Joel 2:23 “Be glad, O people of Zion, 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.”
Rain in the Bible is a symbol of God’s blessings. Everything that comes from heaven is far greater than things on earth and rain falling from heaven is a picture of God’s blessings coming down to us. I do agree that rain was used for judgment during the times of Noah (rained for 40 days) and Moses (rained hail); this is a whole discussion in itself, but for now it is enough to say that rain has always turned out good for God’s people (and not so good for God’s enemies). In the ancient times when there are not many professions available, most people turned to farming. And in farming, rain is always good news.
No evil comes from The LORD and everything that comes from heaven is holy, it is always good. In God’s word, the symbolism of rain has been used to refer to heaven’s blessings in dozens of accounts:
Exodus 16:4 – “I will rain down bread from heaven for you.
Leviticus 26:4 – I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees of the field their fruit.
Deuteronomy 28:12 – The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.
1 Kings 18:41 – And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”
Proverbs 16:15 – When a king’s face brightens, it means life; his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.
The prophet Joel is telling us that God is righteous in raining blessings on us. This is because of what His Son, Jesus Christ, did on the cross. Most people today believe that they deserve to be punished and cursed because of their sins. Rightly so, because all of us have sinned and fell short of the glory of God. But what some people don’t know is that our sins (which qualify us to be punished and cursed) have been paid for and washed away by the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ! So, if you are in Christ right now, it means that you are washed by His blood, you are forgiven, you are clean, you are saved and you are forever righteous! Now, God has ALL the reason to bless you!!
Don’t be afraid in these last days when floods and rains are literally hounding us. REJOICE! God is confirming His word that the blessings are coming to those who are in Christ. And His blessings are coming NOW! Amen!
* Image taken from Tumblr