THE DEW OF THE SPIRIT

HOSEA 14:5

A. "I WILL BE AS THE DEW UNTO ISRAEL: HE SHALL GROW AS THE LILY, AND CAST FORTH HIS ROOTS AS LEBANON." Hos. 14:5
  1. It is wonderful to read God's loving appeal to His backsliding people:
    1. No harsh threatenings,
    2. But gently wooing them by using the gentleness of the dew.
    3. See how He approached a poor sinful woman of Samaria - John 4:22-28
  2. How it warms our hearts as we attempt to draw new knowledge from God's Holy Word:
B. "I WILL BE AS THE DEW UNTO ISRAEL"
  1. The dew:
    1. Its nature - scientists tell us that the dew is the water of the atmosphere falling in very small drops.
    2. It is developed by the warmth of plants and the earth.
    3. It works quietly and penetrates almost unperceptibly and most effectively.
    4. It is so gentle as it touches the vegetation that the most sensitive plant is unharmed.
  2. That, God says, is how He will deal with backsliding Israel:
    1. ". . . I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her." Hos. 2:14
    2. "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." Ps. 110:3
  3. Our Lord's gentleness with sinners is further described in words like these:
    1. "A bruised reed shall he not break, the smoking flax shall he not quench - Isa. 42:3
    2. ". . . thy gentleness hath made thee great" - Ps. 18:35
  4. Typical examples of the dew in its relationship to God's tender labors with sinful and erring humanity:
    1. The Samaritan and the wounded traveler - Luke 10:30-37
    2. The story of the prodigal son - Luke 15:11-32
C. BLESSING OF THE DEW
  1. Think of how the lilies grow: Song of Solomon 7:14; Matt. 6:28
  2. The fame of Lebanon: Isa. 47:6; Jer. 12:2; 17:8
  3. The olive tree receives much of its life-giving strength from the dew:
  4. What would happen to us if God would not use the gentleness of the dew to reach our hearts?
  5. Let us note the blessings God promises as a direct result of His gentleness with His people:
    1. "I will heal thy backsliding, I will love them freely."
    2. "He shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon."
    3. "They shall revive as the corn."
    4. "And grow as the vine."
    5. Ephraim shall say, "What have I to do anymore with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found."
  6. Is this our experience?


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