“I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.” Hosea 14:5
I looked out the window of my study one morning recently, and there was a thick fog. I could barely make out the house across the street! Immediately I thought of the book of Hosea where God is dealing with the northern kingdom (sometimes He refers to them as Ephraim, and sometimes Israel). Through the first thirteen chapters he catalogs their many sins using figurative language. The Lord says they are “joined to idols” (4:17); they have “mixed themselves with the nations” (7:8a) ; they are a “cake not turned” (7:8b); “strangers have devoured their strength” (7:9a); “gray hairs are sprinkled on them” implying deterioration (7:9b); they are “swallowed up” having lost their unique identity as God’s people (8:8a); “a vessel in which no one delights” (8:8b) and “a merchant in whose hands are false balances” (12:7)! Yet in the final (14th) chapter of the book God presents to them an invitation, “Return, Oh Israel, to the Lord your God!” (v 1). Then in verse 5 He says if they return, “I will be like the dew to Israel!”
What a picture of revival, and what a hope that provides us in America today. Surely it is obvious that we as the Lord’s people have turned aside from the principles and practices of our spiritual forefathers. Surely there is agreement that we desperately need to return to the Lord our God!! Surely the Lord’s promise to be like the dew to us will be a dramatic and powerful motivation for us to do so. Notice three things that correlate between physical dew and spiritual revival.
1-Dew is typically found early in the morning! Atmospheric conditions for the formation of dew are best following darkness. In 14:1 God said, “You have stumbled because of your iniquity.” The time has come for each believer to quit blaming others for the conditions of our day, confess one’s own sins and repent.
2-Dew collects heaviest in the lowest places! Conditions for the formation of dew are best in low areas. In 14:2 the Lord said, “Take words with you and return to the Lord.” The Bible has a lot to say about the value God places on humility when it comes to those who come to Him, and we must humble ourselves if we are to truly agree with our heavenly Father (confess) about our own sin and repent.
3-Dew does not form in windy weather! Wind keeps the moisture laden air away from the cool surfaces of grass, leaves, etc. 14:3 reads, “Assyria will not save us (reliance on political alliances). We will not ride on horses (reliance on rentals from Egypt); Nor will we say again, ‘Our God’ to the work of our hands (reliance on self-made idols).” Remember that Jesus said, “The flesh profits nothing.” (John 6:63) Anything man-contrived is doomed to failure. Only God-initiated brokenness, confession, repentance and reconciliation leads to God’s blessedness!
Jon Moore
