Deuteronomy 32:2 English Standard Version (ESV) May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.

Love me tender, love me true, never let me go.

Those are secular lyrics from a song sung in a popular movie from our past. Whenever we hear those words we are transported back to that past and good feelings about good times.

How many of us remember that these words from Deuteronomy 32 were written there? Deuteronomy is one of those books of the Pentateuch that is often thought of as legalistic in nature. It is often received as an ultimatum. Many of us tend to stick to the good news chapters. We want to hear mercy, forgiveness, and everlasting love.

God loved us in Deuteronomy. Finding His tender love amongst all the words of Deuteronomy requires some searching for that tenderness. We tend to stray away from much of the Pentateuch because it contains some harsh realities. So does this present world. Those harsh realities of Deuteronomy are still true today, but for a world that has rejected God and His teachings.

It is important to tenderly love the lost but we must not forget mercy can only be given to those convicted. It is not our job to convict the lost. That is the external work of the Holy Spirit preparing the lost for an escape from the bondage to sin. We cannot offer them a key to their chains unless they first see those chains for themselves.

“I was once like you.” Those words cannot be received until the lost see themselves as lost.

“Where are you?” That needs to come first. Just as God called out to Adam, knowing where Adam was, it was for Adam’s sake that God asked “Where are you?” Self-examination must come first.

Hebrews 5:12 English Standard Version (ESV) For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

What does the milk of the Word suggest? If we look to this verse to explain the deeper meaning we will discover dependency. Needing someone tells us that an attitude of independence has been reached that relies upon ego. Milk is given to babes in Christ because they are helpless and dependent.

The basic oracles of God acknowledges that all things come from God. We would not have come to know God without God. Pagan beliefs never came to a knowledge of pagan gods because they do not exist. Pagan gods never show themselves. We come to a knowledge of God because He reveals Himself.

When do we get so proud that we feel like we no longer need God? Perhaps it is when we become so confident in ourselves that we stop turning to God as the source of enlightenment. Perhaps it is when we seek man’s praises above God’s approval.

1 Thessalonians 2:4 English Standard Version (ESV) but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

Or perhaps we don’t like to be tested.

Sound doctrine will stand up to being tested. Teachers that are not tested are in danger of being believed because of what they know rather than who they know. Students should raise questions because it is a clear sign that they are willing to be vulnerable. “I don’t understand.” That is not a sign of weakness, it is an earnest cry for help.

Babies cry and that is okay. The mature who have forgotten how to cry have hardened hearts.

God tests the heart to see if it is still tender.