The Latter Rain

by Jesma O'Hara

From the "Watchmen on the Walls" series of studies

“Ask the Lord for rain
In the time of the latter rain.
The Lord will make flashing clouds;
He will give them showers of rain,
Grass in the field for everyone”

Zechariah 10:1

The Middle East faces a continuous battle in providing enough water for its people and the situation has worsened over the years as the population has grown. Israel, particularly has been very concerned as she faced the enormous task of absorbing the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have flooded into the country in recent years.

Concerning spiritual issues, we know that the natural always prefigures the spiritual and precedes it. This is true in a period of drought as well as of abundant rain. We must pray that God will bring rain to this thirsty land as well as a spiritual outpouring.

What does the scripture from which we have taken our theme encourage us to do?

What might the “grass in the field for everyone” signify?

Those who know the landscape of Israel are aware taht grass is one commodity which does not flourish in abundance. For much of the year the majority of the countryside is quite devoid of all but the most miserable brown stubble. However, after the former rains, which began after the Feast of Tabernacles in September/October adnthen with the latter rains of January/ February, the whole countryside, including the barren Judean wilderness springs into vibrant life. Around Jerusalem tiny flowers appear in every nook and cranny and the Galilean Hills are carpeted in exquisite wild flowers.

So often the spiritual landscape is also dry and barren but with the coming of the rain of the Spirit, barren places in peoples lives also spring to life giving sustenance to those round about.

“Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the former rain faithfully;
And He will cause the rain to come down for you - the former rain

And the latter rain in the first month.
The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil”
Joel 2:23-24

When one looks back on the great revivals which have occured throughout Israel's history, often after times of apostasy and disaster, it inspires us to pray for another great visitation on this land causing her to return to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

During David's time, when so many wonderful psalms were written and worship and praise reached tremendous heights, during the times of Godly Kings like Hezekiah and under the leadership of such men as Nehemiah and Ezra, at the time of the return from the first exile, Israel prospered as she followed her God.

After the time of the Lord's return to Heaven and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2, the nation also experienced great revival. All of this signifying the times of the former rain.

Read Acts 2:41-47

How many souls were added to the church that first day?

The revival which broke out in Jerusalem during thos times spread across the land rapidly. Cornelius's family's encounter with the Lord at Caesaria, the spreading of the message in Samaria were all part of this first great move which then spread to the Gentile lands

“In that day will I raise up the Tabernacle of David,
the fallen hut or booth and close up its breaches and I will raise up its ruins and
I will build it as in the days of old;

That they may possess the remnant of Edom and all
the nations that are called by My name, says the Lord who does this.

Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, that the
plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
and the mountains shall drop sweet wine and all the hills shall melt.

And I will bring back the exiles of My people, Israel and
they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; and they
shall plant vineyards and drink the grape juice from them; they shall also make
gardens and eat the fruit of them

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more
be torn up out of their land which I gave them,
says the Lord your God”

Amos 9:11-15

What has the Lord promised He would do in this scripture?

What prayer points can we take from it concerning the times of the latter rain?

Certainly in these days we are seeing the return of the exiles from the nations where they have been scattered for 2,000 years. (Luke21:24). Along with the thousands who have returned from Russia to date, we have seen the Jews of Ethiopia return in Operation Solomon, after living in the land of Ethiopia since the time of Solomon. They have returned from Yemen, the Maghreb, Rumania, Albania, India, Egypt, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and many other countries

They are indeed coming home to rebuild the waste cities, planting vineyards and making gardens just as the Lord promised they would. (Ezekiel 36:8-11; 37:21-22; Jeremiah 31:7-12; 32:37-42; 33:7-9; 14).

Along with this return to the land, however, the Lord promised a return to Himself.

Read Ezekiel 36:24-29; 33-36;

& Jeremiah 31:31-33; 32:37-42; 33:7-9; 14)

What are the scriptural promises made to the Jewish people in these verses?

Just as the land of Israel was a barren wasteland during the time of the exile and the city of Jerusalem a poverty stricken village, so too the people were helpless and persecuted in all the lands of their scattering. The Lord has bonded the land, the city, the people to one another in such a powerful way that apart from each other they languish.

As the people return to the land it is flourishing and becoming fruitful again, feeding not only the Israelis but also Europe with it's produce. The experiments of Israeli scientists and farmers on increasing productivity of plants and animals, and of turning barren wasteland into productive farms and using drip irrigation to conserve water, are proving a great blessing to the nations.

Since its reunification in 1967 the city of Jerusalem has blossomed into a beautiful city indeed. Former Mayor Teddy Kollek said that he had one of the hardest jobs in the world, to maintain peace and to prepare his city for the coming of the Messiah.

The people themselves have grown strong and confident and bear little resemblance to the scarred survivors of the Holocaust who arrived after the war. They have been restored and renewed. However, there is one great promise which is beginning to see fulfilment as the people turn again to their God. During the Gulf War the newspapers constantly quoted scriptures concerning the prophecies which were being fulfilled at that time.

So it is our task to pray that the great rain which has ended the land's drought will be but a picture of the spiritual latter rain which the Lord has promised to pour out on His people.

“I will heal their faithfulness, I will love them freely,
for My anger is turned away. (from Israel)

I will be as the dew and the night mist to Israel;
he shall grow strong and blossom as the lily and
cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

His suckers and shoots shall spread and beauty shall be
as the Olive tree and his fragrance like Lebanon.

They that dwell under his shade shall return; they
shall revive as the grain and blossom as the vine......”
  Hosea 14:4-7

Introducing John & Jesma O'Hara John, a businessman & Jesma have five children, and two grandchildren, Isabella and Asher. Both serve on the Eldership of Hesed Fellowship and are board members of International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, Australian Branch and Jesma has also been the Editor of their magazine for the past 12 years. Hesed Ministries is involved in supporting a number of projects : Field workers in Israel, Orr Shalom Children's Homes, Kesher Friends of WIZO and Mercy International in Thailand. They also support orphanages and schools for AIDS affected children in Malawi and Kenya. Jesma is Chairman of the Board of Nambour Christian College, co-educational inter-denominational college of over 1200 students, from preschool to year 12. They are also the Australian Representatives of Orr Shalom Children�s Homes. Jesma's Qualifications Masters in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. B A major in Religious Studies Studied in Jerusalem at AMI Jerusalem Centre For Biblical Studies and Research and Educator�s From Abroad Study Course at Yad VaShem.