Sleeping During the Harvest

Farming has always been hard work, but imagine what it was like in the ancient world. Without tractors, specially formulated fertilizers, and irrigation systems, farm families survived the old fashioned way. They plowed their ground behind a yoke of oxen. They scattered seed and pulled weeds by hand, carried water to their parched plants during dry seasons—and prayed a lot.

When harvest time came, parents and their children worked shoulder to shoulder in the fields. Every able-bodied member of the family was expected to contribute to the work: cutting with sickle and scythe, bundling the sheaves, winnowing and sifting to remove the chaff, storing up the grain for safe-keeping. A sense of urgency prevailed, for in an agrarian society gathering and storing up food was a matter of life and death. Everyone didn't do the same thing, but everyone did something lest the precious grain should rot in the field.

This is the background for Proverbs 10:5, which says, "He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."

No self-respecting Jewish son would sleep during the harvest. There was too much to do and the stakes were too high.

If you slept during the harvest, others had more work to do. The rest of the family depended on you to pull your weight. One person's laziness left more responsibility for someone else to shoulder.

If you slept during the harvest, your priorities were wrong. Farmers organized their calendars around the harvest seasons. Some of the great Jewish festivals were tied to the harvest. On the Day of Pentecost worshipers offered "new grain" to the Lord, the firstfruits of the summer crop. Like our Thanksgiving celebration, the autumn Feast of Tabernacles was a time to thank the Lord after all the crops were gathered in. Anyone who neglected the harvest showed disrespect for the Lord and his blessings.

We all can’t do the same thing, but we all need to do something.

If you slept during the harvest, you would miss the joy of the work. Yes, it was tiresome labor; but food tasted good and rest was sweet when sundown signaled the end of the day's work. With grain safely stored up, the future looked more secure. And the laborers shared the satisfying bond of fellowship that comes from a job well done. They could relate to the psalmist who wrote, "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:5, 6).

Today, we're surrounded by enormous spiritual need and opportunity. A friend who leads a new church in a suburban neighborhood says, "You know you're living in a post-Christian culture when children ask, 'Why do those buildings have plus signs on top of them?' And their parents don't know how to tell them about the cross."

Precious souls are missing out on the blessing of knowing Christ, and Christians are missing out on the joy of telling them.

We need to wake up. It's harvest time.