When it feels like God isn’t listening. But it’s just us.
Deuteronomy 28.23
When Christians start talking about how “the heavens are brass”—or bronze, depending on whether they grew up with the King James Version or the New International Version—they’re talking about unanswered
Deuteronomy 28.23 KJV - And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron.
But
Deuteronomy 28.1-24 KWL - 1 “If you happen to listen to your L
ORD God’s voice, - so as to observe and do every command I instructing you about today,
- your L
ORD God will give you power over every country on earth: - 2 All these blessings will come to you and overwhelm you,
- for you listened to your L
ORD God’s voice. - 3 You’ll be blessed in city, field, 4 the fruit of your belly, the fruit of the ground,
- and the fruit of your animals—what your cattle drops, or your flocks produce.
- 5 You’ll be blessed in breadbasket, in yeast;
- 6 when you enter, when you leave.
- 7 The L
ORD will have your enemies which rise against you be struck down in front of you. - They’ll come at you from one direction, and run away from you in seven.
- 8 The L
ORD will teach you about blessing in your storehouses, in everything you undertake. - He’ll bless you in the land your L
ORD God gives you. - 9 The L
ORD will raise you to himself: A holy people, as he swore you’d become. - So observe your L
ORD God’s commands. Walk in his ways. - 10 All the earth’s peoples will see you call upon the L
ORD ’s name, and fear you. - 11 The L
ORD will give you a good surplus, fruit of your belly, beasts, and your ground, - in the land the L
ORD swore to give your ancestors. - 12 The L
ORD will open his good, heavenly treasury for you: - He’ll give rain to your land in its season. He’ll hand over every deed.
- Many nations will owe you, and you’ll never borrow.
- 13 The L
ORD makes you the head, not the tail. You’ll go upward, not downward. - So listen to your L
ORD God’s commands.- Observe and do what I’m instructing you today.
- Don’t dismiss any words I command you today.
- Don’t go right or left, to follow or serve other gods.
- 15 “If it happens you don’t listen to your L
ORD God’s voice,- to observe and do all his commands and orders which I command you today,
- these hardships will come upon you, and overtake you.
- 16 You’ll be screwed in city, field, 17 breadbasket, and yeast,
- 18 in the fruit of your belly, the fruit of the ground, what your cattle drops, or your flocks produce.
- 19 You’ll be screwed when you enter, when you leave.
- 20 The L
ORD will send you curses, frustration, and opposition in everything you undertake to do.- Till you’re wiped out, till you quickly die,
- because of the evil actions you abandoned me
to pursue .- 21 The L
ORD will make plague stick to you till it wipes you from the land you’re entering to live in.- 22 The L
ORD will smite you with illness, fever, hot flashes, high temperature, drought,- forest fires, mildew—all of which will chase you to death.
- 23 The skies over your head will be copper. The land beneath you, iron.
- 24 The L
ORD will rain dust and dirt from the sky. He’ll pour it on you till you’re exterminated.”
When Moses spoke of the heavens being brass, or
So yeah: If you’re gonna talk about the skies being brass, and really mean unanswered prayer, don’t make the mistake of saying, “You know, like when the bible talks about when the skies are brass.” It’s not like when the bible talks about any such thing. It’s about when