Seder 96: Joel 3---A Harvest of Judgment

A number of biblical passages speak of harvests of salvation.  Jesus used this kind of metaphor in John 4:34-38 and Matthew 9:35-38.  

Harvest imagery is also used in the Bible in prophecies of eschatological judgment.  For example, Joel 3 looks ahead to Israel's restoration in the Day of the Lord and the judgment of nations that have oppressed her.  In verse 13 we read, "Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.  Go in, tread, for the winepress is full.  The vats overflow, for their evil is great."  Commentator David A. Hubbard explains, "The wickedness...of the nations is so great that they are as ripe...for judgment as grapes would be for harvest at the peak of their season."

Other passages that use similar imagery for judgment are Isaiah 63:1-6 and Revelation 14:14-20.  In his Tyndale Old Testament Commentary on Joel and Amos (1989), Hubbard notes that the passage in Revelation 14 "draws heavily upon this scene in Joel."

Seder 96: Leviticus 23---Festivals of Rest, Joy, Remembrance, and Harvest

 Leviticus 23 lays out God's festival calendar.  The biblical festivals are gifts of God to his people, times of rest and times of joy.  They are also times of remembrance---times to remember God's mighty works of salvation, and times to call upon God to remember his people.

For ancient Israel the festivals celebrated the harvests.  At the start of the spring barley harvest, a sheaf of the firstfruits of that harvest was waved before God, thanking God for the harvest and dedicating it to him, the source of all blessings (vv 9-14).  

This ritual was carried out "on the day after the Sabbath" (v 11).  The text does not specify which exact Sabbath this was, and so it was up to communities keeping this festival to make a decision on this matter.  The choice determined the timing of Shavuot/Pentecost, which came 50 days after that Sabbath.  

In Jesus' day the Sadducees began the count to Pentecost on the first Sunday after Passover, while the Pharisees began the count on Nisan 16, the day after the first day of unleavened bread.  Today Jews follow the Pharisaic tradition, while Christians basically follow the Sadducees, with Pentecost seven weeks after Resurrection Sunday.  In 2022 both methods coincide, with the count beginning on April 17 and ending on June 5.  

Pentecost is the time for another offering of firstfruits, this time the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (vv 15-17).  

Christians recognize the harvest festivals as symbolizing spiritual harvests of people. The firstfruits ritual during the days of unleavened bread is associated with the resurrection of Jesus.  "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep," Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15:20.  Some have suggested that when Jesus made the ascension to which he referred in John 20:17, he may have been carrying out a sort of wavesheaf offering.  

The next to be resurrected are those who are "those who belong to Christ" (v 23).  This group can be associated with Pentecost and is also referred to in the New Testament with firstfruits language ( Rom 8:23; 11:16; 2 Thes 2:13; James 1:18; Rev 14:4).  

A later, larger harvest is symbolized by the Feast of Tabernacles in the fall.

Rob Wilson looked at the concept of firstfruits and the festival calendar in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 19, 2022.

Seder 96: Psalm 126---Sowing Seeds in Faith

 For the Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalm from Babylon starting in 538 BC, coming back to the land of promise was like a dream come true (Ps 126:1).  Words of the prophets were being fulfilled.  The repetition of "the Lord has done great things for them/us" in verses 2-3 suggests that the psalmist may have had in mind in particular Joel's prophecy, since a similar phrase also appears twice in Joel 2:20-21.  (Walter C. Kaiser points this out in his book The Journey Isn't Over.)

But other things in the prophecies were not happening yet---e.g., the bountiful harvests described in Joel 2:22 and 3:18 had not occurred, as we see in Haggai 1:6.  And so the people prayed for further restoration--Ps 126:4.

In answer to their prayers, God sent prophets Haggai and Zechariah, who affirmed that God would bring blessing when the people stepped out on faith and put God first.  Psalm 126:5-6 uses the imagery of a harvest to communicate this lesson.  

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!" (v 5)

Sowing may involve tears, since one has to give up grain that could provide food right now in order to plant a crop of grain.  Before anything can sprout, the seed must die (see John 12:24).  But the sacrifice is worth it.  The harvest reaped will far exceed the seed sown.  The psalm concludes, "He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shourts of joy, bringing the sheaves with him."

It is still the case that there is much fulfillment of biblical prophecies yet to occur.  We should continue to sow seed, because the greatest harvest still lies ahead.