THE JOY OF RAIN

Does rain bring you joy?

The boy in the picture above is clearly full of joy thanks to the rain falling around him.

He gets to splash around in the puddles and watch the droplets explode up and fall back down again.

He also gets to hear the rain pitter patting against his umbrella and everything around him.

Do you remember playing in the rain as a kid?

What other reasons can you think of that might spark the joy of rain in our hearts?

If you have been following the weekly posts on our study of Joel from the Old Testament you are aware that the joy of rain has been absent from the Judean community to the point that they are suffering from both famine and drought.

The Lord sent a message through Joel to alert the Judean community to take note that their suffering was sent to alert them to their lack of attention to their relationship with the Lord.

Now, that the Lord has the Judean’s attention and they have humbled themselves as an entire community, the Lord is telling them He will reverse the damage the land and they have been experiencing.

Read Joel 2:23

^ESV  Joel 2:23 “Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.

Our verse today focuses on the joy of rain.

Why is the return of rain something the children of Zion should be glad about and rejoice in the Lord over?

Consider the following precipitation information for the Palestinian area:

The winter months of December, January, February and March provide most of the year’s precipitation, an average of about 27 inches. Besides rainfall, Palestine also sees high humidity year-round, but especially in winter and late summer, when humidity can sometimes reach 80 percent. For rainy winter trips, waterproof boots and warm raincoats are in order.

We also need to consider the following about rain:

Human life depends on rain. Rain is the source of freshwater for many cultures where rivers, lakes, or aquifers are not easily accessible. Rain makes modern life possible by providing water for agriculture, industry, hygiene, and electrical energy. Governments, groups, and individuals collect rain for personal and public use. 

The community in the book of Joel was in a desperate situation with a devastated agricultural landscape due to locusts, drought, and even fire.

If anyone can understand the joy of rain it would be them!

The promise of rain returning has even deeper meaning than the practical needs clearly worth rejoicing over.

Why?

Consider these additional scripture passages that reference rain:

^ESV  Leviticus 26:4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

^ESV  Deuteronomy 11:14 he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.

^ESV  Psalm 135:7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

^ESV  Isaiah 45:8 “Shower, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain down righteousness; let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit; let the earth cause them both to sprout; I the LORD have created it.

^ESV  Ezekiel 34:26 And I will make them and the places all around my hill a blessing, and I will send down the showers in their season; they shall be showers of blessing.

^ESV  Hosea 6:3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

^ESV  Zechariah 10:1 Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.

^ESV  James 5:7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.

Questions to ponder:

• Who makes the rain?

• Why does the Lord promise to send rain?

• How does the consistency of the Lord sending rain at the appropriate time demonstrate His care for His creation?

The book of Joel is focused on the Judean’s and their covenantal relationship not just for them but also for future believers as well.

What else do you see with the promise found in Joel 2:23 and the additional passages shared today?

How will thinking about the joy of rain impact your week to come?

May I challenge you the next time it rains to stop and take a moment to be glad and rejoice that your heavenly father is fulfilling His covenantal promise to you?

Consider the joy on this corgi’s face in the rain!

 Blessings,

Barbara Lynn

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