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.