parched and dying!
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