Deuteronomy 32:1-4
Wednesday Night Prayer and Praise • Sermon • Submitted
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Listen, O heavens, and I will speak;
hear, O 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.
LISTEN: The Hebrew word is HAAZIMU and it means to give ear to, hear it to perceive it, listen to heed something.
Remember the song “Heed the Call”?
Released in 1979, the Imperials were a big item in contemporary Christian music.
You gotta Heed the Call Brother.
You gotta Heed the Call Sister.
Everybody one and all, heed the call.
Moses says “Listen, O heavens.” Then he says, “Hear, O earth.”
HEAR: The Hebrew word is TISMA and it means “pay attention to.”
Moses declares to the heavens and the earth.
Why do you think he did that?
Other examples of this happening:
I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed.
Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth to testify against them.
Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth!
For the Lord has spoken:
“I reared children and brought them up,
but they have rebelled against me.
Your word, O Lord, is eternal;
it stands firm in the heavens.
Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
you established the earth, and it endures.
Your laws endure to this day,
for all things serve you.
Heaven and earth are the oldest aspects of creation. He wants to make a statement that will be heard and carry the authority of all time.
If you could make such a declaration, what would you say?
Moses declared in the form of praise and with absolute conviction about his teaching. What if every person that opened up God’s word in such a way that they would make such a bold claim?
Teaching is instruction or doctrine. It comes from the Hebrew word LEQAH. It is the result of continuing to instruct someone who is already trained in wisdom and understanding.
Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still;
teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.
The wise in heart are called discerning,
and pleasant words promote instruction.
A wise man’s heart guides his mouth,
and his lips promote instruction.
So what does Moses what his teaching to do?
He wants the teaching to “fall like rain and his words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender grass or plants.”
There is refreshing, nourishment and an enlivening power in the dew and the rain.
I was thinking other day as I was mowing and weed-eating. It seems that this summer has provided lots of rain and we have had to mow lots more. The grass is doing what it is designed to do: grow. The rain and dew add refreshment, nourishment, and strengthens it to grow. The grass does not decide whether to grow or not, it just does as it is created to do so.
When we hear teaching like Moses is describing here, what can we do with it?
Do we soak in the word of the Lord? Do we get strength?
I had this thought about this analogy after getting so hot and tired of mowing this week. Am I allowing the teaching of God’s word to be a blessing or a burden in my life? Am I embracing the growth, the refreshment, the nourishment and the enlivening power that comes with it or am I getting upset with it?
Am I letting it reassure me with its promises or it is causing me problems?
Moses had to have shouted verse 3, because I do not think you could say it in a whisper, do you? “I will proclaim, I will publish, the Name of the Lord!” He makes that statement boldly with gusto and then gives room from others to join in:
“Oh praise the greatness of our God!”
Let’s describe the greatness of our God!
“O Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do?
I prayed to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
Ascribe to the Lord, O families of nations,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
Why?
He is the ROCK. Not a rock, THE ROCK. What does that mean?
The unchangeable refuge
The firm defense
The secure resort
But his bow remained steady,
his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
His works are _________(perfect!)
His ways are __________(just)
He is __________(faithful)
He does no wrong.
He is upright
He is Just!
So....
What are you so passionate about that you will declare it to the oldest aspect of creation?
What is the summary of your doctrine?
