The Harvest
 By Dave Butts

    I love the harvest. It is a great time of the year. When I was pastoring in a rural community, I saw firsthand that the harvest was the most critical time of the year. During those fall months, all the hard work from spring and summer was rewarded as the crops were brought in from the fields.

    Harvest was a time of intense labor. Farmers knew they often had just a short period of time when the crops were ready and the weather would cooperate to allow them to bring in the harvest before harsh winter weather began. From early in the morning until late at night, farmers worked hard to assure a successful harvest.

    There is another kind of harvest that is happening today. It is a harvest of souls. This spiritual harvest is a critical time, much as the fall harvest of crops. It is also a time of intense labor, in which the laborers cooperate with the Lord of the Harvest to reap a harvest of souls.

    The Bible speaks much of both kinds of harvest. It is a fascinating Bible study to examine this topic. I’ve selected some key scriptures relating to both kinds of harvest and made a few comments on them. Let’s study the harvest together.

   "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field" (Exodus 23:16).

    Harvest is a time of celebration. In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving in the fall as a time to rejoice over the harvest and thank the Lord who provides all we need. Spiritual harvest should also be a time of celebration. The Bible speaks of the angels in heaven rejoicing over one lost soul who has been found. Do we reflect that kind of rejoicing over the spiritual harvest?

   "For seven days celebrate the Feast to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete" (Deuteronomy 16:15).

    The theme of harvest celebration continues in this passage, with an additional teaching that it is the Lord who blesses the harvest, and not only that, but all the work of their hands. This awareness of God’s intervention on their behalf should bring great joy to the people of God. What a joy it is in our lives when we realize the blessing of God upon our work!

   "He also made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks. He built villages and acquired great numbers of flocks and herds, for God had given him very great riches" (2 Chron.32:28-29).

    The Bible speaks of the way God blessed Hezekiah with great wealth and a wonderful harvest. King Hezekiah did his part in building places to store the crops that the Lord provided. It is always a partnership when dealing with the Lord. He is our provider, whether spiritually or materially, but He expects us to prepare to receive from Him.

   "He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son" (Proverbs 10:5).

    This proverb underscores what was spoken of in the last passage. God calls us to partner with Him in the harvest. He provides, but we have a role in this as well. This disgraceful son slept when he needed to be working in the harvest.

   "The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved" (Jeremiah 8:20).

    The weeping prophet laments over a harvest that did not bring joy and fulfillment. It is here that you begin to make the shift from a purely material harvest to a spiritual harvest. The idea of harvest and salvation begin to come together in this passage.

   "Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe" (Joel 3:13).

    It is a spiritual harvest that Joel speaks of here, to be echoed in the New Testament, especially in the Book of Revelation.

   "Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’" (Matthew 9:37-38).

    Jesus refers to a harvest of souls that is ready to be brought in and a lack of willing workers. Many churches can identify with His statement. What we need to emphasize here, however, is the Lord’s command to pray. The first job of the Church in the midst of harvest is to pray to the Lord of the Harvest for an increase in workers.

   "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…The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are the angels" (Matthew 13:30, 39).

    This is a fascinating teaching by Jesus concerning those in the church who are not true believers. These weeds will grow alongside the true plants and in the end, the Lord will sort them out. What a relief it is to know that it is not our responsibility to pull out the weeds from among us. It is also clear in this passage that Jesus says the ultimate harvest will be at the end of the age.

   "Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor" (John 4:35-38).

    Not everyone has the same job description in the Kingdom of God. Some plant, some water, and some reap. All of us though, are to be vitally concerned with a great harvest of souls for God.

   "I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles" (Romans 1:13)

    The Apostle Paul had such a passion for souls. His desire to come to Rome was that he might share in harvesting souls there.

   "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9).

    The harvest comes to those who do not give up. There is nothing easy about the harvest, whether it is physical or spiritual. We need to encourage one another to not become weary in doing good. The harvest is coming!

   "Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, ‘Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested" (Revelation 14:15-16).

    The ultimate harvest is coming. Jesus is coming for His own. I believe the great harvest is beginning. People from every tribe and tongue and nation are hearing and responding to the Good News in our day. It is not a day for drawing back or sleeping.

    Let us be those who are not weary in doing good…filled with a passionate love for Jesus…and longing for a great harvest of souls to lay at Christ’s feet at His appearing.