August 16 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Hosea 14:1–7

Devotional

In His Word the Lord makes use of many illustrations to show who He is for His people. In every single illustration there is an ocean of comfort and peace, and of faithfulness and love. We find this also in the illustration of the dew.

Dew is indispensable, especially in the Middle East, where it can happen that for months there is no rain. The crops have to stand up against burning heat from the withering sun. At nightfall it seems as if the crops are gone; they appear dry and barren. But the next morning those same crops flourish and are full of sap. Why? The crops flourish because the dew comes down during the night and refreshes them and causes them to revive.

That is how the Lord is for His people. He is as the dew. Among all that God is for His people, He is indispensable. For without the heavenly dew the church would pine away, just as the crops do because of the heat of the sun. The sap of life can quickly be dried up because of the heat of daily struggles, temptations, afflictions, and hardships. The burning of sin continually seeks to mortify life. Life has to stand up against the scorching power of sin. It seems as if life is gone because inner corruption and temptations wear the soul down, and from man’s perspective, it appears that there is no life to be found. We are dry and barren. For sure, in the life of a child of God, spiritual life has been conceived. The seed of regeneration has germinated. But that new life cannot maintain itself. Without the sustaining power of God’s grace, it withers, shrivels, and succumbs. It has to sigh under the heat.

But the dew comes and refreshes and revives God’s people and causes them to flourish. Then a child of God can experience what we read in Psalm 138:7, 8, “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me...thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.” Without the heavenly dew, he would die. The Lord is the only One who can sustain His people. His people remain dependent upon Him. For He says, “I will be as the dew unto Israel.”

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.