Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: Promises Of The Law

When the Heavens are Brass

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2018-04-29

Synopsis: John Weaver examines the spiritual meaning of the curse in Deuteronomy 28:23, where the heavens become brass and the earth iron, symbolizing a drought in which God does not hear prayer. Using the rebellion of Israel in Numbers 13–14 and Deuteronomy 1, he argues that the primary reason God refuses to hear is unrepented sin, open rebellion, and a refusal to obey His commands. True confession requires agreeing with God and turning from sin, not merely admitting it. The message warns that regarding iniquity or turning a deaf ear to God’s law leads to the lex talionis: God will not hear those who will not hear Him.

[John Weaver] Deuteronomy 28, and we're going to read verse 23. It's not necessarily the verse I'm going to be expounding, but it will lead us to that passage just momentarily. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 23, the title of the message is when the heavens are brass, and the Lord will not hear our prayers." So, Deuteronomy 28 and verse 23, God says,"...and thy heaven that is over thy head, shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron." Deuteronomy 28, along with Leviticus 26, gives us the blessings and the curses. The passage that we just read in Deuteronomy 28, in verse 23, deals with a specific curse upon a disobedient people. And by the way, Both the blessings and the curses come from God. These are divine sanctions. So God's blessings always follow obedience and God's curses always follow disobedience. In this particular curse, The Lord is withholding rain. Water does not penetrate brass, and water does not penetrate iron. Thus the heavens will not give their rain, because the rain cannot penetrate brass, and the ground, or the earth that is under thee, He said, shall be iron.

[John Weaver] So the earth would not ever be able to absorb anything, because it would be hard and packed. And if you look down in verse 24, You'll see how the Lord goes further and He says,"...the Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust. From heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed." So we're talking then about a drought, a physical drought.

[John Weaver] If you would turn back to the book of Leviticus chapter 26, Again, this is another passage that deals with the blessings and curses. You'll see basically the same thing, but worded a little differently. Leviticus 26, beginning there with verse 18, he says this, And if you will not yet for all this hearken unto me, that is, if you won't listen, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

[John Weaver] And I will break the pride of your power. and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit." So nothing is going to grow.

[John Weaver] Now, if you would turn right over to the book of Haggai, which is the third book from the end of the Old Testament. It's Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And look in Haggai chapter 1. Haggai chapter 1, and notice if you would please verses 10 and 11, because he amplifies this curse and gives a very practical illustration of it. Haggai 1 and verse 10, he says, Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.

[John Weaver] And I call for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountain, and the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands." So when this curse comes, it's not just simply drought, physical, It is a drought applied in the sense that absolutely nothing produces and nothing works as it should.

[John Weaver] Now, while you look specifically at Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, and we understand that this is a real, literal curse of a drought, may I point out that it also has a spiritual application. Because just like the rain would not penetrate brass, Sometimes our prayers, it seemingly does not even get past the roof of the building that we're in. Our prayers can't get out. Our prayers would not, quote-unquote, penetrate the brass. So, just like there is a spiritual application to a physical famine, there is also a spiritual application to a physical drought. For instance, in Amos 8 in verse 11, which you're probably familiar with, God is actually speaking of a spiritual famine when He said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God. So just like A real physical famine can be an illustration of a spiritual famine, so likewise a real spiritual drought or physical drought can be an illustration of a spiritual drought as well.

[John Weaver] So oftentimes when prayer is involved and seemingly we cannot reach the Lord, it seems as if the heavens are brass. We cannot get through to Him, and seemingly He does not desire to get through to us. And as far as the earth, under our feet becoming iron, during those particular times, nothing goes right. We cannot produce. We cannot function. We cannot find a resolution to our conflicts.

[John Weaver] And truthfully, the harder we try, the more we fail. I don't suppose any of you have ever experienced a time like that in your life, but I can assure you many people have.

[John Weaver] Now, the truth is this. We know that God hears prayer. We know that God answers prayer. And we really and truly know that God is more interested in us than we are interested in Him. I think it would be beneficial if you just simply read through the book of Psalms and noted how many times that David said, hear my voice, or thou shalt hear my voice. or hear me when I cry, or my prayer shall come before thee." So he's not only asking God for certain petitions, he's asking God specifically to hear his prayer as well.

[John Weaver] Now, we are told in the Bible that the prayer of the upright is his delight. For instance, in Proverbs 15 and verse 8, the Bible says, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. But the prayer of the upright is his delight." So anything that a wicked man sacrifices to God is an abomination. But it's the prayer of the upright is his delight. We're specifically told in Proverbs 15, verse 29, that the prayer of the righteous is heard. For instance, he said, the Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. So again, God is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous. And moreover, God is designated in the Bible as the one who hears prayer. For instance, in Psalm 65, in verse 2, He says,"...O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." So God is designated then as the prayer-hearing God. So the question is this, now if God hears prayer, if He desires to hear our prayer, If He delights in hearing our prayers, why is it at times that it seems that the heavens are brass, and we cannot reach our Father, and our prayers are bouncing back, and we are dull and dead?

[John Weaver] I'm sure that there are probably many answers to that, but I'm going to give you one of the main answers. And one of the main answers is because of sin in our lives. And it's not just sin, but it would be known sin, and it would be actually open rebellion. Our sin stems, number one, from a lack of faith in God. Moreover, you would also have to include pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and also a desire to have our will and our way above and beyond God's will and God's way.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make this statement, and I will prove it before I close this message. When you reach the stage that you will not hear God, at that point, God will not hear you. It's called the lex talionis, the law of retribution, where God makes the punishment fit the crime. Moses gives us an apt illustration of this principle. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. And you might as well hold the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Numbers because we're going to be looking at a lot of passages in Deuteronomy and in the book of Numbers as well. So if you'll look in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 39, and let me show you the truth that I'm going to enunciate today. Deuteronomy chapter 1, beginning with verse 39.

[John Weaver] God says,"...moreover your little ones which you said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go and feather, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. But it is for you. Turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.' Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us.

[John Weaver] And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you, note carefully, but you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

[John Weaver] And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir even unto Hormah. And you returned and wept before the LORD, watch now, but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So you abode in Kadesh many days according to the days that you abode there."

[John Weaver] Now, in this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 1, Moses is actually rehearsing that which happened in Numbers chapter 13 and chapter 14. At the same time, he is revealing something additional that is not revealed in Numbers chapter 13 and 14. He's revealing the fact in verse 45 that they wept and cried before the Lord But the Lord would not hearken to them, nor would He give ear unto them."

[John Weaver] Now let me make a statement, and it may surprise you, but here it is. There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayers. In fact, I preached a message many years back which I entitled, When Prayer is Useless. In fact, if you will hold Deuteronomy chapter 1, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, and let's begin reading there with verse 15.

[John Weaver] Let me show you what I'm talking about. Hebrews chapter 12, and we'll begin reading there with verse 15. Hebrews 12 verse 15, God says, Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one marshal of me sold his birthright. Now look what God says.

[John Weaver] For you know how that afterwards, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." So God refused to hear his prayer, and Isaac could not bless him when he had already blessed Jacob. So there comes a time when God is not going to hear prayer. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 13 and verse 30. I want to review this before I get back to Deuteronomy chapter 1. So if you look in Numbers chapter 13 and verse 30, let me just tell you the background of these two passages.

[John Weaver] Moses has sent the 12 spies out to spy the land for 40 days. And they brought back, you know, the fruit. The grapes even on a pole from the valley of Eshcol. And you remember 10 of the 12 spies brought up an evil report against the land. And I might also add against the Lord. And only Joshua and Caleb brought forth a true report. And so when the 10 spies brought their evil report, then they discouraged the heart of the people. So in Numbers 13 and verse 30, the Bible says, And Caleb still the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. So Caleb and Joshua were the two that were on top of it. So if you look in Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 6, Numbers 14 verse 6, And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land rent their clothes.

[John Weaver] And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it, it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are brand for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel." So note, if you would please, they have spied out the land. Joshua and Caleb have brought forth the good report. The other ten spies brought forth the evil report. And now the congregation is upset because of the giants and because of this ill report that has been given. And Joshua and Caleb say, no, no, let's go fight. Let's go possess this land.

[John Weaver] God has given it to us. God has commanded us to go. Let's go. Now you have, stop and think about this, you have a sin that is refusing to obey God, a sin in refusing to fight, a sin in refusing to possess that which God has given them, and then you have the sin in provoking God Himself. Their rebellion was so evil, so wicked, so vile, listen to this, God was willing to totally disinherit these people and destroy them and make of Moses a greater and a mightier nation. And the only thing that stopped God from destroying them was the intercession of Moses.

[John Weaver] So if you look at Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 11. Watch carefully. Numbers 14, verse 11. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? And how long will it be, ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and a mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people. and that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, in a pillar of a fire by night. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sweared unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

[John Weaver] And now he beseeched thee, Let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according to thy greatness and thy mercy, as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned. according to thy word." So God was willing at this point to destroy all of these people and make of Moses a greater and a mightier nation. And Moses interceded for them. Moses said, Lord, if you do this, then all these people are going to say, you were not able to bring them into the land.

[John Weaver] And you were impotent to do it, and so you just killed them in the wilderness. And God said, alright, I've listened to you.

[John Weaver] Now, in all of this so far, I hope you have been able to ascertain what we would call self-will, unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, and a refusal to submit to the will and the Word of God. Moreover, included in this is a complete despisement of God and His gift. You're going to see where God talks about how they despised the land. And incidentally, you cannot despise the gift without despising the giver of the gift. Okay?

[John Weaver] So, look if you would, Numbers 14, verse 35. Numbers 14, verse 35. The Bible said, and I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. And then in which Moses sent to search the land who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up an evil report upon the land died by the plague before the Lord. So God then slew those ten men who brought up the evil report.

[John Weaver] Now, we oftentimes speak of adding sin to sin. And what we actually mean by that statement is that one sin begets another sin. So let me put it another way. If there is no real, genuine repentance, then sin will continue to multiply. It's just that simple. Because sin does indeed beget sin.

[John Weaver] Now, the congregation refused to go into the land when God commanded them to go into the land. They refused to fight when God commanded them to fight. You remember what they said when the ten brought back the evil report. Here's what they said. Would to God we had died in this wilderness. I don't know if you remember this, but many years ago, I preached the message which I entitled, Be careful for that which you pray, God may give you that which you want. They said, would to God that we had died in this wilderness, and here's what God is going to say, I'm going to let you have it. I'll give you exactly that which you want.

[John Weaver] So look in Numbers 14, beginning there of verse 26. Numbers 14, verse 26. Watch it. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, How long Shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me, saying to them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as you have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you.

[John Weaver] Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that are numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless, you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness." And your children shall wander the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which you search the land, even forty days, each day for a year shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise.

[John Weaver] I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die."

[John Weaver] Now, all that brings us right back to Deuteronomy chapter 1. So I want you to go back, and I want you to look again, beginning at verse 40. I'm going to point several things out on these verses. But I want you to look at verse 40 again.

[John Weaver] Now God says, but it's for you. After He said you're going to die in this wilderness, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.

[John Weaver] And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." Now look at verse 45 because this is not recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. But here it is, and you returned, that is, after you were defeated, whoever was left, and you returned and wept before the Lord. But the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, let's stop and think about this. Think about these sins. God commanded them to go in and possess the land. They sinned and rebelled and refused. God commanded them to fight. They refused to fight. They refused to possess it. They refused to turn into the wilderness. And then when they said, we're going to go up, God says, don't go. They just so fade there. They said, we're going to fight. God says, don't fight.

[John Weaver] In other words, here's what is happening. Even though God has told them originally to go and fight, now because of their sin and rebellion, God says, don't go and don't fight. But they said, we're going to do it. We're going to do it. And so what they're going to do now is what you and I would call going it on their own. Self-will, pride, rebellion, and disobedience was written all over their actions.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look carefully at verse 41. Deuteronomy 1, verse 41. Watch it. I want you to see this. Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. Here is a clear admission of their sin. A clear admission of their rebellion. We have sinned against the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance. They were willing to acknowledge they had sinned. They were willing to acknowledge that they were sinners, but they were not willing to turn from their sin and submit to God and obey Him. You see, here's what we've done today. Christendom suffers from this attitude greatly.

[John Weaver] We have misinterpreted 1 John 1 and verse 9. If you have not been able to memorize that passage. You probably should. But I want you to turn there. Let me show you something about this passage. 1 John 1. 1 John 1 and verse 9, if you would. 1 and 2 Peter. And then you have 1 John. 1 John 1 verse 9. Look at it. Here's what the Bible says.

[John Weaver] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But you see, our problem is we do not understand what it means to confess. We have just interpreted that to mean to acknowledge. So, if I were to go up to Steve, And he's distracted talking to David. Both of them are grabbing M&M's. And while he's distracted grabbing M&M's trying to beat David to them, I reach in his pocket and steal a $100 bill.

[John Weaver] Lorraine says it's not there. She already knows. But I reach in his pocket and I steal a $100 bill. And so I have that $100 bill and I slip out and I go in the bathroom and I say, I just stole $100 from Steve. Thank you for letting me get it without getting caught. Now, did I acknowledge that I stole it? I most certainly did. But then, if I was successful at that, now I come back and try to get another $100 bill out of David's pocket without getting caught. And then if I were successful, I'd go say, well, Lord, I got another one from David, you know.

[John Weaver] Now, all I'm saying is I may be acknowledging the fact that I'm a thief, I'm acknowledging the fact that I stole the money, but am I really, genuinely confessing my sin? And the answer is no. The word for confess is the little Greek word homo lego. Everybody knows what homo is. It means one or the same. Lego is I say. Actually, the word confess means, I say the same thing that God says. Or, I agree with God. Or, I take the same attitude that God takes.

[John Weaver] Now, suppose I stole that $100 bill from Steve. And I went into the bathroom, and I'm looking at that $100 bill, and my conscience is smitten by the grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I say, O Lord, I stole this money. Your Word says, Thou shalt not steal. Your Word says the wages of sin is death. Your Word says sin is an abomination to you. And I begin to see my sin as God sees it, as wicked, vile, and abominable. And what do I do if I agree with God? I repent. And I come back and I give the money back to Steve and I ask, what else can I do to make restitution? And then I ask him to forgive me. Do you follow that? Now that's confession.

[John Weaver] But if I just keep acknowledging the fact that I've stolen something and I keep stealing, I've not really confessed because I have not agreed with God. I've not taken the same attitude that God takes. So when we agree with God and take the same attitude that God takes, then obviously, we're going to be turning from that sin because we're going to see that sin as God sees it as hateful and vile. So a failure then to repent and a failure to turn from that which is contrary to God, no matter how much you say that you're a sinner, and no matter how much you say that you sin, it is not biblical confession. And I've run into a lot of people who are more than willing to admit that they're sinners, and some of them very proudly admit that they're sinners. And they'll even admit that they've sinned. But they're not willing to turn from that sin and submit to God. So simply admitting that we're sinners is not the same as really confessing our sin.

[John Weaver] Now, watch if you would back in verse 41. Look at it. Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We understand that. And then they said, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight. according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." Whoa! Wait a minute. Yes, God did originally tell them to go up and fight and possess the land.

[John Weaver] But, now He has put a curse upon them. Now He has said, I'm giving you what you want. Look at the last command in verse 40. But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.

[John Weaver] Now, God says, you're not to fight. You're to go into the wilderness. Here's the principle. Listen carefully. Delayed obedience is disobedience. You follow that? Delayed obedience is disobedience. We understand this. I mean, if you have a child and you command your child, you tell your child, I want you to do this and I want to have it done by such and such time. And then you come back later and it's not done. And you ask your child, why have you not done it? Well, I was just busy about other things and I didn't find time to do it.

[John Weaver] Would you consider that an excuse? No, because you told him to do something. He should drop whatever he's doing and go ahead and do it because you are the authority figure. You are the father. You give the orders, not the child. And here it is, God has given the orders. He is the authority figure. He is the authority period, not just a figure. But now they're saying, well, we will go up and fight.

[John Weaver] I want you to watch this. They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command. And then, when they said, we will go up and we will fight, God gave another command. Go not up. Do not fight. For I am not with you. And here's what they're saying. We're going to do it. We're going to do it. We're going to obey that first command, regardless of the other commands that God has given us.

[John Weaver] Delayed obedience is disobedience, that is for sure. But now they are flying in the face of God to do exactly that which they want. And you may weep and cry and flail and pray before the Lord when you take this attitude, but God's not going to hear you. And God's not going to answer your prayer because that's what He said. And if you look at it again in Deuteronomy 1 in verse 45, He said, And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not harp unto your voice, nor give ear unto you. Why would God not listen to them? And the answer is because they would not listen to God. They were full of self-will, they were full of sin, they were full of wickedness, they were full of their rebellion, and God said, I'm just not going to listen to them. That's all there is to it. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55, and then we're going to Isaiah 59.

[John Weaver] Let me show you this. Look in Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Another interesting passage, Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says. Verse 6,"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found." The implication is there is a time when God cannot be found. So he says,"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found." Watch it now,"...call ye upon him while he is near." The implication is there is a time when he is not near. So he says,"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near.

[John Weaver] Let the wicked forsake his way." And the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." So, pardon then is based upon the wicked forsaking his ways and forsaking his wicked thoughts and returning and submitting to the Lord. Okay? If we want pardon, that is the prerequisites.

[John Weaver] Now, look, if you would, at Isaiah 59. Look at verses 1 and 2. Isaiah 59 verse 1, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note how clearly this is enunciated. He says the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. God is just as omnipotent as He ever was. Neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. God has not gone deaf. God is still omniscient. Well, what is the problem? Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear. It's not that He cannot hear. He will not hear. And I want you to note, when you're in such a situation, when you're filled with your iniquities and your sins and your rebellion, heaven is brass to you. You cannot reach God because of your sins and your iniquities. He will not hear.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 66 and look at verse 18. Probably you can quote this verse, but I want you to see it because there's one word that I really want to emphasize. Look what David says in Psalm 66 and verse 18. David says, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Of course, you know that iniquity is sinful.

[John Weaver] It's that which is contrary to God. It's a transgression of His law. So he says, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

[John Weaver] Now, the Hebrew word for regard is the word ra'ah, which means to look at. to regard, to esteem, to apprise, to have respect to, to give attention to, to gaze at, to look at. So what is he saying? If I regard, if I gaze at sin and iniquity, if I regard it, if I esteem it, if I place it up on a pedestal somewhere, if I just do that, God will not hear me.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. If the mere regarding of esteeming something that's contrary to God and His law places us in a position where God will not hear us, how much worse is it if we engage in it? You follow me? So if we regard it, that's sufficient for God not to hear us. If we engage in it, that's more than sufficient for God not to hear us. When we engage in that which He expressly forbids. So David said, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

[John Weaver] We can't hold it there. We can't prize it. We can't value it. We can't gaze at it longingly and lustfully and covetously. No, we cannot do that. because that's regarding iniquity.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to turn over to Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28, and look if you would please at verse 9. I'm just trying to point out the fact that the heavens are brass to some people, and our prayers cannot reach the ears of God, but it's not because God is deaf. It's because of our sins. So look in Proverbs 28 and verse 9. God says, He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination. The word abomination literally means a stench in God's nostrils. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, that is, he refuses to listen, he rejects it, he declines from it, he turns from it, Now go back and think about our illustration that Moses gave us. What did those people do? God said, go up and fight.

[John Weaver] No, we're not going to do that. Well, God says, turn into the wilderness. No, we're not going to do that. We're going to do what you told us to do to begin with. God says, do not go up that hill. But we're going up that hill. Do not fight. But we're going to fight. So here they're turning their ear away from that which God has demanded And after they're deceived, they come back and they cry and they weep and they wail, but God will not hear them. There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayer. If you want heaven to be brass for you, just merely regard iniquity and engage in it, and you will find out God is not deaf. It's not that He cannot hear. He will not hear your prayer.

[John Weaver] Now, let me make two applications. The first one is very simple. I've already pointed it out. But we may weep and cry and howl and scream and pray, but if we do not turn from our sins, God is not going to hear us. When we hold His Word in contempt, And when we refuse to hear Him and obey Him, it is a rebellious attitude that is clearly demonstrated by these Israelites in Numbers 13 and 14 in Deuteronomy chapter 1.

[John Weaver] Someone says, I know what I'll do. I'll sacrifice something to God and He'll hear me. Really. It seems to me like God said it, I think it's Psalm 55,"'If I were hungry, I would not tell thee. The world is mine, and everything that's in it.'" What could you ever give to God that He has not first given to you? I want you to turn to the book of Hosea right after the book of Daniel. Hosea, Daniel. Daniel, Hosea it is. Daniel, Hosea, but look at Hosea chapter 5 and look if you would please at 5 and 6. In fact, we can read verse 4 because God is talking about the sin of Israel and Judah, but I want you to know what He says. Hosea 5 and verse 4, God says, They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God, for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord. and the pride of Israel doth testify to his face. Therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity.

[John Weaver] Judah also shall fall with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord, sacrificing. But they shall not find him, for he hath withdrawn himself from them." Wow! Oh yeah, they were going to take sacrifices. but they're not going to find God. Because of their iniquities, because of their sin, He has withdrawn Himself from them. You know, everywhere we go in this country, we see signs posted in yards that say something like, it's pray 2 Chronicles 7.14, or we need 2 Chronicles 7.14, or pray for this country. May I remind you what 2 Chronicles 7.14 actually says? Listen carefully,"...if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land." It's not just praying and crying and weeping and humbling, it's turning from our wicked ways. How in the world can we expect God to hear us when we're regarding iniquity and engaging in that which is displeasing to Him and contrary to His law?

[John Weaver] If we want heavens to be brass, just continue in sin and God will not hear us. Which brings me to the second one I've already mentioned. What you see in Deuteronomy 1 and verse 45 is the lex talionis of Scripture. Lex talionis is just simply the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. What happened in Numbers 13 and 14? What happened in Deuteronomy chapter 1? They would not hear God. And God says, therefore, I will not hear you. When we turn a deaf ear to God and His law and His word in biblical justice, God may turn a deaf ear to our prayers and heaven would be brass. Because our prayers seemingly would bounce back from the ceiling of the room that we're in. If we do not want heavens to be blessed to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins.

[John Weaver] Do not regard iniquity in our hearts. Do not let it dwell there. Do not maintain thoughts that you know that are contrary to God. Repent of them. Spit them out. Just like Job. He was a righteous man and one that eschewed evil. And the word eschewed means to spit out. He couldn't stomach it. So we have to spit out that which is evil and say, no, I'm not going to think that. I'm not going to act like that. I'm not going to do that. I will submit and obey to God. And you find out that the heavens will not be pressed and the land under you will not be ired, and you will be blessed of God.

[John Weaver] The curse is upon disobedience. The blessings always follow obedience. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You for Your grace and mercy. And Father, we ask You to help us, enable us not to regard iniquity in our hearts. For without Thee, Father, we can do absolutely nothing. Help us, Lord, to love Thee, to turn from that which is contrary to Thee, and to honor Thee in all that we say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

When the Heavens are Brass

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	510181036370
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: Promises Of The Law
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-04-29
Dictation Name
Book	Book 043: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: A Time Of Need — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	69

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Curse of Brass Heavens and Iron Earth

Reading Deuteronomy 28:23 and Leviticus 26:18–20, Weaver introduces the physical curse of drought and its spiritual application: when prayers seem unable to reach God.

Deuteronomy 28, and we're going to read verse 23. It's not necessarily the verse I'm going to be expounding, but it will lead us to that passage just momentarily. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 23, the title of the message is "When the Heavens are Brass, and the Lord Will Not Hear Our Prayers." So, Deuteronomy 28 and verse 23, God says,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:23

"...and thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron."

Deuteronomy 28, along with Leviticus 26, gives us the blessings and the curses. The passage that we just read in Deuteronomy 28, in verse 23, deals with a specific curse upon a disobedient people. And by the way, both the blessings and the curses come from God. These are divine sanctions. So God's blessings always follow obedience and God's curses always follow disobedience. In this particular curse, the Lord is withholding rain. Water does not penetrate brass, and water does not penetrate iron. Thus the heavens will not give their rain, because the rain cannot penetrate brass, and the ground, or the earth that is under thee, He said, shall be iron.

So the earth would not ever be able to absorb anything, because it would be hard and packed. And if you look down in verse 24, you'll see how the Lord goes further and He says, "...the Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust. From heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed." So we're talking then about a drought, a physical drought. If you would turn back to the book of Leviticus chapter 26. Again, this is another passage that deals with the blessings and curses. You'll see basically the same thing, but worded a little differently. Leviticus 26, beginning there with verse 18, he says this,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:18-20

"And if you will not yet for all this hearken unto me,"

that is, if you won't listen,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:18-20

"then I will punish you seven times more for your sins."

"And I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit." So nothing is going to grow. Now, if you would turn right over to the book of Haggai, which is the third book from the end of the Old Testament. It's Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And look in Haggai chapter 1. Haggai chapter 1, and notice if you would please verses 10 and 11, because he amplifies this curse and gives a very practical illustration of it. Haggai 1 and verse 10, he says,

Scripture Reading — Haggai 1:10-11

"Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit."

Spiritual Application of the Drought

Just as a physical famine pictures a spiritual famine (Amos 8:11), a physical drought illustrates a spiritual drought where prayers do not penetrate and nothing prospers.

Now, while you look specifically at Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, and we understand that this is a real, literal curse of a drought, may I point out that it also has a spiritual application. Because just like the rain would not penetrate brass, sometimes our prayers, it seemingly does not even get past the roof of the building that we're in. Our prayers can't get out. Our prayers would not, quote-unquote, penetrate the brass. So, just like there is a spiritual application to a physical famine, there is also a spiritual application to a physical drought. For instance, in Amos 8 in verse 11, which you're probably familiar with, God is actually speaking of a spiritual famine when He said,

Scripture Reading — Amos 8:11

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God."

So just like a real physical famine can be an illustration of a spiritual famine, so likewise a real physical drought can be an illustration of a spiritual drought as well.

So oftentimes when prayer is involved and seemingly we cannot reach the Lord, it seems as if the heavens are brass. We cannot get through to Him, and seemingly He does not desire to get through to us. And as far as the earth under our feet becoming iron, during those particular times, nothing goes right. We cannot produce. We cannot function. We cannot find a resolution to our conflicts. And truthfully, the harder we try, the more we fail. I don't suppose any of you have ever experienced a time like that in your life, but I can assure you many people have.

Now, the truth is this. We know that God hears prayer. We know that God answers prayer. And we really and truly know that God is more interested in us than we are interested in Him. I think it would be beneficial if you just simply read through the book of Psalms and noted how many times that David said, "hear my voice," or "thou shalt hear my voice," or "hear me when I cry," or "my prayer shall come before thee." So he's not only asking God for certain petitions, he's asking God specifically to hear his prayer as well.

God Hears the Righteous but Not the Wicked

Scripture teaches that God delights in the prayer of the upright and hears the righteous, yet at times the heavens seem brass. The main answer is sin, especially known sin and open rebellion.

Now, we are told in the Bible that the prayer of the upright is his delight. For instance, in Proverbs 15 and verse 8, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 15:8

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight."

So anything that a wicked man sacrifices to God is an abomination. But it's the prayer of the upright is his delight. We're specifically told in Proverbs 15, verse 29, that the prayer of the righteous is heard. For instance, he said,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 15:8

"The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous."

So again, God is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous. And moreover, God is designated in the Bible as the one who hears prayer. For instance, in Psalm 65, in verse 2, He says, "...O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." So God is designated then as the prayer-hearing God. So the question is this, now if God hears prayer, if He desires to hear our prayer, if He delights in hearing our prayers, why is it at times that it seems that the heavens are brass, and we cannot reach our Father, and our prayers are bouncing back, and we are dull and dead?

I'm sure that there are probably many answers to that, but I'm going to give you one of the main answers. And one of the main answers is because of sin in our lives. And it's not just sin, but it would be known sin, and it would be actually open rebellion. Our sin stems, number one, from a lack of faith in God. Moreover, you would also have to include pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and also a desire to have our will and our way above and beyond God's will and God's way.

The Principle: When You Will Not Hear God, He Will Not Hear You

Weaver states the lex talionis principle and turns to Deuteronomy 1:39–45, where Israel’s rebellion led God to refuse their cries.

Now, let me make this statement, and I will prove it before I close this message. When you reach the stage that you will not hear God, at that point, God will not hear you. It's called the lex talionis, the law of retribution, where God makes the punishment fit the crime. Moses gives us an apt illustration of this principle. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. And you might as well hold the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Numbers because we're going to be looking at a lot of passages in Deuteronomy and in the book of Numbers as well. So if you'll look in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 39, and let me show you the truth that I'm going to enunciate today. Deuteronomy chapter 1, beginning with verse 39.

God says, "...moreover your little ones which you said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go and inherit, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." Then you answered and said unto me, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." "And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you," note carefully, "but you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill."

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:39-45

"And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir even unto Hormah. And you returned and wept before the LORD,"

watch now,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:39-45

"but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So you abode in Kadesh many days according to the days that you abode there."

Now, in this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 1, Moses is actually rehearsing that which happened in Numbers chapter 13 and chapter 14. At the same time, he is revealing something additional that is not revealed in Numbers chapter 13 and 14. He's revealing the fact in verse 45 that they wept and cried before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to them, nor would He give ear unto them.

The Rebellion in Numbers 13–14

Reviewing the spies’ evil report, the people’s refusal to enter the land, and God’s judgment, Weaver highlights their self-will, unbelief, and despising of God’s gift.

Moses has sent the 12 spies out to spy the land for 40 days. And they brought back, you know, the fruit. The grapes even on a pole from the valley of Eshcol. And you remember 10 of the 12 spies brought up an evil report against the land. And I might also add against the Lord. And only Joshua and Caleb brought forth a true report. And so when the 10 spies brought their evil report, then they discouraged the heart of the people. So in Numbers 13 and verse 30, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 13:30

"And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it."

So Caleb and Joshua were the two that were on top of it. So if you look in Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 6, Numbers 14 verse 6, "And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land rent their clothes."

"And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it, it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel." So note, if you would please, they have spied out the land. Joshua and Caleb have brought forth the good report. The other ten spies brought forth the evil report. And now the congregation is upset because of the giants and because of this ill report that has been given. And Joshua and Caleb say, no, no, let's go fight. Let's go possess this land.

God has given it to us. God has commanded us to go. Let's go. Now you have, stop and think about this, you have a sin that is refusing to obey God, a sin in refusing to fight, a sin in refusing to possess that which God has given them, and then you have the sin in provoking God Himself. Their rebellion was so evil, so wicked, so vile, listen to this, God was willing to totally disinherit these people and destroy them and make of Moses a greater and a mightier nation. And the only thing that stopped God from destroying them was the intercession of Moses.

So if you look at Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 11. Watch carefully. Numbers 14, verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:11-20

"And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? And how long will it be, ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and a mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, and that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, in a pillar of a fire by night. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness."

"And now he beseeched thee, Let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according to thy greatness and thy mercy, as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word." So God was willing at this point to destroy all of these people and make of Moses a greater and a mightier nation. And Moses interceded for them. Moses said, Lord, if you do this, then all these people are going to say, you were not able to bring them into the land.

And you were impotent to do it, and so you just killed them in the wilderness. And God said, alright, I've listened to you. Now, in all of this so far, I hope you have been able to ascertain what we would call self-will, unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, and a refusal to submit to the will and the Word of God. Moreover, included in this is a complete despisement of God and His gift. You're going to see where God talks about how they despised the land. And incidentally, you cannot despise the gift without despising the giver of the gift. Okay?

So, look if you would, Numbers 14, verse 35. Numbers 14, verse 35. The Bible said, "And I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." And then in which Moses sent to search the land who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up an evil report upon the land died by the plague before the Lord. So God then slew those ten men who brought up the evil report.

Adding Sin to Sin and God’s Sentence

The people’s wish to die in the wilderness becomes God’s decree. Their delayed obedience and subsequent presumptuous attack show rebellion even after admitting sin.

Now, we oftentimes speak of adding sin to sin. And what we actually mean by that statement is that one sin begets another sin. So let me put it another way. If there is no real, genuine repentance, then sin will continue to multiply. It's just that simple. Because sin does indeed beget sin.

Now, the congregation refused to go into the land when God commanded them to go into the land. They refused to fight when God commanded them to fight. You remember what they said when the ten brought back the evil report. Here's what they said. "Would to God we had died in this wilderness." I don't know if you remember this, but many years ago, I preached the message which I entitled, "Be Careful for That Which You Pray, God May Give You That Which You Want." They said, "Would to God that we had died in this wilderness," and here's what God is going to say, "I'm going to let you have it. I'll give you exactly that which you want."

So look in Numbers 14, beginning there of verse 26. Numbers 14, verse 26. Watch it.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:26-35

"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me, saying to them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as you have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you." "Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that are numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless, you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which you search the land, even forty days, each day for a year shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise."

"I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." Now, all that brings us right back to Deuteronomy chapter 1. So I want you to go back, and I want you to look again, beginning at verse 40. I'm going to point several things out on these verses. But I want you to look at verse 40 again.

Now God says, "But as for you," after He said you're going to die in this wilderness, "turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill."

"And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." Now look at verse 45 because this is not recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. But here it is, "And you returned," that is, after you were defeated, whoever was left, "and you returned and wept before the Lord. But the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you." Wow.

Mere Admission Is Not Biblical Confession

Using 1 John 1:9, Weaver explains that true confession (homologeo) means agreeing with God about sin and turning from it, not just acknowledging it.

Now, let me point something out. Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance. They were willing to acknowledge they had sinned. They were willing to acknowledge that they were sinners, but they were not willing to turn from their sin and submit to God and obey Him. You see, here's what we've done today. Christendom suffers from this attitude greatly. We have misinterpreted 1 John 1 and verse 9. If you have not been able to memorize that passage, you probably should. But I want you to turn there. Let me show you something about this passage. 1 John 1. 1 John 1 and verse 9, if you would. 1 and 2 Peter. And then you have 1 John. 1 John 1 verse 9. Look at it. Here's what the Bible says.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But you see, our problem is we do not understand what it means to confess. We have just interpreted that to mean to acknowledge. So, if I were to go up to Steve, and he's distracted talking to David. Both of them are grabbing M&M's. And while he's distracted grabbing M&M's trying to beat David to them, I reach in his pocket and steal a $100 bill. Lorraine says it's not there. She already knows. But I reach in his pocket and I steal a $100 bill. And so I have that $100 bill and I slip out and I go in the bathroom and I say, "I just stole $100 from Steve. Thank you for letting me get it without getting caught." Now, did I acknowledge that I stole it? I most certainly did. But then, if I was successful at that, now I come back and try to get another $100 bill out of David's pocket without getting caught. And then if I were successful, I'd go say, "Well, Lord, I got another one from David, you know."

Now, all I'm saying is I may be acknowledging the fact that I'm a thief, I'm acknowledging the fact that I stole the money, but am I really, genuinely confessing my sin? And the answer is no. The word for confess is the little Greek word homologeo. Everybody knows what homo is. It means one or the same. Lego is I say. Actually, the word confess means, I say the same thing that God says. Or, I agree with God. Or, I take the same attitude that God takes.

Now, suppose I stole that $100 bill from Steve. And I went into the bathroom, and I'm looking at that $100 bill, and my conscience is smitten by the grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I say, "O Lord, I stole this money. Your Word says, 'Thou shalt not steal.' Your Word says 'the wages of sin is death.' Your Word says sin is an abomination to you." And I begin to see my sin as God sees it, as wicked, vile, and abominable. And what do I do if I agree with God? I repent. And I come back and I give the money back to Steve and I ask, "What else can I do to make restitution?" And then I ask him to forgive me. Do you follow that? Now that's confession.

But if I just keep acknowledging the fact that I've stolen something and I keep stealing, I've not really confessed because I have not agreed with God. I've not taken the same attitude that God takes. So when we agree with God and take the same attitude that God takes, then obviously, we're going to be turning from that sin because we're going to see that sin as God sees it as hateful and vile. So a failure then to repent and a failure to turn from that which is contrary to God, no matter how much you say that you're a sinner, and no matter how much you say that you sin, it is not biblical confession. And I've run into a lot of people who are more than willing to admit that they're sinners, and some of them very proudly admit that they're sinners. And they'll even admit that they've sinned. But they're not willing to turn from that sin and submit to God. So simply admitting that we're sinners is not the same as really confessing our sin.

Delayed Obedience and Presumptuous Self-Will

Israel disobeyed God’s second command to turn into the wilderness, insisting on fighting. Their self-will and rebellion caused God to refuse to hear their weeping.

Now, watch if you would back in verse 41. Look at it. "Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord." We understand that. And then they said, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." Whoa! Wait a minute. Yes, God did originally tell them to go up and fight and possess the land.

But, now He has put a curse upon them. Now He has said, "I'm giving you what you want." Look at the last command in verse 40. "But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." Now, God says, "You're not to fight. You're to go into the wilderness." Here's the principle. Listen carefully. Delayed obedience is disobedience. You follow that? Delayed obedience is disobedience. We understand this. I mean, if you have a child and you command your child, you tell your child, "I want you to do this and I want to have it done by such and such time." And then you come back later and it's not done. And you ask your child, "Why have you not done it?" "Well, I was just busy about other things and I didn't find time to do it."

Would you consider that an excuse? No, because you told him to do something. He should drop whatever he's doing and go ahead and do it because you are the authority figure. You are the father. You give the orders, not the child. And here it is, God has given the orders. He is the authority figure. He is the authority period, not just a figure. But now they're saying, "Well, we will go up and fight."

I want you to watch this. They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command. And then, when they said, "We will go up and we will fight," God gave another command. "Go not up. Do not fight. For I am not with you." And here's what they're saying. "We're going to do it. We're going to do it. We're going to obey that first command, regardless of the other commands that God has given us."

Delayed obedience is disobedience, that is for sure. But now they are flying in the face of God to do exactly that which they want. And you may weep and cry and flail and pray before the Lord when you take this attitude, but God's not going to hear you. And God's not going to answer your prayer because that's what He said. And if you look at it again in Deuteronomy 1 in verse 45, He said, "And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken unto your voice, nor give ear unto you." Why would God not listen to them? And the answer is because they would not listen to God. They were full of self-will, they were full of sin, they were full of wickedness, they were full of their rebellion, and God said, "I'm just not going to listen to them. That's all there is to it." Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55, and then we're going to Isaiah 59.

Let me show you this. Look in Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Another interesting passage, Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says. Verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

The implication is there is a time when God cannot be found. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

Watch it now,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...call ye upon him while he is near."

The implication is there is a time when he is not near. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."

Scriptural Warnings: Sin Separates from God

Isaiah 55:6–7, Isaiah 59:1–2, Psalm 66:18, and Proverbs 28:9 all teach that sin, regarding iniquity, and turning from God’s law cause Him not to hear.

Let me show you this. Look in Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Another interesting passage, Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says. Verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

The implication is there is a time when God cannot be found. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

Watch it now,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...call ye upon him while he is near."

The implication is there is a time when he is not near. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." So, pardon then is based upon the wicked forsaking his ways and forsaking his wicked thoughts and returning and submitting to the Lord. Okay? If we want pardon, that is the prerequisites. Now, look, if you would, at Isaiah 59. Look at verses 1 and 2. Isaiah 59 verse 1,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 59:1-2

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear."

Now, I want you to note how clearly this is enunciated. He says the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. God is just as omnipotent as He ever was. Neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. God has not gone deaf. God is still omniscient. Well, what is the problem? Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear. It's not that He cannot hear. He will not hear. And I want you to note, when you're in such a situation, when you're filled with your iniquities and your sins and your rebellion, heaven is brass to you. You cannot reach God because of your sins and your iniquities. He will not hear.

Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 66 and look at verse 18. Probably you can quote this verse, but I want you to see it because there's one word that I really want to emphasize. Look what David says in Psalm 66 and verse 18. David says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Of course, you know that iniquity is sinful. It's that which is contrary to God. It's a transgression of His law. So he says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

Now, the Hebrew word for regard is the word ra'ah, which means to look at, to regard, to esteem, to apprise, to have respect to, to give attention to, to gaze at, to look at. So what is he saying? If I regard, if I gaze at sin and iniquity, if I regard it, if I esteem it, if I place it up on a pedestal somewhere, if I just do that, God will not hear me. Now, let me ask you a question. If the mere regarding of esteeming something that's contrary to God and His law places us in a position where God will not hear us, how much worse is it if we engage in it? You follow me? So if we regard it, that's sufficient for God not to hear us. If we engage in it, that's more than sufficient for God not to hear us. When we engage in that which He expressly forbids. So David said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."

We can't hold it there. We can't prize it. We can't value it. We can't gaze at it longingly and lustfully and covetously. No, we cannot do that, because that's regarding iniquity.

Now, I want you to turn over to Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28, and look if you would please at verse 9. I'm just trying to point out the fact that the heavens are brass to some people, and our prayers cannot reach the ears of God, but it's not because God is deaf. It's because of our sins. So look in Proverbs 28 and verse 9. God says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:9

"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination."

The word abomination literally means a stench in God's nostrils. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, that is, he refuses to listen, he rejects it, he declines from it, he turns from it. Now go back and think about our illustration that Moses gave us. What did those people do? God said, "Go up and fight."

"No, we're not going to do that." Well, God says, "Turn into the wilderness." "No, we're not going to do that. We're going to do what you told us to do to begin with." God says, "Do not go up that hill." "But we're going up that hill." "Do not fight." "But we're going to fight." So here they're turning their ear away from that which God has demanded. And after they're deceived, they come back and they cry and they weep and they wail, but God will not hear them. There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayer. If you want heaven to be brass for you, just merely regard iniquity and engage in it, and you will find out God is not deaf. It's not that He cannot hear. He will not hear your prayer.

Applications: Repentance and the Lex Talionis

Weaver applies the message: if we refuse to hear God, He will not hear us. True repentance means turning from sin, not just weeping or offering sacrifices.

Now, let me make two applications. The first one is very simple. I've already pointed it out. But we may weep and cry and howl and scream and pray, but if we do not turn from our sins, God is not going to hear us. When we hold His Word in contempt, and when we refuse to hear Him and obey Him, it is a rebellious attitude that is clearly demonstrated by these Israelites in Numbers 13 and 14 in Deuteronomy chapter 1. Someone says, "I know what I'll do. I'll sacrifice something to God and He'll hear me." Really. It seems to me like God said it, I think it's Psalm 55, "'If I were hungry, I would not tell thee. The world is mine, and everything that's in it.'" What could you ever give to God that He has not first given to you? I want you to turn to the book of Hosea right after the book of Daniel. Hosea, Daniel. Daniel, Hosea it is. Daniel, Hosea, but look at Hosea chapter 5 and look if you would please at 5 and 6. In fact, we can read verse 4 because God is talking about the sin of Israel and Judah, but I want you to know what He says. Hosea 5 and verse 4, God says, "They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God, for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face. Therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity."

"Judah also shall fall with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord, sacrificing. But they shall not find him, for he hath withdrawn himself from them." Wow! Oh yeah, they were going to take sacrifices, but they're not going to find God. Because of their iniquities, because of their sin, He has withdrawn Himself from them. You know, everywhere we go in this country, we see signs posted in yards that say something like, "It's pray 2 Chronicles 7:14," or "We need 2 Chronicles 7:14," or "Pray for this country." May I remind you what 2 Chronicles 7:14 actually says? Listen carefully, "...if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land." It's not just praying and crying and weeping and humbling, it's turning from our wicked ways. How in the world can we expect God to hear us when we're regarding iniquity and engaging in that which is displeasing to Him and contrary to His law?

If we want heavens to be brass, just continue in sin and God will not hear us. Which brings me to the second one I've already mentioned. What you see in Deuteronomy 1 and verse 45 is the lex talionis of Scripture. Lex talionis is just simply the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. What happened in Numbers 13 and 14? What happened in Deuteronomy chapter 1? They would not hear God. And God says, therefore, I will not hear you. When we turn a deaf ear to God and His law and His word in biblical justice, God may turn a deaf ear to our prayers and heaven would be brass. Because our prayers seemingly would bounce back from the ceiling of the room that we're in. If we do not want heavens to be brass to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins.

Do not regard iniquity in our hearts. Do not let it dwell there. Do not maintain thoughts that you know that are contrary to God. Repent of them. Spit them out. Just like Job. He was a righteous man and one that eschewed evil. And the word eschewed means to spit out. He couldn't stomach it. So we have to spit out that which is evil and say, "No, I'm not going to think that. I'm not going to act like that. I'm not going to do that. I will submit and obey to God." And you find out that the heavens will not be brass and the land under you will not be iron, and you will be blessed of God.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Spiritual drought as a consequence of sin

Summary: Just as physical drought prevents rain from penetrating brass, unrepented sin causes a spiritual drought where prayers seem unanswered and life unfruitful.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'just like a real physical famine can be an illustration of a spiritual famine, so likewise a real physical drought can be an illustration of a spiritual drought as well.'

God’s refusal to hear the rebellious

Summary: When people persist in known sin and refuse to obey God, He may withdraw His ear and not listen to their prayers.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:45: 'the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.' Weaver says, 'There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayers.'

The lex talionis in prayer

Summary: God often makes the punishment fit the crime: those who will not hear God will find that God will not hear them.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When you reach the stage that you will not hear God, at that point, God will not hear you. It's called the lex talionis, the law of retribution.'

True confession versus mere admission

Summary: Biblical confession (homologeo) means agreeing with God about the sinfulness of sin and turning from it, not simply acknowledging wrongdoing.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'the word confess means, I say the same thing that God says. Or, I agree with God. Or, I take the same attitude that God takes.'

Delayed obedience is disobedience

Summary: Obeying God’s original command after He has given a new command due to sin is still rebellion and self-will.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Delayed obedience is disobedience. … They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command.'

Sin separates from God

Summary: Iniquities and sins create a barrier that causes God to hide His face and refuse to hear, even though He is able to hear.

Evidence: Isaiah 59:2: 'your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.'

Regarding iniquity blocks prayer

Summary: Even esteeming or gazing at sin in the heart is enough for God to refuse to hear, let alone engaging in it.

Evidence: Psalm 66:18: 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.' Weaver emphasizes the Hebrew word ra'ah meaning to regard or esteem.

Repentance as the prerequisite for answered prayer

Summary: God’s promise to hear and heal is conditioned on humbling, praying, seeking His face, and turning from wicked ways.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 7:14: 'if my people … shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven.'

Key Arguments

Sin is the primary reason God does not hear prayer

Summary: Weaver argues that known sin, rebellion, and a lack of faith cause God to turn a deaf ear, not any limitation in God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'one of the main answers is because of sin in our lives. And it's not just sin, but it would be known sin, and it would be actually open rebellion.'

Israel’s rebellion illustrates the principle

Summary: The events of Numbers 13–14 and Deuteronomy 1 show a pattern: God commands, people refuse, God judges, people weep, but God does not hear.

Evidence: Deuteronomy 1:43–45: 'ye would not hear … but rebelled … and ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice.'

Mouthing confession without turning is insufficient

Summary: Acknowledging sin is not the same as biblical confession, which requires agreeing with God and turning from sin.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance.'

Delayed obedience is still disobedience

Summary: When God gives a new command due to prior rebellion, insisting on obeying the original command is self-will and rebellion.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Delayed obedience is disobedience. … They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command.'

Scripture consistently warns that sin hinders prayer

Summary: Isaiah 59:1–2, Psalm 66:18, and Proverbs 28:9 all teach that iniquity, regarding sin, and rejecting God’s law cause Him not to hear.

Evidence: Isaiah 59:2: 'your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.'

The lex talionis applies to hearing

Summary: Because Israel would not hear God, God would not hear them. This retributive justice is a biblical pattern.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'What you see in Deuteronomy 1 and verse 45 is the lex talionis of Scripture. … They would not hear God. And God says, therefore, I will not hear you.'

Repentance is the only remedy

Summary: To avoid brass heavens, believers must repent of sin, refuse to regard iniquity, and submit to God’s commands.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If we do not want heavens to be brass to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins. Do not regard iniquity in our hearts.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 28:23

Context: The curse of brass heavens and iron earth as a divine sanction for disobedience.

Deuteronomy 28:24

Context: The Lord will make the rain powder and dust, leading to destruction.

Leviticus 26:18-20

Context: Parallel curse: heaven as iron, earth as brass, strength spent in vain.

Haggai 1:10-11

Context: Amplification of the curse: drought on land, mountains, grain, wine, oil, and all labor.

Amos 8:11

Context: A spiritual famine of hearing the word of God, illustrating spiritual drought.

Proverbs 15:8

Context: The prayer of the upright is God’s delight.

Proverbs 15:29

Context: The Lord is far from the wicked but hears the prayer of the righteous.

Psalm 65:2

Context: God is designated as the one who hears prayer.

Deuteronomy 1:39-45

Context: Moses rehearses Israel’s rebellion and God’s refusal to hear their weeping.

Hebrews 12:15-17

Context: Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with tears, illustrating God’s refusal.

Numbers 13:30

Context: Caleb stills the people and urges them to go up and possess the land.

Numbers 14:6-10

Context: Joshua and Caleb plead with the congregation not to rebel, but the people threaten to stone them.

Numbers 14:11-20

Context: God threatens to destroy Israel; Moses intercedes and God pardons.

Numbers 14:26-35

Context: God decrees that the rebellious generation will die in the wilderness.

1 John 1:9

Context: If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive; Weaver explains true confession.

Isaiah 55:6-7

Context: Seek the Lord while He may be found; the wicked must forsake his way to receive mercy.

Isaiah 59:1-2

Context: God’s hand is not shortened, but iniquities separate from God and cause Him not to hear.

Psalm 66:18

Context: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Proverbs 28:9

Context: He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

Hosea 5:4-6

Context: Israel and Judah seek the Lord with sacrifices but will not find Him because He has withdrawn.

Historical References

Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh (Numbers 13–14)

Context: The twelve spies, the evil report, the people’s refusal to enter Canaan, and God’s judgment of forty years wandering.

Moses’ intercession for Israel

Context: Moses pleads with God not to destroy Israel, appealing to God’s reputation among the nations.

The death of the ten spies by plague

Context: God slew the ten men who brought up the evil report upon the land.

Esau’s rejected repentance

Context: Esau sold his birthright and later sought the blessing with tears but was rejected.

Important Quotes

When you reach the stage that you will not hear God, at that point, God will not hear you.

Significance: States the central lex talionis principle of the message.

There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayers.

Significance: Emphasizes the sobering reality that persistent rebellion can lead to God’s refusal to listen.

Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance.

Significance: Distinguishes between empty words and genuine turning from sin.

Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Significance: Highlights that obeying God’s original command after He has given a new command is still rebellion.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Significance: Key verse showing that even esteeming sin blocks prayer.

Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.

Significance: Clear biblical statement that sin causes God to refuse to hear.

If we do not want heavens to be brass to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins.

Significance: The practical application and call to action.

Discussion Questions

What does the image of 'brass heavens' and 'iron earth' teach us about the spiritual condition of unanswered prayer?

Context: Weaver introduces the physical curse and its spiritual application.

How does the rebellion of Israel in Numbers 13–14 illustrate the principle that God will not hear those who refuse to hear Him?

Context: The historical example of Israel’s sin and God’s refusal to listen.

What is the difference between merely admitting sin and truly confessing it according to 1 John 1:9?

Context: Weaver explains the Greek word homologeo and true confession.

Why is delayed obedience considered disobedience, and how did Israel demonstrate this?

Context: Israel insisted on fighting after God told them to turn into the wilderness.

According to Psalm 66:18, what does it mean to 'regard iniquity' and how does that affect our prayers?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the Hebrew word ra'ah and its implications.

How do Isaiah 59:1–2 and Proverbs 28:9 reinforce the message that sin hinders prayer?

Context: These verses show that iniquity and rejecting God’s law cause Him not to hear.

What does 2 Chronicles 7:14 teach about the conditions for God to hear and heal, and how does this apply today?

Context: Weaver contrasts popular use of the verse with its full requirement of turning from wicked ways.

What practical steps can we take to ensure that the heavens are not brass in our own prayer lives?

Context: Weaver concludes with the call to repent, not regard iniquity, and submit to God.

Applications

Examine your heart for unconfessed sin

Summary: Believers must honestly assess whether known sin, rebellion, or regarding iniquity is hindering their prayers.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If we want heavens to be brass, just continue in sin and God will not hear us.'

Practice true biblical confession

Summary: Confession means agreeing with God about the sinfulness of sin and turning from it, not just admitting wrongdoing.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'the word confess means, I say the same thing that God says. Or, I agree with God.'

Obey God’s current commands, not past ones

Summary: Do not insist on obeying a previous directive when God has given new instructions due to changed circumstances or discipline.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Delayed obedience is disobedience. … They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command.'

Refuse to regard iniquity

Summary: Do not esteem, gaze at, or entertain sinful thoughts; spit them out as Job eschewed evil.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Do not regard iniquity in our hearts. Do not let it dwell there. … Repent of them. Spit them out.'

Turn from wicked ways as a condition for answered prayer

Summary: Prayer for national or personal healing must be accompanied by genuine repentance and turning from sin, not just religious activity.

Evidence: 2 Chronicles 7:14: 'if my people … shall turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven.'

Do not presume upon God’s hearing while in rebellion

Summary: Weeping, crying, or offering sacrifices will not move God if we are holding onto sin and refusing to obey.

Evidence: Hosea 5:6: 'They shall go with their flocks … to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T12:35:26Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-05T21:51:30Z

Clean Transcript

When the Heavens are Brass

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Deuteronomy 28, and we're going to read verse 23. It's not necessarily the verse I'm going to be expounding, but it will lead us to that passage just momentarily. So if you look in Deuteronomy chapter 28 and verse 23, the title of the message is "When the Heavens are Brass, and the Lord Will Not Hear Our Prayers." So, Deuteronomy 28 and verse 23, God says, "...and thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron." Deuteronomy 28, along with Leviticus 26, gives us the blessings and the curses. The passage that we just read in Deuteronomy 28, in verse 23, deals with a specific curse upon a disobedient people. And by the way, both the blessings and the curses come from God. These are divine sanctions. So God's blessings always follow obedience and God's curses always follow disobedience. In this particular curse, the Lord is withholding rain. Water does not penetrate brass, and water does not penetrate iron. Thus the heavens will not give their rain, because the rain cannot penetrate brass, and the ground, or the earth that is under thee, He said, shall be iron.
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So the earth would not ever be able to absorb anything, because it would be hard and packed. And if you look down in verse 24, you'll see how the Lord goes further and He says, "...the Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust. From heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed." So we're talking then about a drought, a physical drought.
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If you would turn back to the book of Leviticus chapter 26. Again, this is another passage that deals with the blessings and curses. You'll see basically the same thing, but worded a little differently. Leviticus 26, beginning there with verse 18, he says this, "And if you will not yet for all this hearken unto me," that is, if you won't listen, "then I will punish you seven times more for your sins."
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"And I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit." So nothing is going to grow.
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Now, if you would turn right over to the book of Haggai, which is the third book from the end of the Old Testament. It's Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. And look in Haggai chapter 1. Haggai chapter 1, and notice if you would please verses 10 and 11, because he amplifies this curse and gives a very practical illustration of it. Haggai 1 and verse 10, he says, "Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit."
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"And I call for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountain, and the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands." So when this curse comes, it's not just simply drought, physical. It is a drought applied in the sense that absolutely nothing produces and nothing works as it should.
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Now, while you look specifically at Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, and we understand that this is a real, literal curse of a drought, may I point out that it also has a spiritual application. Because just like the rain would not penetrate brass, sometimes our prayers, it seemingly does not even get past the roof of the building that we're in. Our prayers can't get out. Our prayers would not, quote-unquote, penetrate the brass. So, just like there is a spiritual application to a physical famine, there is also a spiritual application to a physical drought. For instance, in Amos 8 in verse 11, which you're probably familiar with, God is actually speaking of a spiritual famine when He said, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God." So just like a real physical famine can be an illustration of a spiritual famine, so likewise a real physical drought can be an illustration of a spiritual drought as well.
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So oftentimes when prayer is involved and seemingly we cannot reach the Lord, it seems as if the heavens are brass. We cannot get through to Him, and seemingly He does not desire to get through to us. And as far as the earth under our feet becoming iron, during those particular times, nothing goes right. We cannot produce. We cannot function. We cannot find a resolution to our conflicts.
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And truthfully, the harder we try, the more we fail. I don't suppose any of you have ever experienced a time like that in your life, but I can assure you many people have.
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Now, the truth is this. We know that God hears prayer. We know that God answers prayer. And we really and truly know that God is more interested in us than we are interested in Him. I think it would be beneficial if you just simply read through the book of Psalms and noted how many times that David said, "hear my voice," or "thou shalt hear my voice," or "hear me when I cry," or "my prayer shall come before thee." So he's not only asking God for certain petitions, he's asking God specifically to hear his prayer as well.
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Now, we are told in the Bible that the prayer of the upright is his delight. For instance, in Proverbs 15 and verse 8, the Bible says, "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight." So anything that a wicked man sacrifices to God is an abomination. But it's the prayer of the upright is his delight. We're specifically told in Proverbs 15, verse 29, that the prayer of the righteous is heard. For instance, he said, "The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." So again, God is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayers of the righteous. And moreover, God is designated in the Bible as the one who hears prayer. For instance, in Psalm 65, in verse 2, He says, "...O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." So God is designated then as the prayer-hearing God. So the question is this, now if God hears prayer, if He desires to hear our prayer, if He delights in hearing our prayers, why is it at times that it seems that the heavens are brass, and we cannot reach our Father, and our prayers are bouncing back, and we are dull and dead?
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I'm sure that there are probably many answers to that, but I'm going to give you one of the main answers. And one of the main answers is because of sin in our lives. And it's not just sin, but it would be known sin, and it would be actually open rebellion. Our sin stems, number one, from a lack of faith in God. Moreover, you would also have to include pride, arrogance, haughtiness, and also a desire to have our will and our way above and beyond God's will and God's way.
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Now, let me make this statement, and I will prove it before I close this message. When you reach the stage that you will not hear God, at that point, God will not hear you. It's called the lex talionis, the law of retribution, where God makes the punishment fit the crime. Moses gives us an apt illustration of this principle. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1. Deuteronomy chapter 1. And you might as well hold the book of Deuteronomy and the book of Numbers because we're going to be looking at a lot of passages in Deuteronomy and in the book of Numbers as well. So if you'll look in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1, and let's begin reading there with verse 39, and let me show you the truth that I'm going to enunciate today. Deuteronomy chapter 1, beginning with verse 39.
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God says, "...moreover your little ones which you said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go and inherit, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. But as for you, turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea." Then you answered and said unto me, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us."
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"And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you," note carefully, "but you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill."
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"And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir even unto Hormah. And you returned and wept before the LORD," watch now, "but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So you abode in Kadesh many days according to the days that you abode there."
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Now, in this passage in Deuteronomy chapter 1, Moses is actually rehearsing that which happened in Numbers chapter 13 and chapter 14. At the same time, he is revealing something additional that is not revealed in Numbers chapter 13 and 14. He's revealing the fact in verse 45 that they wept and cried before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken to them, nor would He give ear unto them.
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Now let me make a statement, and it may surprise you, but here it is. There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayers. In fact, I preached a message many years back which I entitled, "When Prayer is Useless." In fact, if you will hold Deuteronomy chapter 1, but turn in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, and let's begin reading there with verse 15.
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Let me show you what I'm talking about. Hebrews chapter 12, and we'll begin reading there with verse 15. Hebrews 12 verse 15, God says, "Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Now look what God says.
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"For you know how that afterwards, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." So God refused to hear his prayer, and Isaac could not bless him when he had already blessed Jacob. So there comes a time when God is not going to hear prayer. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 13 and verse 30. I want to review this before I get back to Deuteronomy chapter 1. So if you look in Numbers chapter 13 and verse 30, let me just tell you the background of these two passages.
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Moses has sent the 12 spies out to spy the land for 40 days. And they brought back, you know, the fruit. The grapes even on a pole from the valley of Eshcol. And you remember 10 of the 12 spies brought up an evil report against the land. And I might also add against the Lord. And only Joshua and Caleb brought forth a true report. And so when the 10 spies brought their evil report, then they discouraged the heart of the people. So in Numbers 13 and verse 30, the Bible says, "And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it." So Caleb and Joshua were the two that were on top of it. So if you look in Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 6, Numbers 14 verse 6, "And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land rent their clothes."
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"And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we pass through to search it, it is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us, fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel." So note, if you would please, they have spied out the land. Joshua and Caleb have brought forth the good report. The other ten spies brought forth the evil report. And now the congregation is upset because of the giants and because of this ill report that has been given. And Joshua and Caleb say, no, no, let's go fight. Let's go possess this land.
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God has given it to us. God has commanded us to go. Let's go. Now you have, stop and think about this, you have a sin that is refusing to obey God, a sin in refusing to fight, a sin in refusing to possess that which God has given them, and then you have the sin in provoking God Himself. Their rebellion was so evil, so wicked, so vile, listen to this, God was willing to totally disinherit these people and destroy them and make of Moses a greater and a mightier nation. And the only thing that stopped God from destroying them was the intercession of Moses.
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So if you look at Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 11. Watch carefully. Numbers 14, verse 11. "And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? And how long will it be, ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and a mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, and that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, in a pillar of a fire by night. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness."
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"And now he beseeched thee, Let the power of my Lord be great according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people, according to thy greatness and thy mercy, as thou hast forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, I have pardoned according to thy word." So God was willing at this point to destroy all of these people and make of Moses a greater and a mightier nation. And Moses interceded for them. Moses said, Lord, if you do this, then all these people are going to say, you were not able to bring them into the land.
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And you were impotent to do it, and so you just killed them in the wilderness. And God said, alright, I've listened to you.
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Now, in all of this so far, I hope you have been able to ascertain what we would call self-will, unbelief, disobedience, rebellion, and a refusal to submit to the will and the Word of God. Moreover, included in this is a complete despisement of God and His gift. You're going to see where God talks about how they despised the land. And incidentally, you cannot despise the gift without despising the giver of the gift. Okay?
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So, look if you would, Numbers 14, verse 35. Numbers 14, verse 35. The Bible said, "And I the Lord have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." And then in which Moses sent to search the land who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up an evil report upon the land died by the plague before the Lord. So God then slew those ten men who brought up the evil report.
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Now, we oftentimes speak of adding sin to sin. And what we actually mean by that statement is that one sin begets another sin. So let me put it another way. If there is no real, genuine repentance, then sin will continue to multiply. It's just that simple. Because sin does indeed beget sin.
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Now, the congregation refused to go into the land when God commanded them to go into the land. They refused to fight when God commanded them to fight. You remember what they said when the ten brought back the evil report. Here's what they said. "Would to God we had died in this wilderness." I don't know if you remember this, but many years ago, I preached the message which I entitled, "Be Careful for That Which You Pray, God May Give You That Which You Want." They said, "Would to God that we had died in this wilderness," and here's what God is going to say, "I'm going to let you have it. I'll give you exactly that which you want."
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So look in Numbers 14, beginning there of verse 26. Numbers 14, verse 26. Watch it. "And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me, saying to them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as you have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you."
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"Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that are numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless, you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which you search the land, even forty days, each day for a year shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise."
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"I, the Lord, have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation that are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die."
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Now, all that brings us right back to Deuteronomy chapter 1. So I want you to go back, and I want you to look again, beginning at verse 40. I'm going to point several things out on these verses. But I want you to look at verse 40 again.
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Now God says, "But as for you," after He said you're going to die in this wilderness, "turn you and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when you had girded on every man his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you, and you would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill."
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"And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." Now look at verse 45 because this is not recorded in Numbers 13 and 14. But here it is, "And you returned," that is, after you were defeated, whoever was left, "and you returned and wept before the Lord. But the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you." Wow.
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Now, let's stop and think about this. Think about these sins. God commanded them to go in and possess the land. They sinned and rebelled and refused. God commanded them to fight. They refused to fight. They refused to possess it. They refused to turn into the wilderness. And then when they said, "We're going to go up," God says, "Don't go." They just so fade there. They said, "We're going to fight." God says, "Don't fight."
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In other words, here's what is happening. Even though God has told them originally to go and fight, now because of their sin and rebellion, God says, "Don't go and don't fight." But they said, "We're going to do it. We're going to do it." And so what they're going to do now is what you and I would call going it on their own. Self-will, pride, rebellion, and disobedience was written all over their actions.
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Now, I want you to look carefully at verse 41. Deuteronomy 1, verse 41. Watch it. I want you to see this. "Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord." Here is a clear admission of their sin. A clear admission of their rebellion. "We have sinned against the Lord."
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Now, let me point something out. Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance. They were willing to acknowledge they had sinned. They were willing to acknowledge that they were sinners, but they were not willing to turn from their sin and submit to God and obey Him. You see, here's what we've done today. Christendom suffers from this attitude greatly.
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We have misinterpreted 1 John 1 and verse 9. If you have not been able to memorize that passage, you probably should. But I want you to turn there. Let me show you something about this passage. 1 John 1. 1 John 1 and verse 9, if you would. 1 and 2 Peter. And then you have 1 John. 1 John 1 verse 9. Look at it. Here's what the Bible says.
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"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." But you see, our problem is we do not understand what it means to confess. We have just interpreted that to mean to acknowledge. So, if I were to go up to Steve, and he's distracted talking to David. Both of them are grabbing M&M's. And while he's distracted grabbing M&M's trying to beat David to them, I reach in his pocket and steal a $100 bill.
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Lorraine says it's not there. She already knows. But I reach in his pocket and I steal a $100 bill. And so I have that $100 bill and I slip out and I go in the bathroom and I say, "I just stole $100 from Steve. Thank you for letting me get it without getting caught." Now, did I acknowledge that I stole it? I most certainly did. But then, if I was successful at that, now I come back and try to get another $100 bill out of David's pocket without getting caught. And then if I were successful, I'd go say, "Well, Lord, I got another one from David, you know."
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Now, all I'm saying is I may be acknowledging the fact that I'm a thief, I'm acknowledging the fact that I stole the money, but am I really, genuinely confessing my sin? And the answer is no. The word for confess is the little Greek word homologeo. Everybody knows what homo is. It means one or the same. Lego is I say. Actually, the word confess means, I say the same thing that God says. Or, I agree with God. Or, I take the same attitude that God takes.
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Now, suppose I stole that $100 bill from Steve. And I went into the bathroom, and I'm looking at that $100 bill, and my conscience is smitten by the grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I say, "O Lord, I stole this money. Your Word says, 'Thou shalt not steal.' Your Word says 'the wages of sin is death.' Your Word says sin is an abomination to you." And I begin to see my sin as God sees it, as wicked, vile, and abominable. And what do I do if I agree with God? I repent. And I come back and I give the money back to Steve and I ask, "What else can I do to make restitution?" And then I ask him to forgive me. Do you follow that? Now that's confession.
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But if I just keep acknowledging the fact that I've stolen something and I keep stealing, I've not really confessed because I have not agreed with God. I've not taken the same attitude that God takes. So when we agree with God and take the same attitude that God takes, then obviously, we're going to be turning from that sin because we're going to see that sin as God sees it as hateful and vile. So a failure then to repent and a failure to turn from that which is contrary to God, no matter how much you say that you're a sinner, and no matter how much you say that you sin, it is not biblical confession. And I've run into a lot of people who are more than willing to admit that they're sinners, and some of them very proudly admit that they're sinners. And they'll even admit that they've sinned. But they're not willing to turn from that sin and submit to God. So simply admitting that we're sinners is not the same as really confessing our sin.
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Now, watch if you would back in verse 41. Look at it. "Then you answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord." We understand that. And then they said, "We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight according to all that the Lord our God commanded us." Whoa! Wait a minute. Yes, God did originally tell them to go up and fight and possess the land.
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But, now He has put a curse upon them. Now He has said, "I'm giving you what you want." Look at the last command in verse 40. "But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea."
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Now, God says, "You're not to fight. You're to go into the wilderness." Here's the principle. Listen carefully. Delayed obedience is disobedience. You follow that? Delayed obedience is disobedience. We understand this. I mean, if you have a child and you command your child, you tell your child, "I want you to do this and I want to have it done by such and such time." And then you come back later and it's not done. And you ask your child, "Why have you not done it?" "Well, I was just busy about other things and I didn't find time to do it."
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Would you consider that an excuse? No, because you told him to do something. He should drop whatever he's doing and go ahead and do it because you are the authority figure. You are the father. You give the orders, not the child. And here it is, God has given the orders. He is the authority figure. He is the authority period, not just a figure. But now they're saying, "Well, we will go up and fight."
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I want you to watch this. They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command. And then, when they said, "We will go up and we will fight," God gave another command. "Go not up. Do not fight. For I am not with you." And here's what they're saying. "We're going to do it. We're going to do it. We're going to obey that first command, regardless of the other commands that God has given us."
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Delayed obedience is disobedience, that is for sure. But now they are flying in the face of God to do exactly that which they want. And you may weep and cry and flail and pray before the Lord when you take this attitude, but God's not going to hear you. And God's not going to answer your prayer because that's what He said. And if you look at it again in Deuteronomy 1 in verse 45, He said, "And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord would not hearken unto your voice, nor give ear unto you." Why would God not listen to them? And the answer is because they would not listen to God. They were full of self-will, they were full of sin, they were full of wickedness, they were full of their rebellion, and God said, "I'm just not going to listen to them. That's all there is to it." Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Isaiah 55, and then we're going to Isaiah 59.
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Let me show you this. Look in Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Another interesting passage, Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says. Verse 6, "...seek ye the Lord while he may be found." The implication is there is a time when God cannot be found. So he says, "...seek ye the Lord while he may be found." Watch it now, "...call ye upon him while he is near." The implication is there is a time when he is not near. So he says, "...seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."
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"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." So, pardon then is based upon the wicked forsaking his ways and forsaking his wicked thoughts and returning and submitting to the Lord. Okay? If we want pardon, that is the prerequisites.
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Now, look, if you would, at Isaiah 59. Look at verses 1 and 2. Isaiah 59 verse 1, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear."
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Now, I want you to note how clearly this is enunciated. He says the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save. God is just as omnipotent as He ever was. Neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. God has not gone deaf. God is still omniscient. Well, what is the problem? Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear. It's not that He cannot hear. He will not hear. And I want you to note, when you're in such a situation, when you're filled with your iniquities and your sins and your rebellion, heaven is brass to you. You cannot reach God because of your sins and your iniquities. He will not hear.
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Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 66 and look at verse 18. Probably you can quote this verse, but I want you to see it because there's one word that I really want to emphasize. Look what David says in Psalm 66 and verse 18. David says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." Of course, you know that iniquity is sinful.
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It's that which is contrary to God. It's a transgression of His law. So he says, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
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Now, the Hebrew word for regard is the word ra'ah, which means to look at, to regard, to esteem, to apprise, to have respect to, to give attention to, to gaze at, to look at. So what is he saying? If I regard, if I gaze at sin and iniquity, if I regard it, if I esteem it, if I place it up on a pedestal somewhere, if I just do that, God will not hear me.
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Now, let me ask you a question. If the mere regarding of esteeming something that's contrary to God and His law places us in a position where God will not hear us, how much worse is it if we engage in it? You follow me? So if we regard it, that's sufficient for God not to hear us. If we engage in it, that's more than sufficient for God not to hear us. When we engage in that which He expressly forbids. So David said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me."
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We can't hold it there. We can't prize it. We can't value it. We can't gaze at it longingly and lustfully and covetously. No, we cannot do that, because that's regarding iniquity.
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Now, I want you to turn over to Proverbs 28. Proverbs 28, and look if you would please at verse 9. I'm just trying to point out the fact that the heavens are brass to some people, and our prayers cannot reach the ears of God, but it's not because God is deaf. It's because of our sins. So look in Proverbs 28 and verse 9. God says, "He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination." The word abomination literally means a stench in God's nostrils. He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, that is, he refuses to listen, he rejects it, he declines from it, he turns from it. Now go back and think about our illustration that Moses gave us. What did those people do? God said, "Go up and fight."
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"No, we're not going to do that." Well, God says, "Turn into the wilderness." "No, we're not going to do that. We're going to do what you told us to do to begin with." God says, "Do not go up that hill." "But we're going up that hill." "Do not fight." "But we're going to fight." So here they're turning their ear away from that which God has demanded. And after they're deceived, they come back and they cry and they weep and they wail, but God will not hear them. There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayer. If you want heaven to be brass for you, just merely regard iniquity and engage in it, and you will find out God is not deaf. It's not that He cannot hear. He will not hear your prayer.
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Now, let me make two applications. The first one is very simple. I've already pointed it out. But we may weep and cry and howl and scream and pray, but if we do not turn from our sins, God is not going to hear us. When we hold His Word in contempt, and when we refuse to hear Him and obey Him, it is a rebellious attitude that is clearly demonstrated by these Israelites in Numbers 13 and 14 in Deuteronomy chapter 1.
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Someone says, "I know what I'll do. I'll sacrifice something to God and He'll hear me." Really. It seems to me like God said it, I think it's Psalm 55, "'If I were hungry, I would not tell thee. The world is mine, and everything that's in it.'" What could you ever give to God that He has not first given to you? I want you to turn to the book of Hosea right after the book of Daniel. Hosea, Daniel. Daniel, Hosea it is. Daniel, Hosea, but look at Hosea chapter 5 and look if you would please at 5 and 6. In fact, we can read verse 4 because God is talking about the sin of Israel and Judah, but I want you to know what He says. Hosea 5 and verse 4, God says, "They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God, for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the Lord. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face. Therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity."
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"Judah also shall fall with them. They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord, sacrificing. But they shall not find him, for he hath withdrawn himself from them." Wow! Oh yeah, they were going to take sacrifices, but they're not going to find God. Because of their iniquities, because of their sin, He has withdrawn Himself from them. You know, everywhere we go in this country, we see signs posted in yards that say something like, "It's pray 2 Chronicles 7:14," or "We need 2 Chronicles 7:14," or "Pray for this country." May I remind you what 2 Chronicles 7:14 actually says? Listen carefully, "...if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and forgive their sin, and heal their land." It's not just praying and crying and weeping and humbling, it's turning from our wicked ways. How in the world can we expect God to hear us when we're regarding iniquity and engaging in that which is displeasing to Him and contrary to His law?
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If we want heavens to be brass, just continue in sin and God will not hear us. Which brings me to the second one I've already mentioned. What you see in Deuteronomy 1 and verse 45 is the lex talionis of Scripture. Lex talionis is just simply the law of retribution. It is where God makes the punishment fit the crime. What happened in Numbers 13 and 14? What happened in Deuteronomy chapter 1? They would not hear God. And God says, therefore, I will not hear you. When we turn a deaf ear to God and His law and His word in biblical justice, God may turn a deaf ear to our prayers and heaven would be brass. Because our prayers seemingly would bounce back from the ceiling of the room that we're in. If we do not want heavens to be brass to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins.
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Do not regard iniquity in our hearts. Do not let it dwell there. Do not maintain thoughts that you know that are contrary to God. Repent of them. Spit them out. Just like Job. He was a righteous man and one that eschewed evil. And the word eschewed means to spit out. He couldn't stomach it. So we have to spit out that which is evil and say, "No, I'm not going to think that. I'm not going to act like that. I'm not going to do that. I will submit and obey to God." And you find out that the heavens will not be brass and the land under you will not be iron, and you will be blessed of God.
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The curse is upon disobedience. The blessings always follow obedience. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee this day. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. We thank You for Your grace and mercy. And Father, we ask You to help us, enable us not to regard iniquity in our hearts. For without Thee, Father, we can do absolutely nothing. Help us, Lord, to love Thee, to turn from that which is contrary to Thee, and to honor Thee in all that we say and do. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T12:35:26Z

When the Heavens are Brass

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines the spiritual meaning of the curse in Deuteronomy 28:23, where the heavens become brass and the earth iron, symbolizing a drought in which God does not hear prayer. Using the rebellion of Israel in Numbers 13–14 and Deuteronomy 1, he argues that the primary reason God refuses to hear is unrepented sin, open rebellion, and a refusal to obey His commands. True confession requires agreeing with God and turning from sin, not merely admitting it. The message warns that regarding iniquity or turning a deaf ear to God’s law leads to the lex talionis: God will not hear those who will not hear Him.

Introduction: The Curse of Brass Heavens and Iron Earth

Reading Deuteronomy 28:23 and Leviticus 26:18–20, Weaver introduces the physical curse of drought and its spiritual application: when prayers seem unable to reach God.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 28:23

"...and thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron."

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:18-20

"And if you will not yet for all this hearken unto me,"

that is, if you won't listen,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:18-20

"then I will punish you seven times more for your sins."

Scripture Reading — Haggai 1:10-11

"Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit."

Spiritual Application of the Drought

Just as a physical famine pictures a spiritual famine (Amos 8:11), a physical drought illustrates a spiritual drought where prayers do not penetrate and nothing prospers.

Scripture Reading — Amos 8:11

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God."

So just like a real physical famine can be an illustration of a spiritual famine, so likewise a real physical drought can be an illustration of a spiritual drought as well.

God Hears the Righteous but Not the Wicked

Scripture teaches that God delights in the prayer of the upright and hears the righteous, yet at times the heavens seem brass. The main answer is sin, especially known sin and open rebellion.

Now, we are told in the Bible that the prayer of the upright is his delight. For instance, in Proverbs 15 and verse 8, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 15:8

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 15:8

"The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous."

The Principle: When You Will Not Hear God, He Will Not Hear You

Weaver states the lex talionis principle and turns to Deuteronomy 1:39–45, where Israel’s rebellion led God to refuse their cries.

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:39-45

"And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir even unto Hormah. And you returned and wept before the LORD,"

watch now,

Scripture Reading — Deuteronomy 1:39-45

"but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. So you abode in Kadesh many days according to the days that you abode there."

The Rebellion in Numbers 13–14

Reviewing the spies’ evil report, the people’s refusal to enter the land, and God’s judgment, Weaver highlights their self-will, unbelief, and despising of God’s gift.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 13:30

"And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it."

So if you look at Numbers 14, beginning there with verse 11. Watch carefully. Numbers 14, verse 11.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:11-20

"And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? And how long will it be, ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shown among them? I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation, and a mightier than they. And Moses said unto the Lord, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land, for they have heard that thou, Lord, art among this people, and that thou, Lord, art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them by daytime in a pillar of a cloud, in a pillar of a fire by night. Now, if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness."

Adding Sin to Sin and God’s Sentence

The people’s wish to die in the wilderness becomes God’s decree. Their delayed obedience and subsequent presumptuous attack show rebellion even after admitting sin.

So look in Numbers 14, beginning there of verse 26. Numbers 14, verse 26. Watch it.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:26-35

"And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying, How long shall I bear with this evil congregation which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me, saying to them, As truly as I live, saith the Lord, as you have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you." "Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that are numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless, you shall not come into the land concerning which I swear to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses be wasted in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which you search the land, even forty days, each day for a year shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise."

Mere Admission Is Not Biblical Confession

Using 1 John 1:9, Weaver explains that true confession (homologeo) means agreeing with God about sin and turning from it, not just acknowledging it.

Delayed Obedience and Presumptuous Self-Will

Israel disobeyed God’s second command to turn into the wilderness, insisting on fighting. Their self-will and rebellion caused God to refuse to hear their weeping.

Let me show you this. Look in Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Another interesting passage, Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says. Verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

The implication is there is a time when God cannot be found. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

Watch it now,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...call ye upon him while he is near."

The implication is there is a time when he is not near. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."

Scriptural Warnings: Sin Separates from God

Isaiah 55:6–7, Isaiah 59:1–2, Psalm 66:18, and Proverbs 28:9 all teach that sin, regarding iniquity, and turning from God’s law cause Him not to hear.

Let me show you this. Look in Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Another interesting passage, Isaiah 55 verses 6 and 7. Look what he says. Verse 6,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

The implication is there is a time when God cannot be found. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found."

Watch it now,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...call ye upon him while he is near."

The implication is there is a time when he is not near. So he says,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 55:6-7

"...seek ye the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near."

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 59:1-2

"Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither is His ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear."

We can't hold it there. We can't prize it. We can't value it. We can't gaze at it longingly and lustfully and covetously. No, we cannot do that, because that's regarding iniquity.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:9

"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination."

Applications: Repentance and the Lex Talionis

Weaver applies the message: if we refuse to hear God, He will not hear us. True repentance means turning from sin, not just weeping or offering sacrifices.

When the Heavens are Brass

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	510181036370
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: Promises Of The Law
Genre	Sermon
Date	2018-04-29
Dictation Name
Book	Book 043: Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: A Time Of Need — Chapter 1
Source Timed Segments	69

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Curse of Brass Heavens and Iron Earth: Reading Deuteronomy 28:23 and Leviticus 26:18–20, Weaver introduces the physical curse of drought and its spiritual application: when prayers seem unable to reach God.
Spiritual Application of the Drought: Just as a physical famine pictures a spiritual famine (Amos 8:11), a physical drought illustrates a spiritual drought where prayers do not penetrate and nothing prospers.
God Hears the Righteous but Not the Wicked: Scripture teaches that God delights in the prayer of the upright and hears the righteous, yet at times the heavens seem brass. The main answer is sin, especially known sin and open rebellion.
The Principle: When You Will Not Hear God, He Will Not Hear You: Weaver states the lex talionis principle and turns to Deuteronomy 1:39–45, where Israel’s rebellion led God to refuse their cries.
The Rebellion in Numbers 13–14: Reviewing the spies’ evil report, the people’s refusal to enter the land, and God’s judgment, Weaver highlights their self-will, unbelief, and despising of God’s gift.
Adding Sin to Sin and God’s Sentence: The people’s wish to die in the wilderness becomes God’s decree. Their delayed obedience and subsequent presumptuous attack show rebellion even after admitting sin.
Mere Admission Is Not Biblical Confession: Using 1 John 1:9, Weaver explains that true confession (homologeo) means agreeing with God about sin and turning from it, not just acknowledging it.
Delayed Obedience and Presumptuous Self-Will: Israel disobeyed God’s second command to turn into the wilderness, insisting on fighting. Their self-will and rebellion caused God to refuse to hear their weeping.
Scriptural Warnings: Sin Separates from God: Isaiah 55:6–7, Isaiah 59:1–2, Psalm 66:18, and Proverbs 28:9 all teach that sin, regarding iniquity, and turning from God’s law cause Him not to hear.
Applications: Repentance and the Lex Talionis: Weaver applies the message: if we refuse to hear God, He will not hear us. True repentance means turning from sin, not just weeping or offering sacrifices.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Sin is the primary reason God does not hear prayer

Weaver argues that known sin, rebellion, and a lack of faith cause God to turn a deaf ear, not any limitation in God.

Weaver says, 'one of the main answers is because of sin in our lives. And it's not just sin, but it would be known sin, and it would be actually open rebellion.'

Israel’s rebellion illustrates the principle

The events of Numbers 13–14 and Deuteronomy 1 show a pattern: God commands, people refuse, God judges, people weep, but God does not hear.

Deuteronomy 1:43–45: 'ye would not hear … but rebelled … and ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice.'

Mouthing confession without turning is insufficient

Acknowledging sin is not the same as biblical confession, which requires agreeing with God and turning from sin.

Weaver says, 'Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance.'

Delayed obedience is still disobedience

When God gives a new command due to prior rebellion, insisting on obeying the original command is self-will and rebellion.

Weaver says, 'Delayed obedience is disobedience. … They were disobeying God's second command in order to obey His first command.'

Scripture consistently warns that sin hinders prayer

Isaiah 59:1–2, Psalm 66:18, and Proverbs 28:9 all teach that iniquity, regarding sin, and rejecting God’s law cause Him not to hear.

Isaiah 59:2: 'your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.'

The lex talionis applies to hearing

Because Israel would not hear God, God would not hear them. This retributive justice is a biblical pattern.

Weaver says, 'What you see in Deuteronomy 1 and verse 45 is the lex talionis of Scripture. … They would not hear God. And God says, therefore, I will not hear you.'

Repentance is the only remedy

To avoid brass heavens, believers must repent of sin, refuse to regard iniquity, and submit to God’s commands.

Weaver says, 'If we do not want heavens to be brass to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins. Do not regard iniquity in our hearts.'

Scripture References

Deuteronomy 28:23: The curse of brass heavens and iron earth as a divine sanction for disobedience.
Deuteronomy 28:24: The Lord will make the rain powder and dust, leading to destruction.
Leviticus 26:18-20: Parallel curse: heaven as iron, earth as brass, strength spent in vain.
Haggai 1:10-11: Amplification of the curse: drought on land, mountains, grain, wine, oil, and all labor.
Amos 8:11: A spiritual famine of hearing the word of God, illustrating spiritual drought.
Proverbs 15:8: The prayer of the upright is God’s delight.
Proverbs 15:29: The Lord is far from the wicked but hears the prayer of the righteous.
Psalm 65:2: God is designated as the one who hears prayer.
Deuteronomy 1:39-45: Moses rehearses Israel’s rebellion and God’s refusal to hear their weeping.
Hebrews 12:15-17: Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with tears, illustrating God’s refusal.
Numbers 13:30: Caleb stills the people and urges them to go up and possess the land.
Numbers 14:6-10: Joshua and Caleb plead with the congregation not to rebel, but the people threaten to stone them.
Numbers 14:11-20: God threatens to destroy Israel; Moses intercedes and God pardons.
Numbers 14:26-35: God decrees that the rebellious generation will die in the wilderness.
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, God is faithful to forgive; Weaver explains true confession.
Isaiah 55:6-7: Seek the Lord while He may be found; the wicked must forsake his way to receive mercy.
Isaiah 59:1-2: God’s hand is not shortened, but iniquities separate from God and cause Him not to hear.
Psalm 66:18: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
Proverbs 28:9: He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Hosea 5:4-6: Israel and Judah seek the Lord with sacrifices but will not find Him because He has withdrawn.

Historical References

Israel’s rebellion at Kadesh (Numbers 13–14): The twelve spies, the evil report, the people’s refusal to enter Canaan, and God’s judgment of forty years wandering.
Moses’ intercession for Israel: Moses pleads with God not to destroy Israel, appealing to God’s reputation among the nations.
The death of the ten spies by plague: God slew the ten men who brought up the evil report upon the land.
Esau’s rejected repentance: Esau sold his birthright and later sought the blessing with tears but was rejected.

Important Quotes

When you reach the stage that you will not hear God, at that point, God will not hear you.

States the central lex talionis principle of the message.

There comes a time when God is not going to hear our prayers.

Emphasizes the sobering reality that persistent rebellion can lead to God’s refusal to listen.

Mouthing a confession and mouthing a repentance is not necessarily the same as biblical confession and biblical repentance.

Distinguishes between empty words and genuine turning from sin.

Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Highlights that obeying God’s original command after He has given a new command is still rebellion.

If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Key verse showing that even esteeming sin blocks prayer.

Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear.

Clear biblical statement that sin causes God to refuse to hear.

If we do not want heavens to be brass to us, we must repent of our sins and turn from our sins.

The practical application and call to action.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

What does the image of 'brass heavens' and 'iron earth' teach us about the spiritual condition of unanswered prayer?

[Context]

Weaver introduces the physical curse and its spiritual application.

[Question]

How does the rebellion of Israel in Numbers 13–14 illustrate the principle that God will not hear those who refuse to hear Him?

[Context]

The historical example of Israel’s sin and God’s refusal to listen.

[Question]

What is the difference between merely admitting sin and truly confessing it according to 1 John 1:9?

[Context]

Weaver explains the Greek word homologeo and true confession.

[Question]

Why is delayed obedience considered disobedience, and how did Israel demonstrate this?

[Context]

Israel insisted on fighting after God told them to turn into the wilderness.

[Question]

According to Psalm 66:18, what does it mean to 'regard iniquity' and how does that affect our prayers?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the Hebrew word ra'ah and its implications.

[Question]

How do Isaiah 59:1–2 and Proverbs 28:9 reinforce the message that sin hinders prayer?

[Context]

These verses show that iniquity and rejecting God’s law cause Him not to hear.

[Question]

What does 2 Chronicles 7:14 teach about the conditions for God to hear and heal, and how does this apply today?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts popular use of the verse with its full requirement of turning from wicked ways.

[Question]

What practical steps can we take to ensure that the heavens are not brass in our own prayer lives?

[Context]

Weaver concludes with the call to repent, not regard iniquity, and submit to God.

Applications

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