The Former and the Latter Rain

Intro

Major lessons from minor prophets intro

Joel 2:20–26 ESV

20 “I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things. 21 “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! 22 Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. 23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. 24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. 26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Isreal had 2 rains in the year.

Each of these rains fell in their season.

Zechariah 10:1 ESV

1 Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.

These 2 seaons of rain rain are know as the former rain and the latter rain.

Rain is wonderful, but we cannot have rain all year. Rain all year will not produce a harvest.

2 seasons of rain are needed, and each one is vital to the harvest.

The former rain had to prepare the soil for the seed and rovide enough moister for the seed to germinate and grow.

Without the former rain, the seed would remain dead in the ground.

Then once the seed has grown and turned into a mature plant, the latter rain had to fall.

It was the latter rain which made the crop produce its harvest fruit.

Without the latter rain you have crop but no fruit.

BOTH are neccesery for harvest.

Lests look closer at:

Joel 2:23 ESV

23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.

Lets look at this verse in the origional Hebrew

Former rain is the word “Mo-reh”

Latter rain the word “Mal-kosh”

For a harvest you need the Mo-reh and the Mal-kash.

What do these words mean in Hebrew?

Mo-reh literally means “teacher”.

Mal-kash literally means “Harvest” or to gather the fruit.

So lets get this:

The former rains germinate and grow the seeds, and the latter rains take what the former rains and produced and bring them into harvest.

From the Hebrew we can learn that the former rains are the teacher than grows and matures the plants till they are ready to receive the harvest of the latter rains.

Application:

Let me put this in school terms:

At the end of the year the hope, the goal is that you ill pass and be promoted to the next grade, or level or standard.

But here is the key: You do not get promoted if you have not learned enough during the year. If you havnet learned enough then you have to repeat the year.

You learning the lessons of the year depends on how much you listen, learn and pay attention to the teacher.

The teacher will teach you everything you need, but you must learn and pay attention.

If you learn from the teacher, then at the end of the year you will have grown and matured enough to pass and be promited.

Can you see where God is going?

The former rains are your teacher to prepare you for the harvest promotion that comes with the latter rain.

Let me ask you some questions:

re you born again? Do you have the Holy Spirit? Do you have the perfect word of God? Are you a meber of Christs body?

All of these things are the results of the former rain.

You, in your salvation, have recieved the former rain.

Now the latter rain depends on how well you learn from the teacher right now.

Lessons from the teacher:

So what are the lessons that the teacher, the former rain are trying to teach us, to make sure we are promoted and do not repeat the year?

There are so many but here is a solid list to start!

1: God Should Always Be First in Our Hearts

Exodus 20:3 ESV

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

This is the first of what is popularly known as the Ten Commandments. However, its familiarity should not dissuade us from taking it seriously.

This is the critical first step to dedicating your life to God as a believer in Christ: removing everything else from the center of your life and living for Him alone.

2: Treat God as Your Most Treasured Relationships

Matthew 6:21 ESV

21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Jesus is speaking about what we treasure in our hearts, as well as our physical treasure. When we ascribe value or worth to something, we will seek to protect and hoard it for ourselves.

The danger lies in placing something other than God as the object of our greatest value and love. By treasuring Jesus above all else, our hearts will be properly aligned and attuned to His purposes.

3: God Cares for Us and Wants to Calm Our Fears

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

The next time you are afraid, try giving your fear over to God.

It will not be easy, and it must be done throughout your life, but we can claim this promise that God will always care for us, and He is able to take our fears and replace them with His peace.

4: Live Your Life as an Active Witness for the Gospel

Matthew 5:16 ESV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

This means that we should boldly live out our faith, and always be ready to answer for it when others see God working in our lives.

This is one of the best ways we can preach the Gospel every day; a faithful life can point others to God, and allow them to experience the same joy of salvation that we have.

5: Remember That We Should Live for God, and Not for Human Approval

Colossians 3:23 ESV

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

When the only motivation for our actions is the approval of others, every achievement will be hollow and temporary.

However, if we dedicate our best efforts to God in whatever we do – in our work, in our service, in our giving, and in our witness – we will live with the proper end in sight, and God will bless us for it.

6: Do Not Blame God for the Troubles in Your Life

Job 1:22 ESV

22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.

Job may have questioned why God allowed tragedy to strike his life, but he did not curse God openly or accuse Him of causing evil directly.

This should ring true for all of us as well.

God never tempts us, but promises to deliver us out of temptation. God does not bring about evil but is the solution to the problem of evil and the remedy for every pain we suffer.

7: Acknowledge Your Shortcomings and See God as Sovereign

Romans 12:3 ESV

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

“Sober judgment” here refers to doing away with pride or conceit in our relationships with other believers.

Everyone’s faith will lead them down different paths, but as long as they are all focused on God and we are each faithful and obedient to His will, we should not assume that our faith is stronger than someone else’s. God sovereignly directs each of us, and His purposes are what matters.

8: Keep God at the Center of Your Life

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Our own goodness and wisdom cannot bring us to salvation; only the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can restore our broken relationship with God.

By remembering this each day, we can joyfully walk down God’s path for us and be content with His will.

9: Desire the Holy Spirit, and Don’t Give in to Earthly Cravings

Galatians 5:16 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Sin and giving in to temptation should not be a part of the life of a believer.

We should allow the Holy Spirit to have total control over our lives, thereby denying the passions of our sinful nature. This is how we can remain close to God throughout our lives.

10: Protect Yourself by Clinging to God’s Word

Ephesians 6:13 ESV

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

God offers His protection as we go through the fiery trials of this life. The book of Ephesians describes how the “armor of God” manifests itself in our lives.

By arming ourselves with Scripture and calling on God to deliver us from trouble, we can emerge victorious.

11: Avoid Selfishness by Placing Others Ahead of Yourself

Philippians 2:3 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Acting from selfish motives places our own good first, which necessarily removes God from the center of our hearts.

One tangible way we can avoid this is by treating others as better than ourselves, acknowledging their worth before God and treating them as His beloved children worthy of our service and sacrifice.

12: Seek God’s Will First, Rather than Worrying about the Little Things

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

When we look for God’s will first in our lives before concerning ourselves with possessions or worldly security, we prove that our faith is fully dependent on God.

He will not forget us but will bless us above and beyond what we could have hoped for without Him.

13: Rejoice, Pray, and Be Thankful

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 ESV

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

This passage of short commandments is of great importance.

We should live our lives with a spirit of worship, constantly attuned to the will of God in prayer, and always turning back to Him with gratitude for the ways He has blessed us.

This helps us keep our eyes on Him as we live out our lives.

14: Give Generously to God

2 Corinthians 9:7 ESV

7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Scripture commands us to give, and we cannot ignore that commandment.

However, we are told to give out of generosity and trust, not holding back our gifts out of fear or selfishness.

By giving generously, we acknowledge that all of our treasure belongs to God anyway and that we are merely stewards of His blessings responsible to do good works that will glorify Him.

The Latter Rain

When we have laerned from the teacher, the former rain, when we are grown up, mature and ready - God will pour out the latter rain - the rain that brings the harvest.

Latter rain, on a imature crop will not produce a harvest.

Examine youself right now.

Are you fully matured and complete? Are you faithful in all God requires?

In faith, trust, bible reading, tithing, fasting, attendace to the Lord’s day...

If not, dont panic!

We are still in the season of the former rain, but start preparing for the latter rain.

Start preparing for the out pouring.