Happy summer! Sunlight is flooding the northern hemisphere, and our gardens are filling out in response with lush growth, blooming and bustling in abundance. But what is the real sign of summer? Seed catalogs arriving! LOL! That’s right; in gardening, the seasons are so interconnected that even as summer’s flourish hits full stride, we keep watching for the turn to fall, selecting seeds for cool season crops and preparing beyond the fall for what to grow next year…which got me thinking about seeds in the Bible. What a tremendous topic this is: Seeds provide amazing revelations in the Word of God.
I count 8 prevailing ways that seeds yield understanding of Scripture. Most likely, you are familiar with these seed stories individually, yet considered all together, they give us a truly exceptional view and grow our faith and anticipation for the coming harvest. Let’s create our own seed story catalog, recapping from the beginning to the harvest the role of seeds in the Bible.
#1 In the Beginning
Mentioned matter-of-factly in the forefront of creation, seeds debut in the earth’s scenery. They explain the purpose of plants—seeing to it that creatures and mankind are fed plentifully and perpetually. Seed-bearing was set forth on the third day to ensure that plants will yield more plants.
Then God said, “Let the earth produce plants—some to make grain for seeds and others to make fruits with seeds in them. Every seed will produce more of its own kind of plant.” And it happened. The earth produced plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good. Evening passed, and morning came. This was the third day. Genesis 1:11-13 NCV
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. Genesis 1:29 NIV
Seeds’ designation in the beginning conveys God’s thoughtfulness and thoroughness: He gives and He prepares, knowing His creatures and people need to be nourished, even before they were created!
Seeds grow into plants which yield more seed, establishing food forever, an eternal process we brush with every day in our gardening lives, whether we’re perusing seed catalogs, sowing, watering, watching and waiting, or saving seeds from post-bloom flowers.
#2 Seeds in the Bible Show Blessing
Seeds continue to be a sign of God’s blessing throughout the Bible, reassuring us of His unchanging compassion to see to it that we are nurtured and cared for. Hear His consideration and kind-heartedness in these repeating seed-filled Words:
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8:22 NIV
The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people. Zechariah 8:12 NIV
God will send rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the crops that the soil brings forth will be rich and abundant. Isaiah 30:23 NCB
how blessed you will be, as you sow seed beside streams, and let your cattle and donkeys run free. Isaiah 32:20 EHV
These Scriptures show that our growth and flourishing is a great fascination of His, and seeds become a symbol of God’s endearment. He sees us down to the seeds we plant and sees to it conditions are right for sowing success. Do you sense His joy and favor in these gestures of planning, protection, and provision?
#3 Seeds in the Bible Show God’s Pattern
Seeds seamlessly transform into hard-working metaphors, picturing God’s devotion to our personal situations, beyond the realities of soil and field to matters of growing character and strength, faith and accomplishment.
Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness 2 Corinthians 9:10 NASB
I planted the seed, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. So neither the planter nor the waterer is anything, only God who makes things grow 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 CJB
Does a farmer sowing keep plowing forever? Does he never stop breaking up and harrowing his land? No — when he finishes levelling it, he scatters his dill-seed, sows his cumin, puts wheat in rows, barley where it belongs, and plants buckwheat around the edges; because his God has taught him this, has given him instruction. Isaiah 28:24-26 CJB
Think about how second-nature it is to know and expect that something minute or mundane can grow and become something grand and wonderful. Small specks tucked out-of-sight, then sprouting to thriving fullness, relay His pattern of growing and guiding goodness in our lives.
Symbolic “seeds” may be dreams, ideas, whims, motivations, desires, goals, or to-dos, starting small and hidden in our hearts, yet taking root metaphorically in our soul and spirit, moving us to action and productivity. Stories of small beginnings fill the faith life.
#4 Seeds in the Bible Show Christ’s Sacrifice
With the seed story pattern being so foundational in faith life, it is no surprise to discover its prophecy in the life of Christ.
I tell you this: A seed of wheat continues to be only a single seed unless it falls into the ground. It must fall into the ground and then it must die. If it dies like that, it will grow to give a lot of seeds. John 12:24 EASY
Jesus, born to small beginnings as a baby in a barn, grew up in a flourishing life with the Father and died so that many more “seeds” of the Father’s forgiveness would sprout in each of us. Simplistic but true, as John relayed, the seed-bearing pattern established on the third day exactly describes the sacrifice of Christ for us.
He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations Luke 24:46-47 NIV
Amazingly, Jesus’ life yielded our salvation on the third day after He died, and seed-bearing plants appeared on the third day of creation. Christ’s fulfillment was a hint in the horticulture!
#5 Subplot: Abraham’s Seed
As we have circled back to Genesis, let’s look at another storyline of seeds in the Bible. The Hebrew word for seed, zera’, a plant’s propagation package, simultaneously refers to human progeny, that is, “offspring or descendant.” This reinforces seeds as metaphors or symbols, in this case reflecting the succession of bearing of children and their children, side by side with seed-bearing plants’ succession…and maybe accounts for how we look upon our sprouting seeds with a silly, child-like affection!
However, this metaphor is key to understanding how God brought blessing from the curse—remember seeds represent God’s blessing. In the Garden of Eden, when Eve turned away from God to seek good food and wisdom apart from His direction (Genesis 3:6), God’s responded in His curse on this mocking by designating a Seed—descendant—to save the day; that is, to defeat the evil serpent Satan who taunted Eve and tried to destroy the tranquil, intimate Eden life.
Then the Lord God said to the serpent: Because you have done this…I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. Genesis 3:14-15 HCSB
The Seed would come to restore God’s people, His family, to the blessing of a relationship with Him by a fatal blow to the head of evil, though the mocker would get in a few hits at the heel, at ground level. Nonetheless, God’s proclamation set the groundwork for the purpose and calling for Abram and his descendants, the Jewish people.
Abram (Abraham) became father of the family charged with shepherding the Seed through the generations of his descendants (Genesis 12:7). Seeds in the Bible have a whole side story in the family of Abraham, the Jewish nation, descendants, zera’, who usher in the ultimate blessing of salvation through the death and life of Jesus. See Matthew 1:1-17 for the lineage of the Seed, showing the descendants from Abraham to Jesus.
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. Galatians 3:16 NIV
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:29 NIV
We may not be biologically descended from Abraham’s lineage, but we are heirs to his blessing by trusting in Jesus and being willing to belong to Him.
#6 The Incorruptible Seed
Trusting the Seed opens our mind and heart to God’s Words…now we are really gaining ground! We have found the true forever food.
…that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV
You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 NCB
For every seed that doesn’t sprout, for the packets that don’t prove viable, for the fungus that overtook our seedlings or the rabbits that nibbled them to stubs, praise God that we now belong to the imperishable Seed. Though the Lord feeds us by seed on earth, he has already ensured our eternal nourishment. Hallelujah!
#7 Subplot: Jesus’ Seed Parables
Jesus solidified the importance of seed stories by telling many of His own.
“A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprang up, it withered, since it lacked moisture. Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.” As He said this, He called out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” Luke 8:5-8 HCSB
God’s kingdom is like the seed of the mustard plant. A man plants this seed in his garden. The seed grows and becomes a tree. The wild birds build nests on its branches. Luke 13:19 ICB
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”” Matthew 12:24-30 NIV
“The kingdom of God is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground; he sleeps and rises—night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain on the head. But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.” Mark 4:26-29 HCSB
These four prominent parables give us insight and much to ponder as we watch them come to life in our gardens through the seeds we sow, the care they require of us, and the results we witness. Let us be ready for their harvest.
#8 For the Harvest
As seedtime and harvest go together, seeds in the Bible lead us to His next move.
And don’t allow yourselves to be weary in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming! Galatians 6:9 TPT
Before they went, he said to them, ‘Many people are ready to believe God’s message. They are like crops in a field at harvest time. But there are very few workers to bring in the crops. So pray to God to send out workers. The field and the plants belong to him.’ Luke 10:2 EASY
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Matthew 13:39 NIV
Onward to the harvest, then! The repetition of seed stories in the Bible positions us perfectly for the approaching harvest; He has set the stage for the end of the age by speaking seed stories to us all along.
Closing Prayer
O Lord, thank you for the blessings You put in our lives, especially the garden ways that we can get to know You. What beauty You reveal to us by studying the seeds in the Bible, and what an honor to know You as the Seed, and as Your Imperishable Word. You grow more adorable to me every day, even as I take in the truth that You have always adored me, weedy or not. May my humble adoration bring You joy. Amen.
Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate]; Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness. Break up your uncultivated ground, For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing] Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you. Hosea 10:12 AMP
Read more about seeds in the Bible in My Father is the Gardener – chapter 2, “Abraham’s Oak,” chapter 10, “Propagating & Flax” including “Becoming Abraham’s Seed”
Over the years, the Devotions Blog has presented snapshots of seed stories and highlighted how to grow Biblical species best-known for their seeds (click to links)—wheat and barley, beloved grains; flax, nigella, and poppies, dazzling annuals with unique seed pods; the pungent seeds of umbellifer herbs—dill, fennel, and coriander; Jesus’ must-have mustard seeds; and the infamous acorn, seed to oak trees.
Photo Credits: © 2011 Raptorcaptor | Dreamstime.com – Black Mustard Seeds (Brassica nigra); all other photos ©Shelley S. Cramm
AMP notes Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org
CJB notes Scripture quotations taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
EASY denotesEasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 – Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
EHV notes Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version® , EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
HCSB denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
ICB denotes Scriptures taken from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
NASB denotes Scripture quotations taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NCB denotes Scripture taken from the SAINT JOSEPH NEW CATHOLIC BIBLE® Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
NCV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
NIV denotes Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®
NKJV denotes Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
TPT denotes Scripture quotations taken from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com
