This morning I am reflecting on some passages from the prophet Amos. The Lord has spoken to me several times through these passages, and usually it has to do with times of acceleration. This morning, I was reflecting on these verses as being about quickly changing seasons of life. Here are the verses - Amos 9:11, 13-14 NIV:
[11] “In that day “I will restore David's fallen shelter---I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins---and will rebuild it as it used to be,"...
[13] “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, [14] and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit."
This morning, like usual, I am drawn to verse 13, and thinking about the imagery the Lord gave Amos. There are actually two images, the one of the plowman overtaking the reaper, and the other the planter being overtaken by the one treading grapes.
I find the first image most interesting this morning, because it speaks of an unfinished harvest. The reaper is the one who is cutting down the grain stalks, getting the grain ready for the harvest, and he is being overtaken by the one who is plowing, preparing the fields for the next planting. If the plowman is overtaking the reaper, that means he is plowing under some of the unharvested grain!
No farmer that I know of, of their own volition, would ever plow under a harvest, for the harvest is the whole point of farming. I can think of a couple of reasons one would do this, but both don't seem to fit. First, the farmer could have such a bountiful harvest already that he just doesn't have any more room, so plows under the extra. Second, the harvest is blighted, diseased and unusable, so the farmer is forced to abandon the harvest, and just plow it under, hoping for a better harvest next year. However, in this case, it seems that the Lord has accelerated the timing of the change of seasons, and I can almost see the reaper running to try and stay ahead of the one plowing, but in the end, the season changes, and a certain amount of the work of the harvest is left undone.
I find it very encouraging that the next image, seems to follow quickly upon the first, and could represent the next season. Please note that the crop also changes, if this applies to same farmer, he goes from being a grain farmer to harvesting a vineyard. The grain is used to make bread, symbolic of the word, and of course the grapes make wine, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. One could interpret this as a time of transition from learning and growing in the word, to moving in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Another significant note is that vineyards normally take years to become productive, but in this case, the harvest of the grapes is almost as soon as the vines are planted. Clearly the Lord appears to be compressing multiple years into a very short period of time. This is exponential acceleration, and clearly outside of natural time periods, which again speaks to me of the supernatural, and the power of the Holy Spirit! I like the sound of that!
So, my encouragement this morning is that this season of transition that I am fully in the midst of, which seems to be unexpected and a bit early, is actually allowing me to step into a new season, and maybe even a new and different harvest!
I would say that if you too are experiencing a shift in seasons, or an unanticipated acceleration, that this is clearly a good thing! The purpose (verse 11) is restoration and renewal, and the outcome (verse 13 & 14) is abundance, blessing, joy, flowing in power of the Holy Spirit, and abundant fruit!
Amen, and Amen!
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