Chapter Chat: Are we prepared for the final harvest, asks Rev John Noble, grand chaplain of the Royal Black Institution
As the trees become increasingly bare, as carpets of leaves appear on the sides of many roads, and as British Summer Time ends for another year, so we are acutely aware that we have travelled deeper into autumn and are preparing for winter.
Similarly, fields that for many months were filled with growing grass, crops of different varieties, animals aplenty and all forms of farming machinery, are now empty as the land also settles into this more barren time of the year.
For our farmers, and all those who are part of the rural community, the busyness of a harvest season has almost passed, and the quieter oversight of God’s created environment is beginning.
In the Scriptures, from its first mention in Genesis right through to the Book of Revelation, harvesting crops and filling barns in preparation for nourishment through all seasons is consistently highlighted, as is the harvesting of souls for the Kingdom of God.
From creation and the Garden of Eden, man has farmed the land – as he still does today.
Rural processes are not as rudimentary as they were in days of yore, yet we read in 2nd Chronicles 32 that 27 millennia ago King Hezekiah “made buildings to store the harvest of grain, new wine and olive oil; and he made stalls for various kinds of cattle, and pens for the flocks”.
And we are reminded in Psalm 85, “The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest”.
Today, man ploughs, sows, and reaps but it is God who gives the growth and provides for us. However, in the ‘Parable of the Weeds’ in Matthew 13, Jesus reminds us of a problem faced by farmers and all who work in any way on the ground – and He applies it to the separation of people on the Day of Judgement.
The story begins with a process that spans the years, that of sowing the seed, tending it, and leaving the growth to God.
However, evil forces were also at work, and it was not until the crop began to grow that the presence of weeds among the wheat was discovered.
A comparison to society and the world is very clear in life today. Evil in the world is identified in war, terrorism, murder, and theft, right down to untruthfulness towards, and disrespect for, other human beings.
We live in a broken world where good and evil co-exist and God’s Word is dishonoured, disobeyed, and rejected – as is God Himself.
The owner of the crop in the parable was content to let both wheat and weeds remain until the appropriate time.
“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.”
Just like the farmer sorts the wheat from the chaff, God will deal with the separation of good and evil in His time.
The great encouragement and satisfaction come annually for the farmer and his work when the harvest is brought safely home.
All the hours spent preparing the ground, sowing, planting, dealing with the weeds and reaping reaches that point when it all becomes worthwhile.
The parable assures us that God will deal with the evildoers in this world: “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
There will be those who, out of rejection, rebellion, even ignorance, will find themselves as the weeds in the harvest field.
Yet we are living in days of grace where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is fervently preached, taught, and lived out – a message given in love and expectation.
Thus, when the final harvest of Christ’s Kingdom comes, we need the certainty spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 13, “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear”.
This certainty comes not in the telling but in our response to the teller.
Where do we stand before the Lord of the harvest today?