It's hard to believe that summer is just around the corner. 

Believe it or not, next Friday is already the first day of summer. Some of you may have been acutely aware of summer's impending start given the pollen counts and allergy symptoms you've been experiencing over the past few weeks, or perhaps the couple of days of near 100 degree weather this past week gave it away, but before you know it, it will be July, then August, and September... the kids will be back in school and the Fall Festivals will be upon us.

God designed his Festivals around the agricultural seasons, with a great deal of symbolism and concepts that were included in those harvests. Here we've completed the Pentecost season. At this time in the year the harvest of the barley is in at peak/winding down, and the wheat harvest has begun. The two loaves that were offered on Pentecost mentioned in Leviticus 23, were to be of new, fresh grain, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, so going into summertime in Judea, the wheat harvest would be finished up... but was that it?

What else was going on harvest-wise? What was coming in at this time?

Going from Pentecost to the Fall Festivals in Israel were the times of the fruit harvests such as sycamore figs (Amos 8:2) which needed to be bruised and eaten pretty rapidly as they weren't really able to be stored well, the maturation and harvest of fruits such as pomegranates, dates, grapes, and other fall fruit as well as the maturation and harvest of the olives coming into the fall festivals.

Once those harvests were taken in and processed, there would be a recognition and rejoicing for the blessings that God had provided. The wine and the oil, as well as other crops could be brought with the families to Jerusalem to keep the Feast, or could be sold for money in order to go and keep the Feast. 

The olive harvest in particular is of note when we talk about the time from the Feast of Pentecost to the Feast of Tabernacles. When we consider the symbolism and meaning of the Days just concluded, and the pouring out of God's Holy Spirit on His people - olive oil is one of those symbols that is commonly used to symbolize God's Spirit. (1 John 2:20, 27) We have received an anointing of that oil at this time, and as we go through our lives symbolically, we're maturing on the tree so to speak, on the vine. This same analogy works for the grape harvest - Christ said in John 15, that He is the vine. We are the branches - we grow, we mature, we bear fruit - that is to be harvested when it is time. When we come to the fall festivals, we reach the point where that potential, and that maturation can be realized - when Christ returns, and the 1st resurrection / change of God's people occurs - that small down payment of the Holy Spirit has been fully realized with the change from physical to spiritual.

Coming into the Days represented by the Feast of Tabernacles - that oil has been harvested, that wine has been pressed, it has been utilized, and will now help those who remain to celebrate the victory of God.

It might seem like there isn't a lot that goes on agriculturally between Pentecost and the Fall festivals, but this time period is a time of growth and maturation for the ultimate harvest to come. We must always keep that goal in mind, and maintain our focus.

Have a wonderful Sabbath - we'll see you tomorrow at 1:00.