I cannot believe the summer has almost passed us by already. It seems like I was just running the rototiller! The first day of fall is on Saturday, September 23. Soon gardeners will be harvesting their final crops.
Did you know that the harvest was at a completely different time of the year in ancient Israel? Dry summers and wet winters meant that planting occurred in the late fall and harvest in the early summer. Planting grain began in October or November, after the autumn rains had softened the soil. After planting the seed by scattering it by hand, the farmer went over the field again with his plow, or he dragged branches across it. This helped to bury the seed and protect it from birds or strong winds. The farmer hoed his fields from December until February to keep the weeds down.
Farming was the principal occupation of people in Bible times. Of all the trades and occupations of the Bible, Jesus talks about farmers the most. Jesus would have been quite familiar with the agricultural pursuits of his time. Since farming was so much a part of the lives of the people in biblical times, it is often used by Jesus to explain things. There is a lot of wisdom given throughout the whole Bible using the harvest concept:
- Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. –2 Corinthians 9:6
- Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. — Galatians 6:8
- Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. — Galatians 6:7
- Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity, and the rod of his fury will fail. — Proverbs 22:8
- My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. A breath from God destroys them. They vanish in a blast of his anger. — Job 4:8-9
- Let’s not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest—if we do not give up. — Galatians 6:9
Let these verses encourage all of us as a church to keep moving in the right direction, scattering Gospel seeds everywhere, so that we can reap a great harvest for Jesus. Let us cultivate love and peace, and let us not give up…no matter what! God will give us a great harvest if we keep plowing forward.
It’s good to be your pastor!
In The Lord’s service till the last fish is caught, <><
Pastor Chris
