Isaiah 17:5

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"And it shall be as when the harvestman gathereth the corn, and reapeth the ears with his arm; and it shall be as he that gathereth ears in the valley of Rephaim." Isa 17:5

How beautiful is this picture! How suggestive of fertility, of abundance upon abundance, of harvest music and harvest joy! Yet in this text there is no sound of music. The harvest is represented as a harvest of devastation. This is the burden of Damascus. Damascus is disfranchised; the cities of Aroer are forsaken; the fortress has ceased from Ephraim; the glory of Jacob has been made faint; and now it is as if ravening beasts had rushed through fields white unto the harvest, and trodden them underfoot, and rendered them worthless. The valley of Rephaim is the valley of giants (Joshua 15:8 , Jos 18:16 ). The valley was famous for its fruitfulness, and was a favourite field for the Philistines to plunder. Constantly they carried off its abundant crops ( 2Sa 23:13 ). For whom are we growing our harvests? We may have an abundant harvest, and yet never reap it. We may lay up much goods for many years, and yet have no pleasure in them. Do not suppose that we are rich because the harvest is plentiful. Whilst we are on the way, scythe in hand, to cut down the field, wild beasts may devastate it, or a blight from heaven may destroy its value. "Call no man happy until he is dead" is the wisdom of the old proverb. Call no harvest precious until it has been garnered. All life is exposed to peril. This exposure is part of our discipline, is indeed a necessary element in our training. The whole earth is the land of the enemy. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal." Let your harvest be internal, spiritual, divine; let it be a harvest of noble purposes, thorough convictions, spiritual comforts. Bank your money with the deserving poor. Feed the hungry and clothe the naked. These are the harvests that no Philistine can devastate.