Tuesday, 15 September 2020 Deuteronomy 11:1-21
‘And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you ......... then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.’ -Deuteronomy 11:13-14
As everything in life has a primary purpose, so here we find Israelites’ primary purpose- it was and is to love God and obey His commandments! In this chapter Moses clarifies God’s reward to the faithful that would motivate us to love God and obey His commandments. This is in order to enjoy the blessings of obedience such as to enjoy the days of heaven on earth instead of falling under the curse of rebellion, namely, going down to the days of hell.
The primary purpose of a pen is to write. Similarly, the primary purpose of an automobile is to transport us from place to place. Could it be that so many Christians are defeated because so few are fulfilling their primary purpose? We should never walk or live away from the primary purpose that God intended in our life. The first step of obedience is to listen carefully to understand it before you follow earnestly. Always remember that you cannot obey in your own strength, but through obedience by faith in the strength He provides through the Holy Spirit.
In the Bible, water represents God’s Word; just as the rains always nourish the land which will produce high yield of crops, the word of God will always accomplish His purpose and it will never return to Him void. As we all know, the natural source of water is through rain fall. Here the Scripture mentions about the former rain and the latter rains. Joel 2:23-24 (NKJV): “Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.” We may also refer to the Scriptures Hosea 6:3, Zechariah 10:1 and James 5:7. The reference is to the rain cycle of the land of Israel. The former, planting rain occurs in the fall after the six-month drought of summer. Then there are occasional winter rains. The harvest rain begins in March and is referred to as the "latter-rain."
Because of the several references to the former and latter rain we conclude that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the Church Age will follow the pattern of the natural rain of the land of Israel. The spiritual fulfilment of the former, planting rain is described in the Book of Acts (Acts 2:17). Then there have been "mercy drops" during the "winter" of the Church Age. Now we are moving toward spring, so to speak, and the coming of the Lord. If this is true we are about to witness the mightiest outpouring of all time. There are two principal purposes to be accomplished by the latter-rain outpouring-the first purpose is to empower the saints to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to every nation for a witness. The second purpose is to bring Christ to maturity in the saints. The time is so close- hence let us all walk worthy of His calling upon our lives in fulfilling His purpose.
Prayer:
Almighty God, we long for the outpouring the latter rain into our lives as is needed for the end time revival. Amen.