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2 My doctrine shall drop as
the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender
herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name
of the LORD (Deut 32:2-3)
. . . . and in the morning the dew lay
round about the host. 14 And when the dew that lay was
gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing,
as small as the hoar frost on the ground. 15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to
another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them,
This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat. (Ex
16:13-15)
The appearance of dew is a blessing of the dawn hour. When she was young, my
mother used to go early intro her garden – often just at day-break. It was a
beautiful time of day as the early rays of the sun began to brighten the
horizon, and the air was still. The clouds, if there were any, were a gradually
alternating collage of brilliant colors. But the simpler beauty was that of the
dews on the flowers and blades of grass.
What causes dew to form in nature? Warm air is capable of holding more moisture
than colder air. Overnight, the ambient temperature of the air drops. When it
reaches a certain temperature, commensurate with its moisture content, the
moisture will begin to fall out of the air to form rain or dew. Scientist refer
to that point as the Dew-Point. But in the case of dew, there are no droplets
of water that fall from the air, rather the moisture distills on the flora of
the earth. This generally happens in early morning when the air is at its
coolest point, and the flora as well has cooled. The dew silently forms on the
leaves of green plants or petals of roses and other flowers. No one can see its
forming, it just gradually appears as a vapor forms above a morning pond.
Because of her love of gardening, my mother’s favorite hymn
was, “I Come to the Garden Alone.” Truly, in most cases, the dew was
still on the roses at that early hour of her rising. Dew is water taken from
the air; and our Friend, Jesus Christ – the Fountain of Life - is present when
all is still and our hearts serene.
Dew does not fall with the clash of thunder and lightning.
In fact, dew does not fall at all – it rather forms silently and imperceptibly
upon the foliage and flowers of the garden of the soul. God often covers His
blessings and presence with the mystery of the natural dews, or of clouds, or of
Temple Veils just as He did the Manna.
I have previously written devotions of the forming of the
Dew, so I will try to cover ground less traveled in those previous devotions
concerning Dew and the mystery of its forming. I refer to the formation of dew
as a mystery, though we understand its scientific operations, because it forms
without our notice. It distills silently, invisibly and imperceptibly.
The beauty of this mystery is best described in that great old classic hymn,
O Worship the King:
Thy bountiful care, what tongue
can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines
in the light;
It streams from the hills, it
descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills in the dew
and the rain.
One of the heavenly qualities of dew is its time of forming
– most often at the morning hour. It heralds a new beginning. My father used to
say that each believer is given a clean, white sheet of paper each morning.
Throughout the day, we make smudges and disfigurations on that paper; but, next
morning, the paper is made clean by God and we proceed anew. That describes to
me the beauty of the morning sunrise and the accompanying dews.
I have read a theory put forward by Creation scientists that
in the days of Eden, there was no rain – only a mist that arose to water the
earth. 5 And every plant of the
field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew:
for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a
man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from
the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. (Gen 2:5-6) I believe this to be the only
conclusion which can be drawn from this passage. That mist was the heavy
primordial dews of Eden.
Let us examine some distinct ways in which DEW can be
compared to God’s Word:
1 BOTH WORK BEYOND THE SIGHT OF MAN: The dew
falls invisibly and so gradually that its coming cannot be discerned by the eye
of man. Likewise, the Word of God works invisibly in the heart beyond the
notice of other men, or even the owner of the heart in which it is working.
2 CONFIRMATION OF TRUTH: Gideon
was given confirmation of God’s Counsel by the dews on, and off, the sheep
skin. God gives us silent, but sure, confirmation of His Word by way of the
Holy Ghost and His Counsel.
3 PRESENCE OF HOPE: There was not
an abundance of rain in Israel and the surrounding region; but morning dew is
evidence of a presence of moisture. That moisture is evidenced on the green
foliage of the morning, and gives hope of blessing to come. If the air contains
moisture enough for dew formation, it likely contains moisture enough for the
condensation of moisture in the clouds of the upper atmosphere in due course.
Job finally gained assurance that he would not perish in an untimely death, but
rather in his own bed a natural death: 18 Then I said, I shall die
in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. 19 My root was spread out by the
waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch. (Job
29:18-19)
4 DEW REPRESENTS HEALTH AND LONG
LIFE: 3 Thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of
the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. (Psalm 110:3) Just as dew forms in the
morning calm, so life is extended in a settled and calm living.
5 RECONCILIATION: Terrible famine
and flood may come at the evocation of the wrath of God; but His graceful
benediction follows as the dew upon the meadows: 12 The king's wrath is as the
roaring of a lion; but his favour is as dew upon the grass. (Prov
19:12)
6 DEW IS LIKE GODLY WISDOM: 19 The LORD by wisdom hath
founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the depths are
broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. (Prov
3:19-20)
7 PRESENCE OF DEW AT MORNING
ILLUSTRATES THE PROMISE OF THE RESURRECTION: 19 Thy dead men shall live,
together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in
dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19) Christ arose while the “Dew
was still on the Roses” and so shall all of the elect of Christ! The
illustration is extended to all of Israel, or all of the Household of God: 4 I will heal their
backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. 5 I will be as the dew unto
Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread, and
his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 7 They that dwell under his shadow
shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent
thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. (Hosea 14:4-7)
8 DEW ILLUSTRATES DIVINE
GUIDANCE: 12 For
the seed shall be prosperous;
the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the
heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to
possess all these things. (Zech
8:12) Dew rarely forms in famine. Its presence is a
sign of life-giving water; and Christ is the Water of Life.
9 SALT, LIGHT, AND DEW OF GOD’S
REMNANT PEOPLE: Our Lord said His people are the “salt
of the earth” and “the Light of the
world.” Salt makes food taste palatable. But it must be used
sparingly. It must also remain in circulation else it will clog up in the
shaker. It preserves and heals. It makes thirsty for the Water of Life. Light
disinfects and rids the society about us of sin and wickedness. And DEW is that
soothing moisture that does not drown, but makes alive in its gentle formation
just as the Presence of the Comforter (or Holy Ghost) sheds His love abroad in
the hearts of God’s people. 7 And the remnant of Jacob shall
be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the
grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men. (Micah 5:7)
Just as the DEW forms silently and imperceptibly, so do the
effects of God’s Word build faith and hope in the heart of the awakening
sinner. To scream and belabor the sinner with God’s Word is not like dew, but
like a smothering flood. Gentle words, and a gentle life, will convict sooner
than threats and harangues. Then, first comes, the dew of planting; and,
secondly then, follows the nourishing and soaking rains of God’s grace upon a
dry and thirsty ground.
