We have the promise that
the Lord’s Word would distil as the dew. |
What a wonderful lesson we have here. How did the
Harvest Message come to us? Did Bro. Russell engage a team of brilliant Bible Students as
a kind of brain trust with sledgehammer blows to forge the truths of our time? No.
It did
not happen that way.
Let me quote from Reprint 2453 where Bro. Russell explains how present
truth came about. He says:
"But as we claim that what we present is not our own, not new,
but ‘The Old Theology,’ so old that it had been lost sight of for centuries, we
must disclaim any credit even for the finding and rearrangement of the jewels of truth.
‘It is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.’ The writer
wholly disclaims superior ability or qualification for the reorganization of the truth in
its present solidarity. As the time had come for the bringing together of the scattered
thoughts of past centuries in the marvelous inventions of our day—so the time had come
for the bringing together of the fragmentary hopes and promises of God’s Word
scattered through Christendom. To deny that the Lord has simply ‘poured out’
this harvest time blessing of ‘present truth’ in his own due time and in his own
way, would be as wrong as to claim it is of our own invention. ‘Poured out’
exactly expresses the truth on this point, too, for he neither ‘burned the midnight
oil,’ nor racked his brain, nor otherwise forged the chain of truth with heavy sledge
blows of human reason on the anvil of knowledge. On the contrary, it came gradually,
silently, as comes the morning dawn: the only effort necessary was to keep awake
and face in the right direction. And the greatest aid in so doing was the effort put forth
to awaken others of the ‘household of faith’ and point them to the light and in
turn to urge upon them the necessity for serving also, if they would overcome the
lethargic ‘spirit of the world,’ and be ready to go in to the marriage of the
Lamb."
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Yes, the only thing softer than the dew is the morning dawn.
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That is indeed how the
truth came to us, and that is the way the Lord said His word would come. I love his
unpretentious explanation. He is simply telling it like it was.
Yes, the truth distilled as the dew and the gentle rain,
and that is the way it should be. God has not chosen the lightning bolts to strike
His
people nor the thunder to define His truths.
They are finding out in our time about the miracle of the
dew and the rain. Scientifically, water is much heavier than air and
theoretically air should not hold water. But it does. How does it do it? Well, that is a
miracle. Water simply evaporates into the air.
If you leave a glass of water standing long enough in the open air the
water will gradually disappear. Little molecules of water lift off the surface of water
and into the air. The sun greatly accelerates this process. The air is miraculously made
to retain molecules of water.
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As the moisture enlarges, it forms clouds and in great water storms the clouds will rise
higher and higher, forming layers of clouds ascending 30,000 or 40,000 feet where the air
is very thin and rare.
When the condensation takes place, it can become an awesome deluge of
water.
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By way of contrast the dew forms from the moisture
condensing from the air on the earth in such a gentle way that it forms droplets of water
without the sound of a drop of rain.
That is how the truth has come to us.
The Rock
We proceed to
Deuteronomy 32:4, 5 (ESV):
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"The Rock, his work
is perfect; for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just
and right is he.
"They have dealt
corruptly with Him, they are no longer his children because
they are blemished; they are a
crooked and twisted generation."
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There are many scriptures confirming God is our Rock.
"Look to the rock from which you were hewn."
Isaiah 51:1 (ESV) |
"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress,
and my deliverer, my God, my rock,
in
whom I take refuge."
Psalms 18:2 |
"The Rock of Israel has said to me:
when one rules justly over men,
ruling in the fear of God,
he dawns on them like the morning light."
2 Samuel 23:3, 4 (ESV) |
Jacob His Allotted Heritage
In Deuteronomy 32:7-9
(ESV) we quote in part:
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"Remember the days of
old, consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you; your
elders, and they will tell you.
"When
the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he
divided mankind, he
fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of
God.
"But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob
his allotted heritage." |
Western Wall |
Samaria |
City of Jerusalem |
Hebron
Tomb of the Patriarchs |
This is a reminder of history referring back to
Genesis 10, where we find some seventy people were assigned their portions of land. This
was shortly after the flood, but their fathers and elders probably remembered this bit of
history.
This was important to the children of Israel then, because they were
standing at the gate of the Promised Land. It was important for them to know the land they
were about to take was their God given heritage. They were not taking something that was
not theirs, like some thief, but only claiming what the Lord had given them.
In Genesis 10:25 (ESV) we read:
"To Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his
days the earth was divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan."
It was in Peleg’s time the earth was divided and Peleg followed
in the lineage of Shem. We think this scrap of history is very interesting even now, but
then it was a reminder that they were claiming their heritage.
"He Found Him in a Desert
Land"
We read from
Deuteronomy 32:10:
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"He found him in a
desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he
kept him as the apple of his eye."
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Wilderness Wanderings |
God found Israel in the wilderness and placed his love upon them during the forty years of
their wandering.
Because God led them, they successfully found their way through the
treacherous passes and canyons on their long journey.
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Without God’s guidance they would not know the right way, the
hidden dangers, and could easily have been entrapped and suffered severe losses. The
wilderness can be very unforgiving and harsh on travelers ignorant of the dangers. So God
prepared the way before them, and they avoided all the pitfalls and dangers of traveling in
that howling wilderness.
Yes, "He kept them as the apple of His eye." It
doesn’t get better than that. It is wonderful to be kept by the power of God.
"As an Eagle Stirreth Up Her
Nest"
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"As an eagle stirreth
up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth
them on her wings:
"So the Lord
alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him."
Deuteronomy 32:11-12 |
The Lord uses the eagle here to illustrate His care for Israel. The
eagle is a remarkable creature. It can use high winds to soar to great heights. It
has keen vision that can see a mouse from a mile high and can also look at the sun at
noonday.
Eagle with Young in Nest
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Here it speaks of the eagle stirring up her nest.
Because eagles are big birds, they use sticks to make their nest. When the eaglets become
of age to leave the nest, the mother eagle will tear out all the grass and down from
within the nest and suddenly that comfortable nest begins to poke and stick the eaglets.
It is time to leave the nest.
As the eaglets spread their wings while learning to fly on their
rocky ledges, the mother eagle flutters over her young. When each eaglet takes its maiden
voyage, the mother eagle will spread her wings under her eaglet and bear them up,
literally bearing them on eagle wings until they have sufficient strength to fly alone.
The last thing the eaglets are taught is how to soar. Unless these
young eagles learn how to set their wings and harness the opposing winds, the winds would
exhaust them quickly. By setting the wings at the proper angle they can stay aloft using
the high winds to give them lift just as a sailplane.
The lesson is very clear. The Lord does not leave His people in
comfortable nests for long. The day must come in every Christian's life when the Lord will
stir up the nest, turning us out into the elements, but all the while fluttering over us
and quickly bearing us up on eagle wings when our weak wings falter.
Then we must learn to soar on eagle wings, using the opposing forces of
life to soar to higher heights, renewing our strength as the eagle. The eagle does not
fight the opposing winds, but harnesses them while renewing its strength.
"Jeshurun Waxed Fat"
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"But Jeshurun waxed
fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covereth with fatness;
then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
"They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with
abominations provoked they him to anger.
"They sacrificed unto devils [BBE,
evil spirits], not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly
up, whom your fathers feared not."
Deuteronomy 32:15-17 |
What does Jeshurun mean? It is a pet name for Israel and means the
"darling upright." Can you image God calling them this? He did. God generously
gives them a little more credit than they deserve.
Still, in their early experiences Israel did put in some beautiful
devotion to God. We sometimes look at all their backsliding, but God gives them credit as
he does us, by counting us faithful.
It is when they entered the land of promise and became full and fat
that they forsook the Lord. How sad to read:
"He forsook God which made him,
and lightly esteemed
the Rock of his salvation."
Sacrificing Children to Moloch |
That is exactly what happened. This is why this song was given, because the Lord knew they
would forsake him.
Not only so, but they went after strange gods (evil spirits) and
entered into the abominable practices of the nations round about, sacrificing their sons
and daughters to demons.
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How could this happen, we ask? I am sure they did not
start out to do this. However, leaving their steadfastness to the Lord, little by little,
they were beguiled until they had debased themselves to such a wretched condition.
However, He did not cast them off forever, but rather he wanted to make them jealous.
"They Moved Me to
Jealousy"
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"They have moved me
to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their
vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will
provoke them to anger with a foolish nation."
Deuteronomy 32:21
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The mere fact that God tries to provoke them to jealousy shows He
still loved His people. This verse points us to the fact that God turned
His attention to
the Gentiles, those who are not a people, and from these He selects a people for
His name.
Meanwhile, God hopes the Jews see His affections being extended to the
Gentiles, that they would become jealous and seek Him again. As Gentiles, it is
humbling to know that we really are playing second fiddle to the Jews, but to obtain
God’s favor we are glad to be second fiddle or third fiddle if need be. We are not
worthy of this honor, however you look upon it.
