AS THE RAIN … AS THE DEW

In the land of Canaan, the rains were seasonal - falling in the spring and the autumn of the year - referred to in scripture as the ‘first rain, and the latter rain’, Deut. 11. 14. Between these two ‘rains’ the land was dependent on the heavy dews which fell to sustain fertility and growth. Both played a critical part in the life of the nation, and represented the bountiful bless­ings of God upon them. Indeed, one of the severest of judgements that God could bring upon His people was to withhold the rain and dew. We remember the days of Elijah when he said to the wicked Ahab, ‘There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word’, 1 Kgs. 17. 1. Or, the days of Haggai when God said to His neglectful people, ‘Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit’, Hag. 1. 10.

In our experience the fullness and fruitfulness of our spiri­tual lives is entirely dependent on what comes from above. There are times when bountiful seasons of blessing come upon us, when the windows of heaven seem to be open wide. We attend conferences and meetings and receive a great infusion of blessing from the word through the servants gifted by the Holy Spirit - comparing with the ‘rains’ that Canaan experienced. But, such seasons pass, and we settle down into the everyday routines of life. Even here we need refreshment and encourage­ment, corresponding to the ‘dew’. We cannot survive on the infrequent ‘rains’ alone, we need the daily ministry of the Holy Spirit to us through the word. During the experience of Israel in the wilderness, they were sustained by the manna, but the manna became associated with the dew. We read, ‘And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night, the manna fell upon it’, Num. 11. 9. The manna speaks of Christ upon whom we must feed, but the dew would remind us of the work of the Holy Spirit who brings the ministry of Christ to us through the word. The manna had to be collected daily, not seasonally, and, whilst we enjoy times of special enrichment on occasion, it is important to allow the Spirit to minister Christ to us on a daily basis, and thus sustain us in our pilgrimage.