WISDOM OF TIMES AND SEASONS (2)

“While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” – Genesis 8:22

GOD, from inception, established the WISDOM of TIMES and SEASONS: “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen.8:22). Here, the Lord was responding to Noah’s first act after leaving the Ark – building an altar and offering a soothing scent of prayerful sacrifice. God committed to never again curse the earth or destroy living things!

Even the duration that Noah and his family spent in the safety of the Ark could not be shortened by any human agency (Gen.7:11-13; 8:14-20). God had Personally shut the door of the Ark, sealing the fate of the unbelieving world (Gen.7:16). Today, our Jesus Christ is the Door into Salvation. All who enter through Him are saved from eternal wrath. But, like Noah’s Day, the time is nigh when it will be too late!

The floods ravaged the earth, destroyed men and beast, and shifted the seasonal cycle. But Noah found favour with God, along with his family. The Lord proclaimed that throughout earth’s existence, the patterns of nature and cycles of season will remain as set: Day following Night; and the seasons in order. The Law of “Seedtime and harvest” infers that in-between Seed-sowing and Harvest is TIME. No seed produces the moment it is sown, but goes through processing in the course of time (Mk.4:28). This law will remain as long as the earth exists!

More significantly, the daily and seasonal rhythms reflect the human lifespan. Wisdom and Understanding of the seasons will rightly direct our priorities in life (Ecc.3:1). Let’s examine the 24-hours Day and the Seasons – Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter – as Metaphors of Life:

Morning is the Beginning – the Spring of Birth, Childhood and Youth that sets the stage for life and the pattern for the future. It is the phase of survival and growth, characterise by the tussle between nurture and nature, and the tumultuous changes, pains and pleasures of puberty.

Midday is the Summer of Young Adulthood; the season of sowing, planting, fertility, and nesting. The child transforms into the adult, the boy the father, the girl the mother, and seeds of childhood dreams begin to yield fruits. The sun is at its zenith and high horizons beckon.

Afternoon is the Fall of Midlife; the season of experience, maturation, harvests, reflections, balancing past and future, announcing the second half of life. It’s time to take stock for a fresh start, prune in preparation for winter, sort what’s needed and what to leave – menopause moment!

Night is the cold and dreary Winter that completes our passage through the seasons. Bodies resemble the bare elegant trees of winter, branches pointing heavenward, and roots ready to give life again to heavenly spring! Wisdom for Legacy is the hallmark of the Golden Years!

This Wisdom of Times and Seasons can guide and direct our priorities in life!