Psalm 126:6

Psalm 126:6

Seeds and sheaves

What a contrast this verse offers us! As we saw with the previous verse, sowing can turn into reaping and reaping can turn into joy. There is one explanation of this figure of speech that is not often noticed, it may well be that the Sower is God Himself. He takes His people and scatters them with great sorrow in other lands. The seeds, Israel, leave their homeland with heavy hearts and broken spirits, they may never see it again, their labours have been in vain, the Promised Land has become a land of despair. God watches and He weeps. The people stumble northward towards Babylon, and they weep. It is a dismal and heartbreaking journey to exile and uncertainty. 

70 years later their fortunes are reversed, many of the exiles have been allowed home and they travel eagerly, anticipating their reunion with their heritage and their people. A whole generation has passed, there are new relationships to build, new family bonds to be constructed but oh, the joy of restoration, the joy of harvest. And God Himself watches over His people, and He rejoices too at their return as they bring the sheaves of all their accomplishments and the new, younger blood that is the future of their nation.

If this is so, can you imagine the joy and pleasure in heaven, at the restoration of God’s people, Israel, in the last century? After 2,000 years of exile, millions of Jews have returned to the land, it has been re-established with it’s own identity, and the people have returned with songs of joy from every corner of the planet. And if the Lord God takes pleasure in this, He also rejoices with every new believer that enters His family and His kingdom, they too are to be welcomed with songs of joy. Hallelujah!

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