Seasons of the year

Seasons are appointed by God

Seasons are created by God

Psalm 74:16–17 NKJV

The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun. You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter.

See also Ge 1:14; Ge 8:22; Ps 104:19

Seasons are sustained by God

Jeremiah 5:24 NKJV

They do not say in their heart, “Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”

See also Job 38:32–33; Eze 34:26; Ac 14:17

The agricultural seasons of Palestine

The dry and rainy seasons

Joe 2:23 The rainy season, accounting for over 90 per cent of the national rainfall, runs from October to March/April. Its beginning is marked by the autumn rains in October/November; the lighter spring showers in April/May announce the coming of the dry season.

See also Ezr 10:13; Ho 6:3; Jas 5:7

Israel’s continued enjoyment of seasonal blessings was conditional upon her obedience:

Le 26:3–4; Dt 11:13–14; Dt 28:12

Seedtime and harvest

Pr 20:4 Ploughing and sowing take place from October to December when the autumn rains have begun to soften the ground. Most crops are harvested between April and June.

See also Ex 34:21; Nu 13:20; Job 5:26; Ps 1:3

Spring

Spring rain as a sign of blessing

Job 29:23 The gentle spring rains signal the approach of harvest; Pr 16:15; Je 3:3; Zec 10:1

Spring as a time of growth

So 2:11–13 Spring marks a pleasant interval between the heavy winter rains and the onset of the dry season.

See also Pr 27:25; Joe 2:22; Mt 24:32

Spring as a time for war

2 Sa 11:1 The time following the spring harvest (May/June), when agricultural commitments are reduced; 1 Ki 20:26; 2 Ki 13:20

Festivals celebrated in spring

Le 23:5–6 Passover and Unleavened Bread; Le 23:10 offering the firstfruits of the barley harvest; Le 23:15–16 The Feast of Weeks celebrated the ingathering of the grain harvest.

Summer

A period of intense heat

Psalm 32:4 NKJV

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah

See also Job 6:17

A time for harvesting summer fruit

Jeremiah 8:20 NKJV

“The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we are not saved!”

See also Pr 10:5; Je 40:10–12 Grapes, olives and figs are harvested in July/September; Mic 7:1

A time to store harvested grain

Pr 6:8; Pr 30:25

Autumn

The breaking of the summer drought

Ps 84:6 Autumn is the start of the rainy season and corresponds to the time of ploughing and sowing.

Festivals celebrated in autumn

See also Le 23:24 the Feast of Trumpets; Le 23:27 the Day of Atonement; Le 23:34 the Feast of Tabernacles

Winter

A time of inclement weather

Job 37:6–10 NKJV

For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’; Likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength. He seals the hand of every man, That all men may know His work. The beasts go into dens, And remain in their lairs. From the chamber of the south comes the whirlwind, And cold from the scattering winds of the north. By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen.

See also Is 55:10; Je 36:22

A time when travelling is difficult

Mt 24:20; 2 Ti 4:21; Ac 27:12; 1 Co 16:6; Tt 3:12

Celebration of the Feast of Dedication

Jn 10:22 The Feast of Dedication (Hannukah) commemorates the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in 165 b.c.