One of the ways even the casual observer of our world has to determine what “season” it is are decorations. Oh, I don’t mean what is sold in the stores—otherwise we would be in the midst of Christmas right now! No, I mean the decor people use on and in their homes. And the early week of cool, rainy weather brought out the fall decorations quite early this year. It seems like almost every block has a home that is already announcing themes of autumn and harvest.
(By this I am referring to the autumnal colors,leaves, fun scarecrows, pumpkins, squashes and such. The so-called Halloween items don’t count as “fall” or as decor in my book with the emphasis on death, gore and such. But that is for another time.)
I really enjoy the fall. The changing color of leaves and cooler or crisp evenings are a joy to me. And it has most often been a joyous time in our country as it is the time of harvest and, more often than not, bounty from God’s creation. That is why, even in the cities, you will find autumn decor with harvest themes. People who have never planted a vegetable or plowed a field (like me!) will often have harvest-themed highlights in their home. And why not? Harvest is a good thing.
The theme of harvest is one used throughout the Word of God. As early as Genesis 8:22 the Lord used the existence of harvest season as a sign of His steadfast love and promise keeping. In the Law given through Moses, the time of harvest was a time of recognizing that all good gifts came from the hand of God, and it was directed by the Almighty to be a time of celebration and feasting (Exodus 22:29; 23:16; 34:21).
Harvest time was also a season in which God directed His people to demonstrate their love and care for one another—and even strangers! In Leviticus 19 He directed Israel in this way:
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19: 9-10)
Because the harvest was a sign of God’s goodness and faithfulness to His people, they were to also be good and faithful by providing for others. (See also Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 24:19.)
God’s Word uses the harvest idea to express many great truths and illustrate several eternal principles. As mentioned earlier, it was a way to continually see and understand the covenantal faithfulness of God (Deuteronomy 26:1-4), and in the book of Ruth it served as the backdrop for what God was doing to establish the Messianic line (His greatest act of faithfulness!). A decent work-ethic as well as the sin of laziness are both illustrated often by use of the harvest in Proverbs (Proverbs 6:8; 10:5; 20:4). Throughout Isaiah’s prophecy the harvest is used as an illustration of God’s pleasure or of His judgement upon the wickedness of Israel, and Jeremiah speaks of the harvest being past as a sign that hope is gone (Jeremiah 8:20; compare Joel 3:13).
The New Testament also uses harvest as an illustrative point. It was the Lord Jesus who used the season as an example of God having prepared a people who would respond to the Gospel and be reconciled to Him. Jesus said to his disciples,
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38; and also Luke 10:2; John 4:35)
And He also used the harvest to illustrate the day when true believers will be finally separated from all those who claim to be disciples of Christ and yet do not truly belong to Him (Matthew 13:30).
Paul certainly used the picture of harvest as an illustration of God’s work in the hearts of people (Romans 1:13). But he also understood the season to reflect what would be accomplished by God’s people as they surrendered their lives and means to the Master. In 2 Corinthians 9:10 he writes, regarding the blessing of God,
“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.” (bold added for emphasis)
Later, in his epistle, James makes another claim regarding this same topic when he writes, “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:18)
Now there is an interesting and seldom heard concept: believers can sow that which allows for a “harvest of righteousness.” In order to make the verse a bit clearer, some translations have added the idea of seed to this verse in James, since it is not the fruit of the harvest that is sown but rather the seed that leads to the fruit. It is possible that James has in mind the idea of fruit being harvested and then, that fruit providing the seed that is re-planted in peace, as it were, which produces another harvest, and so on. Certainly the familiar cycle of sowing and reaping can be seen here, and such an understanding does no damage to the text.
In any case, however, the simple and basic idea is clear: there is an unavoidable relationship of cause and effect between godly wisdom (see James 3:17 for context), genuine righteousness (found only as we stand in Christ) and peace. As Isaiah declared in his book, “And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”
As James emphasizes, and all of the Bible consistently declares, a true Christian will demonstrate that he or she belongs to the Lord by the works they do in their daily living. An actual disciple of the Lord Jesus will possess the Lord’s wisdom as that disciple learns and yields to the Word of God, and that wisdom will manifest itself in righteous, selfless and peaceful living. This is true even in a world that has no peace of its own, for the believer’s peace is found in God who provides a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
So, what kind of harvest have you been planting for this year?
Posted on October 15th, 2008 by Pastor Larry
Filed under: Elim Refresher Newsletter, From the Pastor’s Pen
