Harvest!

Almost every year, there has been barley in the field opposite our home. But times change, and occasionally there has been rape, or potatoes – or even weeds, when farmers were paid to leave the fields untouched for a year or two. Dog walkers enjoyed the space, and were grateful to the EC.

Now, maize has been thriving in the field opposite our home, and in so many other fields around the county. Is it climate change? Or could it possibly pay better than barley? And when did I last see a field of barley?

It’s probably been the fourth consecutive year we have looked out onto maize. Some people in the village associate it with the alleged increase in spiders, but I would tend to blame climate change, rather than maize, for spiders. It grows to a height of around 8 feet over the course of 4 months. And then we wait for the harvesters. A few years ago, they were busy in September, but not this year. The maize appeared ready, but the farmer knew better than the rest of us. Not September. And we waited, as we enjoy watching harvest. And then, right at the end of October, they arrived. Huge machines. Our home rumbled. The operation was swift and slick. A fleet of trucks speeding away with harvested maize. We had waited for what seemed a long time – and suddenly, it was over.

Will the world end the same way? Prof Brian Cox believes that one day, everything will disintegrate and vanish into space. Something like that, I think! But I believe the Bible’s prophecies, because firstly,  I believe the Bible is the reliable, inerrant word of God, and secondly, because unsurprisingly, it has an amazing track record on such matters. The Bible speaks about Israel’s rôle in the ‘end times’. Written thousands of years ago, some are surprised that Israel is still on the map, and in the same place. All the other ancient nations, such as Moab, Ammon, ancient Egypt, Edom, Assyria, Philistia, Babylon, and many others, have vanished. So did Israel – but they have been gathered back to the land again, as prophesied many times in the Bible, and thrive back in the land God gave them. Bible prophecy says hostile nations will surround them. Bible prophecy says they will be attacked on all sides. Bible prophecy says a nation from the East will wage war against them. Does this sound familiar? And then the end will come, with the deliverance of Israel, the return of Jesus Christ, and the harvest. An eternal global separation of believers and unbelievers, of God’s people and those of this world.

I love rural Norfolk. I love harvest. But more than a Norfolkman, I am first and foremost, by the grace of God, a born-again Christian. The world is in bad shape, thanks to man. But the harvest is coming, and I look forward to all being put right.