Fresh promise

In that day the mountains will drip with new wine (Joel 3:18) 

Come with me for a moment and study these words of Joel for something tells me they are worth it. 

The word for 'mountains' is common in the Bible and appears to have a single meaning. It refers to heights, to mountains, but not ones of Alpine splendour. These high hills are not barren and snow capped but are cooler in summer and attract the rain absent elsewhere. They are ideal for growing wine. The word for 'drip' is less common and its Hebrew root has many meanings. Elsewhere, it is used for pouring rain or drunken speach so the image is of an overflowing flood so great it gets everywhere, not a controlled plop, plop, plop into a bucket. The word for 'new wine' or 'sweet wine' refers to the first wine of the season, almost grape juice, where less of the sugar has fermented to alcohol thus making it sweet. To have enough grapes to make 'sweet wine' implies that there is a huge bumper crop yet to come. 

In Joel 1 the vine is dried up, the fig tree is withered, pomegranate, palm, apples are all dried up. In Joel 3 there is so much wine that even the first press floods down the mountain filling every cup until the surfeit drips over the rim. What will the rest of the crop be like?

This is Joel's witness. This is God's promise to his people. Turn to me in repentance and I shall forgive you. Come to me in your hour of need and I will defend you. Trust me when all is gone and look at the flood of blessing I will pour out upon you.

So often our lives seem to stop at steps one and two. We repent and find forgiveness, we turn and find protection. But we loose heart before we receive the blessing. It's almost as though we cannot believe we are worthy of it. Well, here's the thing: we aren't. But we have every right to hold God to his promise, now and in eternity, for Jesus is worthy. So, Lord, send the new wine. We are waiting.

The beauty of a weed