The Harvest Blessing: Deuteronomy 14
Why do we celebrate Harvest
Festival? Ideas? The Bible mentions Harvest a lot. Lets find out.
Harvest Past - it's origin
Harvest Present - it's opportunity
Harvest Future - it's objective
Harvest Past - It’s Origin
Do
you know when the first Harvest Festival took place? We don’t know the date but
it is in the Bible.
“In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.” (Gen 4:3-4)
Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve. From the very beginning we see people bringing to God a portion of what he had given them. What did Abel bring? His ‘first born’. Why? To say ‘thank you’. After the Flood, what was the first thing Noah did when he and his family and all the animals touched dry land? Give back to God.
“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all
the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.” (Genesis
8:20)
Harvest Festival began as a way of saying thank you. Why?
1. God is the owner
“The earth is the LORD’S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Psalm 24:1)
“for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. (Psalm 50:10)
In
our services when we receive the offering at the end of the service, we say these
words “All things come from you O Lord, and of your own do we give you.” Of your
own do we give you. God is the Owner.
2. We are His stewards
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15)
“the land is mine and you are foreigners - you’re my tenants.” (Leviticus 25:23)
God
is the owner and we are his tenants, his servants. But we also say thank you because
we,
3. Trust God to Provide
“So do not worry, saying,
‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
That is why we say ‘thank you’ at Harvest. If that is the origin of Harvest, what about
Harvest Future - When will Harvest End? It’s Objective
What do you dream about? What do you hope for? A world free of war, free of suffering, free of poverty. No more war, no more pain, no more suffering. That is precisely what is going to happen one day. God is going to do it. Jesus is coming back to do it.
“Look - God’s dwelling place is among the people, and he will
dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. He will wipe every tear
from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for
the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)
How is that going to happen? Jesus says that he is like a farmer sowing seed in the world. The good news of Jesus is the seed. When we come to believe and trust in Him, we are born again and become part of his family and we receive eternal life. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us about the future,
“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands
for the people of the kingdom. …The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters
are angels.” (Matthew 13:37-39)
The world is going to be very different when Jesus returns with his angels to gather together his family. Jesus goes on to explain that when that day comes there will be a very special Harvest banquet.
“People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29).
In the last chapter of the Bible we have this picture:
“On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing
twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree
are for the healing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2)
The earth will become a paradise again. How many harvests? Amazingly - every month - and this harvest will lead to healing and reconciliation between nations.
So our Harvest Festival each year looks back to the first harvest when our ancestors
first learnt to say ‘thank you’. Our Harvest Festival looks forward to the great
Harvest to come when we shall be with Jesus for ever. A Harvest that will never
end! Harvest Past - its origins. Harvest Future - its objective. The challenge
is in here and now that the world is not yet as it should be. Half the world is
illiterate. Half the world is hungry. More than half the world still have not
heard the good news of Jesus. How then can we celebrate today?
Harvest Present - It’s Opportunity
God tells us to do three things in our bible reading from Deuteronomy.
1. Be Faithful: Set aside a tenth
“Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.” Deut. 14:22)
2. Be Thankful: Have a party
“Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.” (Deut. 14: 23)
Our Harvest celebration here last night was a direct response to this command. We celebrate Harvest by sharing a meal with one another in God’s presence.
A sacred party. Are we to blow it all on ourselves? No!
3. Be Fruitful: Give to those in need
Who are we to give to? Two groups:
“And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.” (Deut. 14:27)
Who are our Levites today? Those who serve Jesus in and through the church. This is our first priority in giving.
Then the passage goes on to say,
“… and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied.” (Deut. 14:28-29)
That is why we have a Tearfund focus today and also why our produce will go to help the homeless poor in London. This is the meaning of Harvest: Harvest Past - its origin - saying ‘thank you’. Harvest Future - its objective - being with God forever. Harvest Present - its opportunity - sharing in God’s work now. But if you are thinking - But I don’t know if I can afford to tithe - the Bible says - you can’t afford not to!
Why does the Lord tell us to tithe, to eat a harvest meal and share our harvest with the church and with the poor? What does verse 29 say?
“so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” (Deut. 14:29).
“so that…” So that by sharing in God’s work, we can also share in God’s blessing. What more motivation do we need? Imagine what this world would be like if every believer in Jesus practiced these Harvest principles? The blessing of God is promised when we take Harvest seriously. And if you forget, just look at your fingers and remember why God gave you ten. Lets pray.
For
background reading to this series see
Biblical
Principles for Wise Financial Management