The harvest is past
The summer is ended
And we are not saved
(Jeremiah 8:20)
The “weeping prophet” Jeremiah wrote these words as he foresaw the impending invasion of Judah by the dreaded Babylonians. His concern wasn’t for the grain harvest or the summer season – it was that his people had squandered their opportunity to turn back to God and avoid the approaching devastation.
There is a season for harvest. When that season is over, it’s too late. A crop that is left in the field deteriorates and is lost. Even so, Judah had her season to repent and return to God. She had stubbornly refused. Now it was too late. Judah’s condition had so deteriorated that God would tolerate her no longer. Seventy long years of captivity awaited.
Our calendar says our summer has ended. Fall is here, and winter is on the way. Our grain harvest will be over soon. But more importantly God’s spiritual calendar says now is the time for a spiritual harvest of souls. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). This is the time to learn and obey the gospel of Christ! Now is the time to teach our families, friends, and neighbors to do the same. Let us not squander our opportunities lest we also lament, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved!”
