“As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations. And you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers” - Ezekiel 20: 41-42 (NIV).
The nation of Israel where Moses led the Jews and on which most are settled today is not on a very fertile stretch of land. At least compared to Uganda! Ours teems with abundant loamy soils, evergreen vegetation, and flows with endless rivers while enjoying abundant sunshine. On the contrary half of Israel is a desert, with only one fresh water lake, the Sea of Galilee, There is only 20% of the land which is arable. Israel lacks a two year rainfall cycle and periodically suffers from draughts, the most recent as long as five years.
However, out of the sand dunes, the descendants of Moses, started agricultural cooperatives known as kibbutz, from which they have built one of the most productive nations. Israel is now a leading global producer and exporter of fresh fruits (including matooke) and flowers. No wonder they have been fighting for that land since days and once it was restored to them in 1948, after a war with the Arabs, they now guard it jealously.
This cannot be said of gifted Uganda or many nations in black Africa. As we all know our natural wealth is being plundered day and night by robbers who dig out all the minerals and export them for other people elsewhere to enjoy. Unappreciative of what we have the inhabitants of much of black Africa have rendered theirs to waste through give away land sells, deforestation and wanton neglect. Left landless many of the children of Africa have since scattered to other “rich” lands exporting the needed skills to make theirs just as productive.
Land was one of the gifts God gave the Israelis and those that know understand why they keep it under good care and fight for it. Oh, wouldn’t it be a good thing, if only the people of Uganda or of any black African nation, appreciated too what they have and developed their land as well as the descendants of Moses!
Perhaps one day this truth shall dawn on us all, to realize the blessings we have, and remember to take good care of what the Almighty has given us to enjoy. “For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything” (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of creation, of heaven and earth, as you gave your people the land of Israel to love it and honor you, I pray for the same of this land here, that we who have been so blessed, may love it, as much, take good care of it, rather than abandon, and, as you wished for Israel, have you dwell among us, to enjoy the fruits and blessings of the land!
