In the Bible, rain is a symbol of God’s blessing or His displeasure. Rain can bring refreshment, enable crop growth, and help produce a bounty of fruit. On the other hand, too much or the lack of rain can bring disaster.
“Then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” Leviticus 26:4 (NKJV)
“I will make them and the places surrounding My hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.” Ezekiel 34:26 (NIV)
In the days of Noah, sin was everywhere. The earth was corrupt and full of violence. Sadly, God regretted He had made man on the earth and was set to cleanse the world completely. Thankfully, God recognised Noah as a just man and told him to prepare an ark for future rains. The Bible does not state an exact number of years required to build the ark, but a probable guess is between 70-100 years. Imagine the faith and perseverance it took for Noah to follow through on this task.
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So, the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Genesis 6:5-8
“Lest the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.” Deuteronomy 11:17 (NKJV)
Scripture speaks about the righteousness of God. In Isaiah 45:8 the prophet asks God to rain down His righteousness. In so doing, believers are covered and empowered by the righteous blood sacrifice of Jesus. Through the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we too are righteous.
“Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together. I, the Lord, have created it.” Isaiah 45:8 (NKJV)
Rain comes down to water seeds on earth. Thus, a farmer eventually brings in a harvest. The Bible tells Christians to busy themselves with sharing the gospel. While we sow and water seeds God oversees the care of the seedlings and send out others to harvest the spiritual crop in due season. God’s word does not go out and return void. It always accomplishes its purpose.
“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, But water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11 (NKJV)
The present days feel a lot like the days of Noah. Violence, wickedness, hate, and sin have clouded and deceived the minds of many. However, we have been given a task. We are to share the love of Christ with all. We are to spread the Good News. Mandates to shelter at home and maintain social distances makes this task all the more difficult, but it can be done. May we start each day with this prayer…
God make me a vessel of Your love. Use me according to Your will. May Your righteousness rain down upon me. I want to pray effectively for the lost. Send them my way so that I can guide them To Jesus Christ and His saving grace.
Sources
Inspirational Christian Blogs
Finding Jesus in the Storm - John Swinton
Finding God in the Psalms - Tom Wright
Prepare for Rain – Michael Gatt
In the Days of Rain - Rebecca Stott
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