"But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest."
Jeremiah 5:23-24
Part 2
Yesterday:
“But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart;”
“They are revolted and gone.”
Have the things of God become tiresome to you? Beware! Do not let your heart grow cold.
Today:
“Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain,”
God’s people refused even to acknowledge the One that blessed them with rain. She would not speak of Him out loud, nor even in her heart.
Rain in the scriptures often represents God’s blessing.
“Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit,” (Leviticus 26:4).
“Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary,” (Psalm 68:9).
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it,” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
God who so faithfully sent His people rain to bless them with crops, was disobeyed by them and they didn’t even want to remember Him in their hearts.
“Both the former and the latter, in his season:”
God first made the promise of seasons after the great flood.
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease,” (Genesis 8:22).
The LORD promised His people the blessing of rain for their crops.
“That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil,” (Deuteronomy 11:14).
“The former rain,” fell from mid-October until the beginning of December. These rains made it possible for the ground to be softened for plowing and planting. Without these rains, the seed would fail to germinate. These rains were vital for the planting season.
“The latter rain,” or the “spring rains” fell in March and April and were necessary for the ripening plants to mature for harvesting. Without these rains, the crops would inevitably fail.
Could we become complacent with God’s blessings as Israel did? Come back tomorrow and let’s talk some more.