The Dead Cow

We lost a cow this summer. Well, technically she was a heifer, since she’d never had a calf before. A couple months prior, we’d sent our two heifers to a neighbor’s farm to be bred with their bull. Everything seemed fine - they both quickly became friends with the bull and were checked on daily. We fully expected to have two pregnant heifers back in our pasture later this summer. But things didn't go according to plan. 

My neighbor texted me the bad news. Our black heifer Johnny (yes, a funny name for a girl) was found lifeless on the ground. She’d been fine one day, then dead the next. No signs of trauma, no weeks of sickness, no bullet holes - no reason for her to keel over in the middle of the field. 

It was sad news. We’d bought twenty-two bales of hay to feed our livestock this winter. However, out of the six large animals we had at the start of the summer, we’ll only have two left. Johnny died unexpectedly. Our elderly horse Garfield is over thirty years old - he’s in constant pain from arthritis and it would be cruel to keep him alive for another winter. We’ll have to put him down. Roxy, our six-year-old horse, is fat and unmanageable. Without Garfield around, we’ll need to find her another home. Ruger, our big steer (castrated male), is going to the butcher. That only leaves Clarabel (a yearling heifer) and June (our other heifer who spent the summer with the neighbor's bull). Twenty-two round bales of hay, at 1500 pounds each, is way more than two animals could ever eat over a winter. 

Sometimes it’s frustrating how things work out. We made careful plans, and worked hard to see them through, but we weren’t in control of what would actually happen. Since Johnny’s unexpected death, I’ve been worrying about the next bad thing that could happen. What else could die? Or get hurt? Or burn down? Life on a farm is always a worry. Come to think of it, life in general is worrisome.

Work Isn’t The Problem

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from a forbidden tree, various curses were pronounced upon mankind, one of which was the following:

By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. (Gen 3:19, ESV)

Food would thereafter be difficult to come by. Man would have to feed his family “by the sweat of your face,” which we often assume means he would have to work hard for a living - blood, sweat, and tears to scratch out a living. No more free rides. At first glance, it seems that work is the curse. This makes sense when we read that heaven (where sin has been abolished) is described as a place of rest.

There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. (Heb 4:9-10, ESV)

However, elsewhere in the Bible describes work in a positive light.

It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them. (Ecc 4:18, NLT)

So, is work itself really the curse of sin? As much as we sometimes hate striving to survive, do we really loathe the accomplishment that comes from a job well done?

Not at all. Humans need to work. It’s part of our innate drive. We enjoy building, creating, organizing, managing… striving for something productive. Work, when it’s meaningful to us, is enjoyable in itself. This is also why unemployment or debilitating illness - being unable to work - is so devastating to the human soul. 

Although heaven is described as “rest”, that doesn’t necessarily mean we'll all sit around on our backsides. The Old Testament's view of rest wasn’t so much an absence of work but the victory and dominion over the challenges of life. In Hebrew, the typical word for “rest” was nûaḥ, which was experienced by kings and nations when their enemies were defeated and their kingdom was securely under their control. Israel experienced this after conquering Canaan. 

The Lord your God will give you rest (nûaḥ) by giving you this land. (Josh 1:13, NIV)

And yet, when King David experienced nûaḥ, there was still much work to be done. 

Now it came about, when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest (nûaḥ) on every side from all his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I live in a house of cedar, but the ark of God remains within the tent.” Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.” (2 Sam 7:1-3, NASB)

Although David had nûaḥ, he still had battles to fight (2 Sam 8-10). Furthermore, he was just about to build a Temple! David’s work was far from over, even though he had “rest on every side”.

When the Bible describes God’s “rest” it uses a different word. Šāḇaṯ means “stop” or “cease”, and it’s where the term “Sabbath” comes from, the one day per week all official work was to cease. 

On the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested (šāḇaṯ) on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested (šāḇaṯ) from all his work that he had done in creation. (Gen 2:2-3, ESV)

Sometimes we assume that when God rests it means he isn’t working. But that’s not true.

The Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was [healing] on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.” (Jn 5:16-17, ESV)

Again, this sort of rest speaks not to the absence of work but to enjoyment of his dominion. 

In the same manner, Yahweh, who had proven himself the lord of the cosmos by his acts of creation, rests. The image is of a king enthroned above his peaceful and productive domain. (1)

God is always working, even when he’s resting. David had rest from his enemies but was hard at work protecting his borders and building a Temple. We can take a day off - a Sabbath - but still go jogging, play sports, fix up an old car, and do all sorts of other “work” because we enjoy it for its own sake. 

To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life — this is indeed a gift from God. (Ecc 5:19, NLT)

Thus, work is not the curse of sin. That’s not what “the sweat of your face means”. It’s something altogether different.

The Curse of Anxiety

Like many kids, I grew up watching cartoons. Saturday mornings were spent glued to the telly watching Tom and Jerry smash each other, Bugs Bunny outwit Elmer Fudd, and Spiderman climb walls. Looking back on all those classic shows, sweating was rarely due to hard work. Running or heavy lifting made cartoon characters so tired they had to stop to catch their breath, but rarely did they sweat from exertion. Same with overheating - their faces might turn red or steam whistle out of their collars, but they didn’t perspire. Wile E. Coyote could work his tail off under the hot sun trying to catch Roadrunner, but not a drop of sweat rolled off his brow. That is, until something went wrong. Inevitably, the massive barrel of TNT rolled away from his clever trap and ended up behind him. That’s when he started to sweat. In any old cartoon, the most common cause of perspiration - sweat pouring down faces - was anxiety. When a bulldog was out to get Sylvester the Cat, he sweated buckets as he hid under a lampshade. When the tense situation passed, there was always a big “Phew!” and a giant drip was wiped off his forehead. That is, until Tweety Bird shook pepper on his nose, triggering an enormous sneeze, and the chase was on again. 

Now do you see what “the sweat of your face” is all about? Worry makes us truly sweat (metaphorically more than physically). The curse of sin isn’t about having to work hard to survive, it’s the worry that all our work might not work out. 

We all love cause-and-effect: plant a seed, a tree grows; build a house, our family has a home; raise a cow, we have beef for the next year. We like predictable outcomes for our efforts. However, we live in a world where bad stuff happens, often without warning. Drought prevents our crops from producing fruit. Houses burn down, along with everything we own. A heifer drops dead in the field and suddenly we’re not sure how we’ll feed our family. Uncertainty is the curse. Not all of our work will pan out. Unfortunate events occur, often beyond our control, and all our work is for naught. So demoralizing. Sometimes it doesn’t seem fair! 

We all know that feeling. Time and chance overtake us all (Ecc 9:11), therefore we worry about tomorrow. Investors worry about the stock market and interest rates. University graduates worry about finding a job and paying off student loans. Athletes worry about injuries and contracts. Everyone with a house worries about mortgage rates. This is why theft is such an awful sin: someone earns, saves and buys, only to have it taken by another. It’s a gutpunch. 

For a million reasons, we worry. Sometimes it’s justified (“Will I make enough this month to pay rent?”), other times it’s less reasonable (“Do I have enough ammunition to survive the zombie apocalypse?”). Either way, the uncertainty of life on earth is a daily reminder of our sin. 

Being separated from God is the root of all human anxiety. When we worry, we try to figure out how to make everything right without God’s help. Sandra Richter said it like this:

The [ground] was created for Adam, to submit to his authority and to provide abundantly for this family. Moreover, just like his Creator, Adam was designed to love his work and his work was designed to prosper. But with the Fall, Adam’s authority over [the ground] is shattered. Now Adam’s careful and creative tilling of the earth will become toil, toil that at times will be more than he can bear. And worse, the land will be fruitless… Most read the phrase “by the sweat of your face” as having to do with difficult physical labor. But… this phrase is actually an old ancient Near Eastern idiom having nothing to do with hard work. Rather, this idiom speaks of anxiety - perspiration-inducing fear. Where does anxiety fit into God’s curse upon us? What we find in Genesis 3 is that because of the rebellion of the earth and the expulsion of Adam and Eve from God’s presence, humanity will now live their lives in dread that there will not be enough, that their labor will not meet the need. What if the crop fails? The livestock die? A fire, storm or drought? Can you relate? What about groceries this week? Rent, mortgage or car payment? College tuition? Retirement? What if I get sick? What if my kids get sick? I am a citizen of the richest nation in the world, I have a secure position at a well-endowed seminary and I still worry. And so do you. This is the curse of Adam - limited resources, an insecure future and a world that no longer responds to my command. Any Adams out there? (2)

This doesn’t mean material loss is easy. That same neighbor who bred our heifers watched helplessly as his shop burned down. He lost his tractor and all sorts of farm machinery, as well as his boat and motorhome. It was devastating. And yet, months later, he was still able to harvest his crops on time. A new RV (paid for by the insurance company) was soon parked in his driveway. God provided for his family’s needs despite the loss of his livelihood. 

Jehovah Jireh

Although worry has entered the world because of sin, God doesn’t forsake his children in their time of need. His name is Jehovah Jireh, “The Lord Provides”. God sees our trouble and he’ll see to it that we’ll make it through.

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Mt 6:8, ESV)

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (1 Pet 5:7, NLT)

It’s okay to be attached to our possessions, as long as it doesn’t supersede our attachment to God and other people. I love my motorbike. I’d be crushed if it got stolen, wrecked, or burned up, but I wouldn’t need to worry about commuting to work if I lost it. God would sort that out for me, just as he promised.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? (Mt 6:26-27, NIV)

In times of material loss, Habakkuk’s words ring true for believers: “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Hab 2:4, ESV). This doesn’t mean everything’s okay. And it doesn’t mean fruitless work doesn’t hurt. However, as followers of Christ, we don’t put our hope in earthly things to meet our needs, we hope in the Lord. And so, when trouble comes, we can respond like Habakkuk did.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. (Hab 3:17-18, ESV)

Sin leads to sweat-inducing anxiety, but God’s love brings peace, no matter what happens. Our concern is to be God’s kingdom, not our own. When we put his kingdom first, things have a way of working out. 

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. (Ps 37:25, NIV)

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mt 6:33, NIV)

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Rom 8:28, NLT)

Our heavenly Father knows what we need. It might turn out differently than we expect, but he'll get us through. Our job is to keep working as best we can and leave the results to him.

Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. (Ecc 11:1, NASB)

Economists call this “diversifying your portfolio”. Some investments pay off, others flop. The important part is to keep on keeping on. When our confidence is in the Lord, earthly losses become less frustrating. Setbacks and failures become less worrisome. Although our innate humanity, cursed by sin, stresses about everything, the peace that comes from God passes worldly understanding (Phil 4:7). Even when our efforts don’t work out for the twentieth time, hope keeps trying. We keep casting our bread upon the waters. You never know what’ll work out way beyond expectations one day. 

Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. (2 Chr 15:7, NIV)

Furthermore, by God’s grace, our eternal reward for following Christ will be beyond anything we could ever imagine. 

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Mt 6:20, ESV)

The frustrating loss we experience here on earth can’t touch what we have in Christ. 

Summary

It’s not easy to persevere in the face of fruitless work. When all our efforts fall short, sometimes a good cry is entirely appropriate. But hope pushes us on, and peace keeps us from getting too discouraged. Despite the curse of sin that not all work will produce results, God’s grace enables us to keep trucking. 

When it comes to the worries of life, the Bible’s message is this: “Don’t sweat it.” Not just the small stuff, but the big stuff too. God will ultimately reverse the curse of thorns upon the ground and the curse of sweat upon our face, because his work always achieves results. 

I send [my Word] out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. (Is 55:11, NLT)

And one day creation will be delivered from the curse of sin and all work will be productive. Until then, we do our best and leave the rest. 

Footnotes:

1.  Sandra Richter. The Epic of Eden. IVP Academic, 2008. Pg 104-105 

2.  Richter. Pg 110-111. 

© D. B. Ryen Incorporated, October 2024.