The law of the harvest

HIGHLIGHT

Psalm 126:6 (ESV): 6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

EXPLAIN

The heading of this psalm doesn’t give many clues about the historical context in which it was written. I tend to picture this as the reaction of the Babylonian exiles, when they received the news that they would be allowed to return to their homeland.

In the final two verses of the psalm, we find the law of the harvest. You must sow in order to reap. Indeed, you reap according to how much you sow.

For the farmers then, what they reaped in harvest had to last them till the next harvest. They had to budget their tithe to God, what they would need to eat for a year, and what they must plant in order to get the next year’s harvest.

When a farmer did not have a good harvest, he could especially feel the pinch as he planted crops for the next year. He was literally throwing his food on the ground. No wonder, he cried as he sowed. Would his family survive on what was left?

Yet he did so in faith, trusting God and believing that sacrifice today results in rewards tomorrow. And when the next harvest resulted in bushels of grain, he came home shouting with joy!

APPLY

The Law of the Harvest still applies to us today. In work and school, we sacrifice and work hard for a payoff later. In our personal spiritual life, we do the hard work now so that we can reap a harvest of righteousness later. In the church, we also must be faithful to plant seeds for the good news today so that there will be a great harvest in the future.

RESPOND

Heavenly Father, help me to live by the Law of the Harvest, sacrificing and working faithfully so that I can reap a good harvest for you in the future. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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