Overview
The Bible frequently uses reaping as both a literal agricultural process and a spiritual principle. Farmers who sow seeds will reap a harvest in due season, and this principle extends to moral and spiritual life—we reap what we sow. God's law of sowing and reaping demonstrates His justice and the natural consequences built into creation.
Key Scriptures
"Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy" (Psalm 126:5, NIV). "A man reaps what he sows" (Galatians 6:7, NIV). "Jesus said to them, 'Do you not say, "Four more months and then the harvest"? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest'" (John 4:35, NIV).
Application
Believers should recognize that their spiritual investments—in prayer, service, righteousness, and evangelism—will yield eternal fruit, encouraging faithful sowing even when immediate results are not visible.
✦ Scripture References 40 references
✦ Topical Scripture Breakdown 49 verses
A time of great rejoicing
Both men and women engaged in
Corn after, was bound up into sheaves
During the Sabbatical year
During the year of jubilee
Fed by the master who himself presided at their meals
Figurative
Gathering in souls to God
General references
Is the cutting of the corn in harvest
Ministers receiving temporal provision for spiritual labours
Mode of gathering the corn for, alluded to
Often unprofitable on account of sin
Received wages
Receiving the reward of righteousness
Receiving the reward of wickedness
The ark of the Lord returned by the Philistines at the time of
The corners of their fields
The fields of others
The final judgment
The Jews often hindered from, on account of their sins
The judgments of God on the antichristian world
The sickle used for
Under the guidance of a steward
Visited by the master