October 10

Oct 10 - Today from Proverbs 10 we look at verse 5
"He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."

It didn't matter where you were on the socio-economic scale in Bible times, the summer harvest was the time of opportunity for family survival. So important was the harvest, that one of the chief strategies of war and subjugation was to invade the enemy's fields just before harvest and destroy as much of the crop as possible. The local markets in the cities and villages were mostly supplied by local produce. When
production failed, only the rich could afford the very costly imports.
When the crops ripened, the harvest had to be brought in before it spoiled in the fields. The grain needed to be gathered before the autumn rains fell. It was an 'all hands on deck' effort for the community. The land owners hired laborers from the village squares. Even the survival of the disabled and the aliens were covered by God's social law as the landowner's were required to leave the (accessible) edges and corners of the fields unharvested for their provision (Lev. 19:9 & 23:22). Ruth was an alien in the land when she was instructed by Naomi to go and glean the fields of Boaz. Without this provision of grace, they would have faced begging for their food and perhaps worse. Harvest was a huge event on the civil calendar of the day.

In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus tells a parable about a landowner of a vineyard whose crop was ripe and needed to be harvested. I want us to look at the parable in order to understand the customs of the day. The landowner went out early in the morning to hire laborers. Where did he go? He went to the village or city square where all of the available laborers gathered, hoping to get a job for the day. This was customary hiring practice in Bible times. Idle laborers had a job, and that was to find work to support the family. This included sons. So, here we are; the crops are ripe, the owners are going to the village square to hire laborers for the day - or if the laborer is really good, the owner would retain him for the duration of the harvest. The eager able-bodied men rose even earlier to be sure they were of the first available to be chosen for service in the harvest. This was the best opportunity of the year for family members to earn some extra income for the household. This was the best time of the year for the disabled and aliens to fortify their supplies. This was the most important time of the year for the landowners to realize a profitable return on their investments. Everybody was focused on the great task ahead . . .
. . . except for the disgraceful son who had other things to do. Perhaps his personal social life was more important. He partied with his friends into the night and in the morning he was unable to rise to get to the market square. Perhaps his comfort was more important. He did not want to toil in the hot sun and in the dirty fields and vineyards. He would rather stay home and find things to amuse himself with. Perhaps he was not 'gifted' in picking grapes, so he will wait until something comes along that he likes to do.
Jesus tells us that the fields are white unto harvest (the waves of white heads of grain), and yet the laborers are few. Where are the laborers today? What 'other things' occupy us during the great opportunities that lie before us? Why are times so lean for the church when there is a ripe harvest to be brought in?
There are no unemployed in the kingdom of God, only the idle.