11 May 2023 Anno domini, the Anglican Orthodox Communion Worldwide
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. 5I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 7They 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; All scripture quoted is from the King James Version)
God can stop the dew from falling, as in Haggai 1:10, by sending a famine of water just as the Holy Spirit may be withdrawn by a famine of reading the Word of the Lord.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.
God sends famine as a result of disobedience. In the last verse of 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.” Rejecting God as their King, they became lawless.
The Dew of Heaven represents comfort which the Holy Spirit gives to us after the heat of the long day of striving. The Word of God which comes to us in our moments of rest and ease is the ‘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:
First: 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.
Second: 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.
Third: 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 lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.”
Fourth: 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)
Fifth: 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 attendant of the Thunder of Heaven.
Why not venture out to your garden early in the morning “while the dew is still on the roses?”
