Abundance of Water and Harvest: Part 1

For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey (Duet. 8:7-8)

For the next three weeks we will be focusing on this passage from Deuteronomy. It contains wonderful promises from God to the Israelites regarding the nature of the promised land He would bring them into, when they finally would depart the wilderness. You might be wondering how the promises of God to Isreal are applicable to us. First of all, we must consider that the Old Covenant was/is a precursor, or as Paul describes it a, “shadow of things to come”. (Colo. 2:17) Everything in the Torah, was a physical manifestation of the spiritual reality that we now walk in through Christ. This means that all the symbolisms of the ceremonies and ordinances, the experiences God walked Isreal through, the tabernacle, etc.; they were set as physical examples to us in preparation for the exposure of the spiritual reality behind the vail when Christ conquered death. That which was portrayed in the physical has been revealed in the spiritual through Christ Jesus.

So, with that, we are able to reflect on our own “Egypt”, “wilderness”, and “promised land” in a spiritual sense. What the Israelites walked out in the physical, we walk out in the spiritual. That also means the promises that were available to them in the physical, are now available to us in the spiritual. We can therefore lay claim on these promises as we walk into our spiritual “promised land”.

Additionally, Malachi 3:6 reminds us, “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” Further, James 1:17 reminds us that, “the Father of lights,” has, “no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” God is consistent! Unlike us, He does not waver, and He is not partial (Deut. 10:17; 2 Chron. 19:7; Job 34:19; Romans 2:11; Acts 10:34; Eph. 6:9; 1Peter 1:17, Colo. 3:25). He loves all His children equally, and is willing to extend His goodness in equal measure in kind. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) As the body of Christ we all have access to the gifts and promises available by the presence of the Holy Spirit, through Christ Jesus, from our Father God.

As a note, this also means He chastens equally. “For whom the Lord loves He chastens.” (Hebrews 12:6) And our response to His chastening makes the difference of when we depart from the wilderness, just like the Israelites response to God resulted in them wandering for 40 years. Our departure from the wilderness will come sooner or later depending how we respond to God’s voice in our life within the “wilderness”. So then, if we respond to Him like Caleb and Joshua, then what happens when we reach the Promised Land? What await us there? Well, this passage holds the answer to that question.

What are the promises available to us once we walk into our “promised land”? Well, to start, we are promised, “brooks of water,” and deep fountains that will be springing out of both, “valleys and hills.” As Jesus said to the woman at Jacob’s Well, “whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) So what is this water promised to us? It is the overflowing abundance of the Holy Spirit, filling us and guiding us through life in Him. This “water” will be available to us in every area of life. In every high moment, and in every low moment. It will never run dry, and we never have to go thirsty. It will bring us into “eternal life”.

Next, let us focus on the provision of wheat and barley. To understand this, we must analyze the nature of the two plants. They are very different actually, and they thrive in different conditions. Barley is a very hardy plant. It can grow even under extreme conditions; where as, wheat is quite sensitive, requiring very specific growing conditions. Where Barley can withstand a variety of different environmental challenges, wheat is extremely fragile, and will not thrive unless care is taken with soil balance, moisture, rain, and sun exposure; and even requires a shift in growing strategy as the plant shifts from growth to fruit/grain production.

We can understand this two-fold spiritually? One is applicable to the self, the other, is applicable to others. We are promised grain/fruit that will grow in all conditions, as well as that which takes tender care and cultivation to grow. We are promised a fruitful harvest, through the barley; but if we want a successful wheat harvest, we must take care to produce proper conditions. To tend to our spiritual life. If we do this, we are promised a successful wheat harvest, as well as a barley harvest.

Secondly, Jesus refers to the “harvest” as ministering to the people of God. “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matt. 9:37-38) As disciples, we are called to contribute to the harvest. To minister to the people of God. God provides the conditions and prepares the grain, but we must reap it. I believe this passage in Deuteronomy promises us that we will successfully contribute to the harvest the case be like barley or like wheat. Whether the harvest comes through ease, or through meeting special. God’s Spirit will supply and lead the conditions, but we will be there to meet them, both the hard and easy cases. In summary, we will be overflowing with the Holy Spirit in all terrains of life, and we will reap a plentiful harvest in our lives, as well as being there to minister to the harvest of God in abundance through the outpouring of His Holy Spirit within us.