“Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” –Jeremiah 5:24
Concerning rain, timing is everything. You may have a lot of rain at planting, nothing during growing, and you will have a lousy crop at harvest. You may have nothing at planting, and then a lot at harvest; you will not be able to get to your crop. The blessing of rain walks hand in hand with the timing of it. God controls both the rain and when it falls.
In planting, you want a former rain, a rain that comes in swiftly after you plant. This supercharges your crop and gives you strong germination. Right before harvest, you want a latter rain. A rain that drenches your crop and gives it that last drink to boost it up some more before you have to bring it in. Obviously, you need rain in between, but the former and the latter rain at the perfect time gives you an abundant harvest. In the above text, Jeremiah speaks to a people who have a “revolting and rebellious heart.” They do not fear God, that is to say, they do not respect or revere him. They do not recognize that God gives the rain, and reserves the harvest. Imagine if you will, a place where there is no grocery store, no Wal-Mart, no fast food chains; a place where the food you eat is solely provided by the land you own. This is the reality of much of the world today, and this is the reality that the people in Jeremiah’s day lived. They were totally dependent on the rain, and on the timing of the rain. They were relying on something that was far beyond their control. Who on earth can command the rain? What can we do to stop the rain from falling? The nutrients and abundance of a field is reserved by God for man, and given by His hand. These people in Jeremiah’s day are reaping the fruits of bounty on the back of the Almighty, and they have no humility or thankfulness in their heart. There is only open rebellion and a false belief that they are the giver of life. Do you see yourself in this text? Our lives are our field, and in it we work and labor. We sow what little seeds of time we have and earnestly expect a return on our investment. We hope for a harvest, and rejoice when there is one; but to whom is the glory given? What do you have that God did not give? What did we gain that God did not first provide? “Ye are not your own but bought with a price.” One of the greatest tragedies that ever befell this country is the acceptance of evolution and anti-creationism. Under the cloak of this theory the devil crept in and sowed a seed of doubt that would undermine Christianity entirely; and that seed is this. God is not the creator. When the people accept that there is no creator, then they believe that there is no governor of the rain; and if we believe that, then we accept that we are lords over our lives.
If God chooses to send the former and latter rain, then we must praise Him for it. If he chooses to withhold the rain, that is in His providence and we must bless His name. God knows when to send the rain and he knows when the blessing is needed. The righteous trust God and praise God in the dry season and the rainy season. The wicked trust themselves in all seasons, and “neither say they in their hearts let us now fear God”. When we refuse to accept a God that sends the rain, then we break the first commandment; and though we have all the goods this world can offer, we will want it on the Day of Judgment. “Fear ye the Lord all ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him.”
