The Harvest Is Ripe

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” God has made the seasons and the time. The coming and going of the seasons remind us of the frailty of our lives. In Ecclesiastes 3 we find written that there is a time to be born and a time to die. Between birth and dying lies our life. Being born may be called the time of sowing, and dying the time of harvest. The time then between birth and death is the time of ripening for harvest.

We shall not always remain here upon the earth. Man goes to his long home. We are becoming ripe for the harvest. When the month of November has arrived, the harvest is almost at an end. It is then a good custom to set apart a day of thanksgiving. The Lord, who is the Giver of all good gifts, must be humbly acknowledged. With grief we note that this day is more for family gatherings than a day in which we acknowledge the name of the Lord for all His blessings. Also in this it is evident how much we have become conformed to the world. In this meditation I would like to ask you to pause and consider the meaning of the harvest in yourlife. The passing of the seasons has something to say to all of us. May the Lord grant us an observing heart.

The name Joel means “the Lord is God.” It has the same meaning as the name Elijah. The message which Joel had to bring in the name of the Lord was a message of judgment upon the sins of the people and a message of grace. It was an urgent call to repentance, as can be seen in Joel 2:12–13, “Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth Him of the evil.”

If there is no repenting of the evil and returning to the Lord, judgment will be executed. Great sins bring great judgments. In the tribunal of God it concerns the overthrow of the enemies of the Lord and the deliverance of His people. The tribunal of God is portrayed for us as a harvest. “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.” Just as the grain at harvest time and the grapes are cut off, so the Lord also comes to judge our lives.

The harvest does not arrive suddenly. There is a preparation for the harvest. There is a ripening process. After sowing the seed, the field is worked, cultivated, and fertilized. The cold north wind and the soft south wind, the former and latter rains, and the warm sun rays are necessary. However, all work performed in the field is done with harvest in view. The farmer waits until the right moment, and when it is time to harvest, he says to the reapers, “Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.” He doesn’t come too early, nor does he come too late. The growing time and the ripening time are then past. After all that the farmer has done in the field, he may expect the fruits of his labor.

Dear readers, harvest time has something to say to us. We have all been sown upon the field of the world. God created us good and after His own image. The Lord has sown good seed in the field. But through the wilful disobedience of our parents, Adam and Eve, the good seed has been spoiled, unfit for any good and inclined to all evil. The field of the world will never produce a harvest for the Lord, but only thorns and thistles. The Lord said, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake.” Satan desired to take the Lord’s harvest from Him, and it seemed that he had succeeded. There is none that seeketh after God, no, not one.

But wonder of free grace! There is a harvest for the Lord. The Lord Himself will take care of it. Before Satan had spoiled the good seed, the Lord in Christ had chosen a people to Himself who will show forth His praise. They are those purchased by the blood of Christ, as we read in Isaiah 53:10, “When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.” Christ came in the fullness of time to be put in the earth as seed and to die. The sharp sickle of God’s justice has cut off His life. In His death, Christ has fulfilled all righteousness. He became a curse so that He might deliver those who are under the curse of God’s law. All of that has been accomplished.

The seed of the serpent has been spoiled and shall never bring forth fruit for the Lord. But the Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, shall see His seed. And the question in our life is whether we belong to that seed. In nature it is impossible to change weeds into wheat But that which is impossible with men is possible with God. In Isaiah 55:13 we read, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

We have all been sown upon the field of the world, born as weeds which have no value other than to be burned. And how much labor has not the Lord spent upon His field? He has no desire in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn unto Him and live. The Lord has warned, invited, and called, “Turn you unto Me, and be ye saved.” In His unfathomable goodness He has pointed out the way of life, the way of repentance and confession of sin and guilt, the way of returning to the Lord, the way of grace and redemption through the blood of Christ.

Dear friends, what has all the labor which the Lord has done upon us brought about? Have you remained the same under all the labors of the Lord? Have the sun’s warm rays and the rain of heaven left you unmoved? Stand still a moment and consider that the sickle is ready to cut off your life. The harvest is ripe. How will the sickle find us? Will we be as a mere cornstalk without an ear of corn? When the measure of unrighteousness is full, will we appear before God without fruit for the Lord? Are all the callings, knockings, invitations, and threatenings in vain? What a day of terror that shall be, being cut off without conversion, without faith, without grace, without Christ! We shall be burned as chaff with unquenchable fire.

But the day of harvest is not yet here. There is still postponement. The Lord still waits; He still calls, still warns, still invites. You do not know how long; you are still ripening. The day of God’s longsuffering is not yet ended.

While He proffers peace and pardon

Let us hear His voice today,

Lest, if we our hearts should harden,

We should perish in the way.

But is God’s work then all in vain? God be thanked, it is not. We read in Matthew 11:25, “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in Thy sight.”

If there is fruit in our lives, it is not the work of man. We read in Romans 8 that whom God did predestinate, them He also called. That is the irresistible internal call. Through the Word and the Holy Spirit the heart is renewed and made alive, as we read in Ephesians 2, “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” The ripening process is a dying process. The north wind of discovery, the storms, the rain clouds and thunders of God’s righteous vengeance, and the curse of God’s holy law distress them, casting them down and causing them to tremble at His Word. There are times when they feared to be cast away forever. There is no growth or fruit to be seen. All good intentions to live a better life come to naught. The cold north wind of discovery brings the sinner in the depth of self-abasement and self-loathing.

The harvest is ripe. How will the sickle find us? Will we be as a mere cornstalk without an ear

of corn?

But in that depth blows also the south wind of comfort and encouragement. What an eternal wonder when the work of Christ in all His mediatorial engravings is revealed by the rain of the Spirit in the weary and heavyladen soul! It includes His necessity, loveableness, all-sufficiency, and beauty. If we through faith become united with Him, we learn what Jesus said, “I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” Then the saps of life are drawn from the root, Jesus Christ. As the fruit ripens and communion with Christ is experienced, the resulting fruit shall be a longing for the full communion with Christ.

This longing can be so strong, causing the cry to arise, “Oh Lord, when shall that day arrive that I shall be with Thee?” Although the day of harvest is anticipated, there is also fear for the sharpness of the sickle. Death is an enemy for God’s children. However, it is the last enemy, and it has also been disarmed by Christ for His dear children. What a happy day that will be for all those who are in Christ! It shall be the day of their coronation and deliverance from all sin and shortcomings. All tears shall be wiped away by the Lord. No new tears shall well up, for sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

Dear readers, stand still a moment. If the sickle were to come today in your life, if today you would be reaped from the land of the living by the heavenly reaper, where would your eternal destination be? There are but two possibilities—unquenchable fire for all who have cast aside His Word, and, His wheat which shall be brought into the garner.

Our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.

—Rom. 5:1–3

Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer,
Trials bring me to His feet,
Blessed place; oh, keep me there.

Rev. H. Hofman is pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Sioux Center, Iowa.

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