Proverbs 20:4

4. Not plough by reason of the cold מחר , ( mehhoreph.) The word without the prefix means, the autumn, which is made also to include winter. In Palestine the people begin ploughing in September, and sow their early wheat by the middle of October. Very cold days meantime may occur, with wind, rain, and sleet, but there is seldom a long season of cold weather. There are two important lessons in this proverb. First, An indolent man is deterred by the smallest difficulty from undertaking the most needed work; secondly, He who neglects the work appropriate to the season will suffer the most serious consequences. The principle has its application to the whole of this life, as well as to the particular parts of it. Life is the seed-time, the future life, the harvest. See Land and Book, vol. 207. Comp. 2 Thessalonians 3:10.