The mystery of the Corn, Meat and Wine - A secret to Sustainability.

 

Therefore God give thee the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine.  -Genesis 27 : 28. 

Corn, meat and wine are three words that are concurrently mentioned in the scriptures especially as regards to food and sustainability. When Isaac blessed his son, he said : “…with corn and wine have I sustained him” -Gen 27:37. It always talked about or signified abundance, wealth, etc. In our present time, corn, meat and wine corn could be used connotatively or still literally, just like in the old Israeli times.

Here’s a little backstory to it: In the ancient time, the most common professions among the children of Israel were farming, herding, and wine growing. So, some of them were farmers owing to the large expanse of lands of their inheritance, where they planted wheat, barley, corn, or grape vines for wine. Some were sheep herders, taking care of sheep. The rich among them had all three : Farmland, vineyard, and sheep. The abundance of this was the yardstick for measuring wealth in those days.

Year round, they had no lack of food because they had the basic sustenance of corn which they made into flour for their bread, meals, or cake; meat which they got from their sheep and wine grown from their vineyards. So, if they needed money, they sold their produce. If they needed a house, clothes, levies or debt to pay, they got the money from the produce they sold. Basically, they had money and didn’t spend money on food except for the spices and leaves they buy from the local market to prepare their food.

There is a wisdom and divine secret of sustainability in this culture, which is still applicable in our modern time. Nature and natural materials are one of man’s greatest God-given assets for wealth and sustenance. There is no limit to things that can be obtained from natural resources such as lands and animals; ranging from plants to food crops, to wine, to meat to raw materials, etc. It is one viable way that has withstood the test of time, which God has given to man to harness wealth and sustain him all his days on earth. Genesis 1: 28-29 reinforces this claim when God said to man :

“…Be fruitful, and multiply…and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth….I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. “

For instance, during the worldwide lock-down period due to the covid19 pandemic, only stores, merchants and vendors that sold food items with few who sold strictly basic essentials were allowed to be open. The people in this group or category continued their business and made their money in spite of the lock-down, while the rest of other businesses were completely shut-down for months. So, it goes to show that there are certain elements of nature that God had interwoven into creation which can be invested in, that can last and sustain humanity for a lifetime without being interrupted or inhibited by disaster or situations.

Also, spiritually, the corn and the wine plays a significant role in the life of a believer, as it is reflected in the element that Jesus used as instruments of the communion to represent his Flesh and his blood. The bread signifies bread which is interchangeably used to connote the living word of God [“…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God”- Matt 4:4], while the wine signifies his blood and the enduement of the Holy Spirit [“And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit]. The communion and the word of God gives strength and sustains a believer when life storms hit or when we are spiritually down.

So corn, meat and wine have both literally, connotative and spiritual significance that cannot be overlooked or overemphasized in our modern time, which has the ability to sustain and fend for humanity as long as the earth remains.

As you dig in to explore this divine secret, may you excel, prosper and be sustained regardless of life situations, in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

Amen!