Greetings brethren! I hope you had a wonderful Feast! I certainly enjoyed spending time with our brethren in Sri Lanka during the Feast of Tabernacles. We had wonderful spiritual and physical food, fellowship and weather. I’m sure you did as well.

This year as I was preparing messages for the Feast, I studied the harvest seasons of Palestine and I tried to visualize the life of an Israelite living in the land of Canaan. As the Israelites journeyed to Jerusalem for the Feast, they would have endured several months of hot dry weather. The latter rains would have ended by April and it would have been very rare to receive any rainfall from May until after the Feast of Tabernacles. Water would have been used sparingly during the months leading up to the Feast. During the Feast the Israelites prayed to God asking him to bless them with the early or former rains. This was symbolized in the water-pouring ceremony that was conducted during the Feast. It was probably in reference to this ceremony that Christ said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

Prior to the Feast the Israelites would have harvested figs, dates, pomegranates, grapes and olives. The feast was a time of great joy, coming at the end of the harvest season. When the Israelites returned home after the Feast they were faced with a lot of hard work. Shortly after the Feast the early rains began to fall – the much needed water began to soften the hard baked earth which allowed the farmers to begin planting their grain for the spring harvest. In the Bible there are several references to plowing in order to ready the field for the seed but one author described the process as being more like scraping and scratching. Breaking up the hard, stony soil for planting was hard work. But if the farmer was willing to invest himself in this hard work, he would enjoy the fruit of his labor during the spring harvest. Psalms 126:5-6 instructs us, “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Evidently the “lazy” chose not to invest in the necessary hard work for a good harvest; “The lazy man will not plow because of winter; he will beg during harvest and have nothing” (Proverbs 20:4).

Perhaps there is a lesson that we can learn from the experience of the Israelites. We have experienced a very joyous Feast with fellow members of God’s church. We heard wonderful messages about the kingdom of God, enjoyed good food and fellowshipped with brethren. Now that we have returned home from the Feast it is easy to experience post-Feast letdown. We are faced with problems that we left behind as we enjoyed the Feast. Sometimes we face persecution for taking time off from work or school. Our co-workers, neighbors or relatives do not share the same vision of the future. We return to a society that has very different values than those of the kingdom of God. So at times after the Feast, we must “go forth weeping” being willing to invest the necessary hard work for spiritual growth. With God’s guidance and help, we can face our trials and overcome our problems or shortcomings. Through the power of His Spirit, we can be an ambassador for His kingdom. Then as we gather with our brethren for the spring holy days, we can do so with joy knowing that we have produced spiritual fruit that is pleasing to God and reflects the kingdom that we pray for each day. As we examine ourselves prior to Passover, the beginning of the spring harvest, we will be able to measure spiritual growth that we have experienced. Let’s invest the effort now so that we can enjoy a wonderful, joyous spring feast!

© 2007 United Church of God, AIA - Pilipinas