01 Jan Harvest Time – Jan 13

By Ferdinand Haratua

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “harvest”? Say someone comes to tell you that you are going to reap plenty of harvest this year, what do you think it means?

Most of us would take the word “harvest” to mean blessing, specifically, material and financial blessings; or if you are still studying, harvest means getting the best grades; or if you are single, it could mean finding the one you have always been dreaming of.

Now, what does the Bible really say about harvest? A quick search on the word “harvest” on the ESV Bible returns sixty-six verses that contain the English word “harvest”, and only about twelve of them are in the New Testament. In all the twelve verses found in the New Testament, interestingly none of them uses the word “harvest” to mean material or financial blessings. Not a single one.

Out of the twelve verses in the New Testament, Jesus words account for seven of those verses. When Jesus uses the word “harvest”, he always uses it to mean harvesting souls in the end times (Matt 9:37–38, 13:30, 13:39; Luke 10:2; John 4:35). And so are with Paul, James and John, when they use the word “harvest” none of them use it to mean material or financial blessings (Rom 1:13; 2 Cor 9:10; James 3:18; Rev 14:15, 19).

Having said that, the word “harvest” was sometimes used in the Old Testament to refer to some kind of material blessings. But it comes with accompanied instructions to share the harvest with the poor (Lev 19:9, 23:22; Deut 24:19) and to bring the harvest back to God (Ex 22:29).

If you are a Christian, Harvest is never just about material or financial blessings, for our God is much more than that. God’s concern is for the souls of His creation. There is a great harvest coming our way, and we must take part for we cannot afford to sit down and do nothing. What can we actually do? This year, simply commit to make one disciple, and start this by committing to become a disciple of Jesus yourself.

Highlights:

• In all the twelve verses found in the New Testament, none of them uses the word “harvest” to mean material or financial blessings. Not a single one.
• When Jesus uses the word “harvest”, he always uses it to mean harvesting souls in the end times.