Be glad, O people of Zion,
Joel 2:23
rejoice in the LORD your God,
for he has given you
the autumn rains in righteousness.
He sends you abundant showers,
both autumn and spring rains, as before.
It’s been a dry summer around here (and a large portion of the United States). It’s been a month with very little rain here. It was a joy to see rain fall today.
Israel is a country highly dependent on rain. It doesn’t rain in the summer. I remember my first experience of rain there last fall. It was exciting! The ancient Israelites were at the mercy of God. Whereas their neighbor Egypt depended on the consistent annual rising and subsiding of the Nile River, they depended on the right amount of rain at the right time in the right places. It forced them to rely on God. Every fall as the rains begin, there’s excitement as the land is doused in life-giving moisture.
However, new ideas crept in. Baal, the god of the Sidons was brought to the country when the wicked King Ahab married Jezebel (1 Kings 16:31). Elijah the prophet was sent to Ahab with a message: “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.” (1 Kings 17:1) I imagine Ahab and Jezebel initially blowing him off. They had Baal, who claimed to bring rain and fertility! Who needs the Lord for rain when Baal will provide all their needs? After 3.5 years of no rain, I think his feelings changed. Imagine the relief when Elijah prayed for rain and “the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain came on” (1 Kings 18:45)!
It’s easy to think we can do it on our own. It’s a dangerous thing to tell that to the Lord. He may just let us and that is not a pretty place to end up.
