“The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved.” [Jeremiah 8:20 N.R.S.V.]
I confess I do not like Autumn! I will admit the colors of the leaves are beautiful, the days are often bright and crisp, and the sky clearer than any other time of the year. Still I know that when Autumn comes, Winter cannot be far behind! As the days get shorter and shorter, daylight becomes less and less, and I get more and more depressed. Aches and pains that are not noticeable in warmer times cry out for attention and remedy when the weather gets cold. Spiritually I find myself wanting to go into hibernation until Spring comes as if God is only with us in warm weather.
This seems to be what the prophet Jeremiah was saying in the verse quoted above. Spring and Summer were the times when armies went forth to battle. When the harvest was past, the time for fighting was ended. The armies of Babylon had lain seize to Jerusalem. The leaders of Judah, both the priests and the king’s advisors, believed that God would fight on their side. They remembered when the Assyrian army threatened Jerusalem after the fall of the Northern Kingdom in 721 B.C. Just when it seemed that the city would be defeated, the Assyrians withdrew. The city was saved. They believed that God had saved them.
So when faced with this threat from Babylon they simply waited for God to save them once again. Great hopes were there when Spring came. Surely during the season of battles God would defeat their enemy and drive that army away from Jerusalem. It did not happen! Now the time of fighting was over. The harvest is past and Summer ended and they were not saved. They must have faced Autumn and the coming of Winter with the same depression I do! And we both are wrong!
For you see God is not just with us during the Spring and Summer, rather God is with us all the time. Anytime is the time for salvation! So if you have never accepted God’s love for yourself, if you have never publicly professed your faith, if you are not saved, you do not have to wait! Often we think that salvation can only come during a Confirmation Class or time of Revival; but anytime is the time for salvation. Why don’t you invite Jesus into your heart today?
Also, please take the time to remember that God is still with us during Autumn and Winter as well as in the Spring and Summer.
Richard
