Be glad, people of Tziyon!
Joe 2:23
rejoice in ADONAI your God!
For he is giving you
the right amount of rain in the fall,
he makes the rain come down for you,
the fall and spring rains- this is what he does first.
In yesterday’s installment we talked about Zion. We talked about the thirsty people ready for refinement that will make it to Zion as saviors for this world. Fully representing Jesus. Here in Joel they are mentioned again.
It’s the people of Zion that will be glad – that will have the chance to be glad in the first place. Still, they have to decide to be glad, and have to choose whom they praise for what will be happening. Yes, future tense, for joy comes in the dawn – before the day truly brakes. Before it is all seen.
But what are we joyful for?
God gave us the right amount of rain in the fall. This is the rain that brakes open the land for sowing, and that waters the plant right after it was sown. Without it, the earth would be too hard to plow. Without it, the seed would dry out and die the wrong death, not bringing fruit.
Yes, the seed has to fall into the ground and die. But it better die a fruitful death, one that leads to multiplication. And for that it needs the early rain in fall.
It has always been a great source of revelation to me to look at the word for early rain. It is moreh. It comes from a root that means to flow. Obviously that is true of water and rain, so what is so spectacular about this word? Figuratively, it describes and archer and a teacher.
The root has come to mean teach, shoot, cast, inform, pour, instruct, lay, set.
Because, just as water, teaching flows and slowly finds, even makes its way. It comes down to water the fruitful earth, in drops. It is underground to water the roots. Just like rain is water shot down from up above, an archer shoot his arrow to hit the target and do its duty. The arrow will bring death to bring forth life bringing food.
To flow, to teach, to water. To hit the target, point out things, bring death to them so life can spring up. A good description of what all fivefold ministers do. Teach, impart, pour into, even pour their lives into others.
This is the foundation, it is the early rain, it brakes open the hard ground to receive the fruit, let it die and grow, and finally bring harvest, bring fruit.
The early rain will start again. We read in Joel that God brings the early and the latter rain together. The latter rain brings forth the fruit prepared by the early rain.
The word for latter rain is malqos. It means eloquence.
So what God through the fivefold ministry, teaching and impartation poured into, now is spoken forth. It flows out of.
The people of Zion will be brought to maturity. They are going to be taught continually, as they have from the beginning. And the fruit will brake forth out of them. They will speak forth eloquently. The river will flow from Zion into Jerusalem and from there into the world. Sounds familiar?
At the moment, all forecast predicts is drouth. But none the less: the early rain is again flowing. Teaching, impartation, finding its target like the arrow of an archer. And I see a cloud the size of a man’s hand – it is going to rain the latter rain. Braking forth, spoken forth by the people in Zion eloquently, it will bring fruitfulness and harvest.
And the floors will be full of grain, and the crushing- places overflowing with wine and oil.
Joe 2:24
Ready for some rain?