The First Commandment

Deuteronomy 6v5
"...thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."


Joshua 22v5
"...take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."


Mark 12v29-31
"And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."

Iran, Russia, China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

China and allies back Russia against U.S. missile shield: Russia won the backing of China and other members of a regional security body in criticizing U.S. plans for a missile shield, saying on Wednesday it could undermine global security.

"The Russian bear sits in its lair, and the NATO huntsman comes over to his house and asks him to come hunt the rabbit. .... Why do your rifles have the caliber to hunt the bear, not the rabbit?" Russia's NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin said at a panel talk at London's Royal United Services Institute think-tank. Read more>>

Ahmadinejad's New Friends: The leader of nuke-bound Iran joins Russian and Chinese counterparts at a meeting of a group formed to rival NATO. No wonder Moscow resists U.S. missile defense. Read more>>

Russia, China warn West against Arab interference: Russia and China oppose outside interference in the unrest in the Arab world, the two presidents said on Thursday in a declaration, as the West seeks their support for increasing pressure on Syria. Read more>>

Russia, China defend Iran's right to nuclear power: Russia and China defended Iran and North Korea's rights to peaceful nuclear power on Thursday. Read more>>

Russia has no plan to reconsider relations with Iran: Moscow has no plan to reconsider its stance on Iran in order to please the U.S. and NATO, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Tuesday. Read more>>

Psalm 89:11-14

"The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name. Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face."

Israel's Cultivation in Prophecy

The land of Israel was condemned to desolation by God as a judgement:

"I will bring the land into desolation...Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth deslate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths" 

Leviticus 26v32-34

"The generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hat laid upon it; and that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein...even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land?" 

Deuteronomy 29v22-24

Nineteenth Century travellers from Western Europe commented on it:

"From Kane-Leban to Beer, amidst the ruins of cities, the country, as far as the eye of the traveller can reach, presents nothing to his view but naked rocks, mountains, and precipices, at the sight of which pilgrims are astonished, balked in their expectations, and almost startled in their faith." 

(From Maundrell's Travels, quoted in Benson, Tony, Stormy Wind Fulfilling His Word: The place of Weather, volcanoes and earthquakes in fulfilling Bible prophecy, p.31 ) 

However, the land was to change and become fruitful again as prophecied in Ezekiel:

“But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come. For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown: and I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded” 

Ezekiel 36v8-10 

“And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; …”

Ezekiel 36v34-35

The following is an extract about agriculture in Israel today:

"Agriculture is of major national importance; in certain areas, such as the Arava and the Jordan Valley, it provides the sole means of livelihood for the population. In 1996 approximately 73,500 people were involved in farming, constituting about 3.0 percent of the country's workforce.

In monetary terms, Israel produces almost 70% of all its food requirements. It imports much of its grain, oilseeds, meat and fish, and its the sugar, coffee and cocoa. However, these imports are offset by exports of agricultural produce valued at around $800 million and $600 million worth of processed foods per annum. Today, just under a quarter of the income of Israel's farmers derives from the export of fresh produce, including items such as flowers, avocados, out-of-season vegetables and certain exotic fruits grown for export. In 1996 some 140,000 tons of fruit and vegetables - 14 percent of the entire crop - were sold to factories for processing and export.

This is a far cry from the situation a century ago. When Jews began resettling their historic homeland in the late 19th century, their first efforts were directed towards reclaiming the mostly semi-arid land, much of which was rendered untillable by deforestation, soil erosion and neglect. Rocky fields were cleared and terraces built in the hilly regions; swampland was drained, and systematic reforestation begun; soil erosion was counteracted, and salty land washed to reduce soil salinity.

Since Israel attained its independence in 1948, the total area under cultivation has increased from 165,000 ha. to some 435,000 ha. and the number of agricultural communities has grown from 400 to 900 (including 136 Arab villages). During the same period, agricultural production has expanded 16-fold, more than three times the rate of the population growth."

Extract from "Israeli Agriculture: Coping with Growth" By Jon Fedler (Editor of Agrictech Israel Magazine)  Available online here