dew – Praying Pint

53.b. Wilderness – 17.h. “Give ear, O heavens”

Deu 32:1-3 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!

By appealing, in this solemn manner, to the heavens and the earth in the beginning of this song, Moses intended to signify, 1st, The truth and importance of its contents, which were such as deserved to be known by all the world: and, 2d, The stupidity of that perverse and unthinking people, who were less likely to hearken and obey than the heavens and the earth themselves. 3d, He hereby declares also the justice of the divine proceedings toward them, according to what he had said. Heaven and earth are here put for the inhabitants of both, angels and men: both will agree(Benson)

You lifeless and senseless creatures, heaven and earth, which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel, that were more dull of hearing than these; and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings, and the justice of God’s proceedings against them. (Brown)

These are called upon to hearken, either to rebuke the stupidity and inattention of men, or to show that these would shed or withhold their influences, their good things, according to the obedience or disobedience of Israel; or because these are durable and lasting, and so would ever be witnesses for God and against his people. (Gill)

The Universe cannot silence, but must listen to, the spiritual truth. (Cambridge)

Give ear, listen, and pay attention! All of God’s Word is profitable for us. Blessings, warnings, curses, promises, precepts, prophecies, laws, holiness, and sinfulness are given to us so by them we will continue to grow and mature in our understanding and knowledge of God for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

Has any people group or nation stayed the course? Has any nation founded on biblical principles or through revival or restoration ever continued on this path of trust, faith, hope, reliance, and purpose? The answer to this is NO. Why do we fall away so easily? Why does those who give no thought to God influence how we think and live? The fault doe not lay upon these influencers, but it surely does on those who have tasted the blessings and guidance of God. Falling and drifting away from God will easily happen when the Word of God and the growth and maturing in it are neglected and deemed unimportant for everyday living.

42.n. “Wilderness” – 2. Quail and Manna

Exodus 16:13. In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.

Exodus 16:35 The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

Psalms 78:27-28    he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;  he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.

Psalms 105:40    They asked, and he brought quail, and gave them bread from heaven in abundance.

Numbers 11:9   When the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell with it.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3   And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.  And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Nehemiah 9:15    You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger

Nehemiah 9:20-21     You gave your good Spirit to instruct them and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst.  Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.

Psalms 78:24-25    and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.  Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

At evening the quails came up, and the people caught with ease as many as they needed. The manna came down in dew. They called it Manna, Manhu, which means, What is this? It is a portion; it is that which our God has allotted us, and we will take it, and be thankful. It was pleasant food; it was wholesome food. The manna was rained from heaven; it appeared, when the dew was gone, as a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost, like coriander seed, in colour like pearls. The manna fell only six days in the week, and in double quantity on the sixth day; it bred worms and became offensive if kept more than one day, excepting on the sabbath. The people had never seen it before. It could be ground in a mill, or beaten in a mortar, and was then made into cakes and baked. It continued the forty years the Israelites were in the wilderness, wherever they went, and ceased when they arrived in Canaan. All this shows how different it was from any thing found before, or found now. They were to gather the manna every morning. We are hereby taught,

1. To be prudent and diligent in providing food for ourselves and our households; with quietness working, and eating our own bread, not the bread of idleness or deceit. God’s bounty leaves room for man’s duty; it did so even when manna was rained; they must not eat till they have gathered.

2. To be content with enough. Those that have most, have for themselves but food and raiment; those that have least, generally have these; so that he who gathers much has nothing over, and he who gathers little has no lack. There is not such a disproportion between one and another in the enjoyment of the things of this life, as in the mere possession of them.

3. To depend upon Providence: let them sleep quietly, though they have no bread in their tents, nor in all their camp, trusting that God, with the following day, would bring them in their daily bread. It was surer and safer in God’s storehouse than their own, and would come thence sweeter and fresher. See here the folly of hoarding.

(Henry)

156. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.

1 Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

2 Kings 3:14    And Elisha said, “As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you.

Jeremiah 15:19     Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.

Acts 27:23  For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.

“The Creator lives”, “before whom I stand”, “to whom I belong”, “to whom I worship.” These are words of faith and understanding. They speak of the certainty of God and the action of worship. These are words of people who live each day with God first in their life. They choose to serve Him, they seek to serve and honor Him, they cling to Him and trust Him, they rely on Him, and they find purpose in following and obeying His leading. Each of these people lives in morally declining cultures with society blindly following practices that are not of God. They chose God over conforming to the moral decline. Every day they hungered and thirsted for God’s leading and found purpose in reliant obedience.

Our lives should have God’s word deep into our heart and mind so that we are a light in a dark and lost world. Read His word each day with intentional purpose to gain understanding and wisdom and knowledge of God. Read His word each day to grow in faith, trust, reliance, hope, joy, strength, power, and love. Read His word each day to have fuel in our heart and mind that the Holy Spirit can speak into our lives and direct us on paths that bring honor and glory to God.

85. Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?

Judges 6:36 Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.

Hosea 6:3-4     Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.”

Isaiah 43:19-20     Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 50:2    Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?

I read this article in Share Faith Magazine and thought it had a very interesting view on Gideon’s fleece.

Gideon did not put out the fleece to figure out God’s will. He already knew God’s will. That was plain within the first thirty seconds of his meeting with the angel. He put out the fleece even though he already knew what he was supposed to do.

Gideon put out the fleece because he was faithless and unbelieving. Gideon had already seen miracles. Why did he need a wet fleece and dry ground? He laid out the fleece because He did not trust God to fulfill His promises. He knew God’s will but refused to go and do it.

Do you sometimes try to lay out the fleece before God?

Think about what you’re doing. Whether it’s figuring out if you should take the job offer, move to another area of the country, have children, buy the car, take the vacation, or start the new ministry, you don’t need fleece. You simply need faith.

God still performs miracles. God still shows His power. God still provides direction, but He doesn’t need your fleece to do it. When you think that maybe you should lay out the fleece, instead surrender in faith. God does not reveal His will by having us devise little tricks and tests to see what He will do. He is gracious and kind, but He doesn’t do stunts on demand. He guides in His own ways, on His own terms, in His own timing. That’s what sovereignty is. That’s why we can submit to God’s gracious and loving sovereignty.

Discerning God’s will isn’t voodoo or divination. We don’t need fleece, or any other techniques to figure it out. It is a matter of simple obedience and submitting to His leading, step-by-step. God is big enough to carry through without fleece, tests, or other tricks. Your “fleece” may simply be confusing you or getting in the way.

Instead of laying out the fleece or trying other techniques to figure out God’s will, merely trust and obey.

What shall be the sign?

Genesis 15:8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

2 Kings 20:8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?”

Luke 1:18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”

Psalms 86:17 Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Genesis 24:2-4 And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.”

Genesis 24:13-14 Behold, I am standing by the spring of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please let down your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”

Judges 6:36-40 Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

1 Samuel 14:9-10 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.”

Isaiah 7:11 “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.”

Matthew 12:38-40 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

There are certain aspects of our christian life that definitely do not need a sign from God for us to follow.

2 Peter 1:4. Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

One thing is clear, if we do not spend time cultivating a life with these foundations being hammered solid through reading and applying His word, how its it expected to see a sign from Him in whom there is not daily desire to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey. Walking with God this side of eternity has questions which requires living active faith. Faith that is grown and cultivated through His word.

We can ask God to give us a sign but I have found many times that He confirms directions for us to follow without us needing to ask. We just need to have our heart and ears tuned in to listening for the quiet small whispers of God through the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Do you want a sign?

Do you want to hear Him speak into your life through His word?

Do you want to see things unfold knowing God’s hand is active in plans and purposes in your life?

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen. In our life of instant everything we seem have lost the ability to seek God with expectant faith anticipation.