Scripture Reference:
Deuteronomy 28:62 "You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God."
* note: the content of the following teaching is not my own, it is taken from excellent teaching by Gavin Porter from a series called God's Vision God's Mission. You can access the full teaching on YouTube by following this link: Dust and Stars
Reading Guide for Mom and Dad:
In Deut 28:59-64 the Voice of God is connected to the Stars. Please follow the link to read more regarding this: Lesson 1: Stars
Genesis 22: 17
In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore.
We see that God makes a promise to Abraham, to multiply his descendants like the stars of heavens (meaning the Spiritual children through salvation in Christ) and like the dust/sand on the seashore( the nation of Israel that multiplies in the natural).
But here in Deuteronomy 28: 62 God says that if you no longer listen to My Voice you will no longer be like the stars in heaven for multitude.
If they are not like stars anymore what is the other option? They will be like the sand/dust of Genesis 22:17.
Every time we saw the dust mentioned we see God mentions the East, West, South, North- the four ends of the earth.
Deuteronomy 28:64 Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from the end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known - wood and stone.
If you reject the Voice of God, you will be like the dust, scattered to the ends of the earth. Out of The Way following after the gods of the World. This is exactly what happened to Israel:
Read more about this in Deuteronomy 31 and Ezekiel 16
Over and over you see the picture where God chose them and made a covenant with them and clothed them and blessed them and Israel used all the blessings to serve other gods.
When God made Adam it was from the dust of the earth. He breathed into Adam so Adam was dust together with Spirit. If you reject the relationship, the Spirit of God - the very Image of God, you end up being just "dust".
They were meant to be Stars but they became Dust. (Dust is without Spirit)
But there is a promise:
Ps 107:3 Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy, and gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south.
God is now gathering those people who will hear His Voice. Not only the Jews but IN Christ the Gentiles can also be part of God's promises through the finished work of the Cross.
In Christ, there is no more Jew or Gentile but we are all one in Christ!
Isaiah 46:5 Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' and to the south 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth - Everyone who is called by My name,
God is gathering His sons and daughters!
The Israelites were physically scattered to Babylon and now God says He will gather them again. God made us for His glory. We are meant to be the carriers of His glory. Every one that is called by My Name. He is calling His bride - sons, and daughters from the ends of the earth.
In Lesson 4 we see that man was blinded to God's Vision:
God says to bring the blind so they can see: God is gathering the Nations
Matthew 8:11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
Luke 13:29 They will come from the east and the west from the north and the south and sit down in the kingdom of God.
All the nations are drawn in: Those who were outside the Old Covenant can now become one in the New Covenant. We can be co-heirs with Christ. We can be part of His Vision, walk in His Way, and listen to His Voice: a Multitude in His Image ruling with Him over all of creation.
Conversation Starters with the little ones:
Play with your children in the garden, my children enjoy playing in the sand. Sit with them with your feet in the mud and try to count the grains of sand in your hand. How did God create Adam? Talk to them about how God formed Adam from dust and how God breathed His Spirit into him. This makes man dust and Spirit.
Teach them to Rule and Multiply:
Have some fun in the kitchen! We made "dust and star cheesecake". I've included the recipe below.
1. For the crust: Take one packet of Tennis biscuits for the "DUST". Let your little ones have fun turning this into crums - like the sand on the beach!
Add 4 tablespoons of melted butter and mix. Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan. Place into the fridge to cool.
2. Filling: Combine 250g(2 cups) of Cremora in a bowl. Add 150ml of cold water and mix.
3. Add 1 can of condensed milk to the mixture and mix.
4. Add 125ml of lemon juice in increments to the mixture, the texture will change into a thicker mixture.
5. Pour this into your prepared crust and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
We added some stars for decoration!
You are welcome to download this visual aid for your own personal use:
Kettle Prayer Suggestion:
Lord Jesus, use our family to reach every nation on earth with your message: The message of Your Kingdom! Thank you for Your faithfulness. Amen
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