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HESE are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 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 2:4-6)
God can stop the dew from falling, as in Haggai 1:10 - Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit - by sending a famine of water just as the Holy Spirit may be withdrawn by a famine of reading the Word of the Lord. Dew is formed from moisture in the air which cools at night and condenses into pure drops of water to moisten the green plants, but when the air is devoid of water, the dew will not form. Man, devoid of the Water of Life will not know the Spirit.
God sends famine as a result of disobedience. In the last verse of the Book of Judges 21:25, we read: In those days there was no king (Jesus) in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Disobedient people do not obey God's Law, but do that which they want to do. When men behave so, God sends famine. See the first verse of the very next Book (the Book of Ruth): Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was famine in the land.
The Dew of Heaven represents comfort which the Holy Spirit gives to us after the heat of the long day and night of our striving. The Word of God which comes to us in our moments of rest and ease is that 'Dew of Heaven'.
The Dew of Heaven is God's Word coming to us, but not in the form of formal preaching and study. It is His Word which has been planted in our hearts and naturally distills in our quiet moments to bear fruit and life.
When the fever of life draws to a close, the still and loving voice of God comforts our souls through the agency of the Holy Spirit and re-assures us of His nearness even in physical sleep or the sleep of death.
Let us examine the Dew of Heaven in five particulars:
1. Dew forms quietly and without fanfare. Its forming is invisible to the observer. The evidence thereof is discovered with the coming Light! The effectual working of the Holy Spirit likewise is invisible to our observance. We do feel the Grace and effect of God's Word, but its working in our hearts is silent and invisible.
The Dew of Heaven dampens our visage imperceptibly, gradually by degrees, yet the Light will reveal its presence.
2. Upon some converts, the Word of God storms and Rains; but in others, known only to the mind of God, it comes gently, silently and sweetly - as the Dew.
3. Dew comes as a life-giving relief to herbs and plants which have withered throughout the day in the heat of the Sun. It enlivens these plants and its life-water soaks into their beings and into their roots. It makes them green again with vibrant light. So does God's Word, planted deep in the roots of our hearts, lift our visage and our unbecoming stoop. We wither in the heat of daily battle, but comes the Night and the invigorating Dew of God's Word. Christ is that Bread which came down from Heaven, as the Dew, in the form of Manna. He is now the Bread and Dew of every committed Christian (Gospel of St. John 6:48). Read in Hosea 14:5 - I will be as the Dew unto Israel, and He shall grow as the Lilly.
4. Dew is distilled without our means of preventing it. No one can cancel its falling. Even the ruthless dictators in China, Vietnam and the Sudan cannot prevent the distillation of God's Word in the hearts of His people. My Word shall not return unto me void, it shall accomplish that for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11).
5. Just as God began His Creation in Darkness, Dew usually falls during the night. The Word of God comes upon men's hearts during the night of this world; however, in the perfect day, this Dew will not fall - no more preaching, nor means of grace will then be afforded sinners, neither will saints have need of it. For when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. (1 Corinthians 13:10)
The Word of God comes not only in the form of Dew, but also as Rain upon a dry, parched ground. It may come gently as Dew, or it may come in fierce anger and torrents as characterized by the Thunder of Heaven.
