Joel 1:11
“Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for
the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is
perished.”
The harvest is important to the future of a plant. Imagine if all
apple trees never produced one more apple. If that happened, apples
would be extinct within a few years. The harvest is important to the
perpetuating of the apple tree.
Likewise, the harvest is important to perpetuating Christianity.
The goal of every parent should be that their children continue on in
the ways of the LORD after they are gone to Heaven. We must never forget
that we are one generation away from becoming extinct. All it takes is
for one generation to not perpetuate Christianity.
God says in the verse above that “the harvest of the field is perished.”
What a sad commentary for the people of God. A nation that should have
had the blessings of God upon them for every generation saw their
harvest perish. Something had to cause the harvest to perish. Something
caused the next generation not to want what their parents had. God shows
us the answer as to why the harvest perished in verse 10.
First, the harvest perished because they wasted God’s daily provision. God says the field is wasted because “the corn is wasted.” The “corn” pictures
God’s daily provision. God supplied the needs of His people, but they
wasted it. Their children thought that God didn't take care of them. You
must be so careful not to waste God’s daily provision. God promised
that He would supply your need, and He has, but we can be guilty of
wasting what God supplied on things that we don't need. Many young
people see their parents struggle financially and think that God doesn't
take care of His own when in actuality their parents simply wasted
God’s daily provision.
Second, the harvest perished because they lost their joy. It says in verse 10, “the new wine is dried up.”
“Wine” always pictures joy. Sadly, many young people never experience
the joy of serving the LORD because their parents gripe about what all
is going wrong. If you want your children to go the way of the world
then keep on griping about everything. There is no reason for a
Christian to gripe. Many young people have turned away from serving the
LORD because they never saw the joy in serving Him. Let me encourage you
to make serving the LORD exciting. I know there will be times of
struggles, but your children need to see the joyful side of serving the
LORD.
Third, the harvest perished because they never saw the power of God work. Verse 10 continues to say, “the oil languisheth.”
It is sad that God’s power was not seen in their day. We must do our
best to let the next generation see God working in our day. There is
nothing wrong with them hearing how God worked in yesteryear, but they
need to see Him work today. The only reason God isn't working today is
because we are not giving Him the chance to work. It is not God’s fault
that He isn't performing the miraculous today, it is ours because we
haven’t stepped out to see His mighty power come through. When the next
generation sees the results of God’s power with their own eyes, they
will want to have it for themselves.
The harvest is the next generation. If we are going to perpetuate
the harvest, we must be sure these three areas are evident to them. Your
children will surely want to serve the LORD if these three areas are
evident in your life.