GRATITUDE TO GOD FOR THE HARVEST
Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
The earth has yielded its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.
God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
Psalm 67:5-7
Psalm 67 continues by acknowledging that when the earth yields a harvest, it is a blessing from God. He provides the sun and rain to grow the crops. If you do a search for the word “harvest” in your favorite Bible study app or concordance, you will find that harvest is a frequent topic in both the Old and New Testaments. There are seven major feasts described in Leviticus. One is the Feast of Tabernacles (or booths) which is celebrated at the time of the fall harvest in Israel. The people build 3-sided, temporary structures and eat their meals there as a family. It is similar to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. The emphasis is on thanking God for the harvest. We found a great article about this feast here:
https://jewishwebsite.com/featured/sukkot-the-harvest-festival-and-arrival-of-autumn/33658
The purpose of the feast is to remember how God provided for the Israelites when they left bondage in Egypt and were living in tents in the wilderness. It is also to praise the Lord for His continued provision by celebrating the harvest.
Have you expressed gratitude to the Lord for the harvest lately? If you ate any kind of grain today—cereal, bread, quinoa, oatmeal—someone had to harvest that crop. Did you eat it with fruit? That was harvested. Perhaps you had a salad or some other vegetable. That, too, was harvested. We give thanks before our meals, but do we really think about the Lord’s faithfulness to enable the farmers to raise those crops? Do we praise Him for the cattle, chickens, pigs, etc. that become meat on our tables? How about the harvest of cotton or other materials for our clothing?
We used to sing a song that simply said, “We’ve got so much, so much, so much, so much, so much to be thankful for!” Let us remember to express our gratitude to God for everything He provides!
Father, tonight we thank you for the ingredients in the blueberry crisp we enjoyed after supper. Thank You for leading us to write about gratitude right now. It is truly revealing to us exactly how much we need to thank You!
Worship with some beautiful children singing “I Am Thankful” by Angie Killian, James Stevens, & Joelle Einerson. Take the time to read Angie’s story about the “Gratitude Game” she plays with her own children.