How's the Weather?

Yesterday, Bill and I were working in the school office when we heard the most unusual sound. It was sudden and loud and we could not figure out what it was until we looked out the window. For over five minutes, steady hail rained from the clouds. Hail...certainly something I did not expect to see here in Jerusalem. I think, due to misconceptions, I thought that Israel was hot and dry all the time. But these folks do experience winter and, while it is nominal compared to the United States and Canada, it does get cold, windy, rainy, and even snowy once in a blue moon. Sometimes, people can ski on biblical Mt. Hermon in the North.

This hailstorm prompted me to think about how frequently weather is mentioned in the Bible. Weather is not my favorite subject but God found it interesting enough to make reference to clouds, dew, frost, mist, storms, rain, thunder, lightning, wind, even hail. Many times he used weather to draw spiritual analogies for people.

After reading some weather-related verses, maybe the one I like the most is found in Acts 2:2. "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting." This event is especially meaningful to me right now, since this "wind" blew approximately one mile from where I am sitting right now.

I also like Genesis 8:22, because it reminds me of God's promises, and He always keeps His promises. "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." In most places on earth, the weather changes as seasons cycle through the year, a great reminder to us of the changing seasons in our own lives which bring with them opportunites for rest, labor, growth, and harvest.