Long Suffering (Chapter 11)

11 1 Long suffering is the fruit of labor.
It is the task set for the servants.

2 Many are the duties of the laborer, and
each has its purpose and season. The earth
is the Lord’s and all that is therein. Do not
be mistaken; He shall judge the servants by
the plenty of His harvest.

3 The earth is a garden which man must
prepare. The trees of the Lord are trees of
righteousness. Men are those trees.

4 As trees do not flourish in rocky ground,
neither does man grow righteous in a
barren land. To prepare the garden is to
follow the instruction of the Lord.

5 It is written that the Lord shall destroy
those that destroy the earth. The earth is
the garden of the Lord. It is not wise
to foul the waters and cast residue from
your feet in the land of His children.

6 The fear of God is found in the knowledge
of His seasons, and in understanding the
faithfulness of His Word.

7 It is wisdom to know that a man’s labor is
judged. A man with no harvest will have all
taken from him, and those that labor to
destroy shall be destroyed.

8 It is wisdom to know that His word shall
come to pass. It is wisdom to know that as
you labor, so shall you reap.

9 The Lord requires a harvest. If the rains do
not come, the servant must carry water. If
the floods come, he must build a dike. If a
man should foul the field, you are required
to replenish the soil. If thorns should
spring forth, they must be weeded out.

10 The Lord requires no explanation. It is
the harvest He will judge the servants by.
He will not heed the words of those whose
labor was unworthy.

11 To replenish the earth, to subdue evil and
to grow in righteousness; this is the labor
set forth for the servants chosen to tend in
the fields of the Lord.

12 He watches the fields from high, and
observes His servants. He sees their
labors. He sees when they turn their hands
from His appointed tasks.

13 Consider the season. Harvest comes
quickly. Many have rested while others
prepared. Many have sowed, yet many
watched. The season of harvest is a
season of judgment.

14 Arise and take your plow. Do not
rest in the season of labor. The work of
the Lord is the labor of your salvation.
 

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