Longing for the rain!
Thoughts about how we grow from Deuteronomy 32.
Perhaps, like me, you spent last week eagerly awaiting a thunderstorm! I know it’s the height of Britishness to moan about the cold weather all-year-round and then wish the sun away when it finally arrives, but the recent heatwave has had me doing exactly that. And the vegetation has been doing the same, particularly the grass! Our lawn has been somewhat reminiscent of the Savannah until the last couple of days. But, since the weather finally broke on Monday, a dramatic shift has begun. It is beginning (slowly) to ‘green up’. New shoots of growth are coming through and what previously looked dead is beginning to show signs of life.
Sat watching on the miracle (or scientific process) of transpiration, I was reminded of the prayer of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, verses 1-4:
“Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;
hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.
Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.
I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.”
I grew to love this prayer as I was teaching the Bible at a youth camp in North Cornwall a few years ago. Believe it or not, some of us wordy types who preach can get so nervous that we struggle to string a sentence together in prayer just before getting into the pulpit. Following Moses’ words in those moments have helped me many times!
This segment of Moses’ prayer has much to teach us about what goes on when God’s people receive his word through preaching. For starters, it reminds us in verse 1 that what is going on is of cosmic significance - the heavens and the earth await the word of the Lord. And verses 3 and 4 remind us of the focus of preaching. Preaching is to ‘proclaim’ the wondrous character of our God and His works in our world. Often preaching can slip into something a little too low-key, or a preacher may be tempted to focus too much on the affairs of this world that the ‘greatness of our God’ is not praised.
However, verse 2 reminds us that if the preacher’s heart and mind are in the mold of Moses, something life-giving happens. In Moses’ case, God’s spirit was upon him in such a manner that his words when preaching would come with God’s power. In the case of those of us preaching in the here and now, when we faithfully and prayerfully preach from the text of scripture with conviction, the word that have been ‘breathed out by God’ (2 Timothy 3:16) are conveyed not just by language but the Holy Spirit’s power in such a way that they are capable of ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’ so that we can walk the path of life. Paul paints Timothy a picture of God’s word from Genesis 1 when He spoke light and life into a formless void.
And here in Deuteronomy, we have another picture of life. Just as a regular downpours are essential to grasslands, the watering of God’s word will be essential to God’s people Israel as they enter the Promised Land with Joshua, and the local church body in the here and now. Notice that Moses doesn’t put this in the manner of a biology textbook for church growth, instead he gives us a word painting from the beauty of creation.
“Let my teaching fall like rain
and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.”
One of the joys of watching a garden over time is seeing the beautiful way in which the natural processes that God has designed cause vegetation to flourish. Sunlight, water and nutrients make roots, shoots and leaves. Yet, the gardener can merely get out the watering can and trust the process. And as God’s people, we are to do the same when it comes to growing in the grace and knowledge of our saviour.
Paul reminds the wayward Corinthian church of this when he writes to them:
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
Paul and Apollos faithfully water the seed of the gospel with the word, ‘teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness’ and trust that the process will cause Christians to grow in the likeness of Jesus. And we are called to follow this model. We are to recognise that this is a process vital to the growth, repair and survival of a local church, and - in the way that our lawns ‘welcome’ a good drenching - we are to receive the watering of the word. J. A. Thompson exhorts us to see this instruction as ‘bringing life and refreshing to a people in need.’
One final note…
Following the opening of this prayer / sermon / song in the presence of gathered Israel (Deuteronomy 32:44), Moses speaks some hard hitting truth, reminding them not just of the Lord’s faithfulness to them and of His promises to bless, but also of their past sin and rebellion - and the devastating consequences that this would have if repeated. And yet, Moses’ prayer is that even this unpleasant message would be received by the thirsty faithful and sprout new spiritual growth. We are to yearn for God’s word even when it does not seem like it will be palatable, and we are to trust that even tough messages will bring triumphant victories for the gospel.
Two Questions:
Do we realise that the process of hearing God’s word proclaimed (preached) is a normal and vital process that God has given the local church for its benefit?
Those who proclaim - do we grasp the responsibility of watering carefully with conviction, while trusting God’s Spirit to bring the new growth in our hearers?
