Psalm 126:4-6: Bringing in the Sheaves

In our Long View, I wanted to share from this morning's Bible Journaling group... 

Today I was reading the assigned passages of Zechariah 10-12, Psalms 126, and Luke 14, which span 500 years and three different genres, yet contain a number of common themes. Let me start with Psalm 126:4-6…

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
    like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears
    shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
    bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
    bringing his sheaves with him. (v.4-6)

When I read Psalm 126, I always think of the TV show, Little House on the Prairie, because “Bringing in the Sheaves” was the hymn they always sang in church. The people of Israel were an agrarian society so harvest imagery was tied to life and death issues. When you plant will you get a harvest? You are in effect putting your own food back into the ground hoping for a return. As the streams in the Negeb are totally dependent upon the rain for restoration, so we are totally dependent upon the gifts from heaven to experience the restoration that we need in these days. Yet, it is wonderful that such a hope is not in vain, for it is God’s very mission to bring his people back, and not just the Jews but the Gentile nations as well (e.g., Zech. 2:11).

The image is continued in Zechariah when the Lord speaks of returning his people to the land after the exile.

“I will whistle for them and gather them in,
    for I have redeemed them,
    and they shall be as many as they were before.
Though I scattered them among the nations,
    yet in far countries they shall remember me,
    and with their children they shall live and return. (Zech. 10:8-9)

Much of this section of Zechariah speaks of either near-future events of their returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple or mid-future events including the advent of the Messiah who would judge the false shepherds and yet be rejected and die, and even far-future events that are tied to “that day”(used 20x in Zech.) elsewhere called “the Day of the Lord” when the Messiah would return in righteous power.

Then in my final passage, with the words of Jesus in Luke 14, we see the heart of the Father to have all participate in the great banquet he has given. Yet, some refused to come to dinner…and come they will not. The righteous anger of the Lord moves him to missionally extend his goodness to others… a picture of the Gospel message extending to all the Gentiles. 

"So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 

And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 

And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.’” (Luke 14:21-23)

Where do I fit in this scenario? Will I answer his loving call, or will I merely make lame excuses today? Will I participate in this Christ-centered mission to bring in the precious sheaves to the blessed celebration? I suppose it depends upon whether I am captivated by the love of Christ or by the quickly tarnishing baubles of this world and the mirage of my own independence.

Lord, thank you for your consistent steadfast love that calls me back, that delivers me to return, and that produces fruit in my life. May I respond to your wonderful invitation today! 

Friend or Foe? How do we look at others?

Photo by Zach Savinar on Unsplash

Our survival instinct runs strong. Thank God that he has given us the ability to make instant decisions involving threat assessment. It is what enables us to react differently to cute puppies than to coiled rattlesnakes. But sociologically we make threat assessments about people that often diverge from how Jesus sees the person in question.  

I recently wrote a blog addressed to pastors and ministry leaders about the danger of developing a hyper-vigilant attitude towards those outside their circle of influence. However, this issue reaches beyond the clergy to a wider group. As shepherds, parents, and neighbors, how do we look at people we meet as we go through our day, that we don't know or with whom we have not yet developed a mutual trust? 

In this article, I used the metaphor of the controversial police tactic of  "stop and frisk" to bring light to our defensiveness. While people may be untrustworthy if our trust is in Christ, we can still engage them in the spirit of Christ's love!

Here is the link to the post, Arresting Ministerial "Stop & Frisk"

Photo: Creative Commons

Another older post on this blog defied conventional wisdom by encouraging followers of Jesus Christ to actually talk To Strangers.