Rain, rain go away,
Come again another day,
Billy wants to go out to play.
I’m sure many of us sang this cute little ditty as a child when the rain kept us from going outside to play. The weather has an impact on our lives each day. Weather determines what we will wear. It will affect whether an event is able to go on as planned or needs to be postponed. Changes in both mental (mood) and physical (ie. Arthritis) health can be attributed to the weather. Let’s consider some things found in the Bible with regard to weather.
The Scriptures reveal that the seasons are from the Lord. After the flood, God promised,
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)
The Psalmist praised God, who has “made summer and winter” (Psalm 74:17). How inappropriate for us to complain about what God has made for our benefit and enjoyment. If it’s winter – duh, it’s going to be cold. Rather than complain, we should enjoy activities particular to that time of year. In summer, it’s going to be hot. Don’t complain, engage in activities particular to the summer months. If it’s raining, remember the goodness of God, for
He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. (Matthew 5:45)
Even at the end of the rain, God has given us a reminder of His goodness in the form of the rain-bow (Genesis 9:16-17).
Weather truths were used by wise Solomon to teach about the nature of the fool (Proverbs 26:1), and the lazy man (Proverbs 20:4).
With the warmth of our homes to comfort us, the winter is not all that bad. In fact, there are several winter activities which are fun for the whole family. And yet at times, winter weather can be difficult, even oppressive. Jesus acknowledged the difficulty of winter as He foretold the coming destruction of Jerusalem. He told His audience,
…pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. (Matthew 24:20)
Winter in Judea would be cold and wet – not good weather to flee from an impending destruction. It would bring added hardship to the people if they needed to flee to the mountains in the rain, trudging through the mud.
There are other times in Scripture where the trial of winter is acknowledged. As a Roman prisoner, Paul was taken by ship from Caesarea to Rome. On the way, they ship stopped for a long time at Fair Havens, which sounds like it might have been a beautiful place. However, it was not suitable to dock at for winter (Acts 27:8, 12). Fooled by a soft wind, the captain of the vessel decided to pass Phoenix, a suitable harbour of Crete, and put out to sea. Soon after, a powerful wind took the ship on a 2 week uncontrollable voyage. We must be aware of inherent dangers of a season.
Likely the most mentioned time of year in the Bible is the harvest time. What a wonderful time of year! The fresh produce is a great blessing from God.
A few texts speak about the abundance of summer fruit (2 Samuel 16:1-2; Jeremiah 40:12). Jesus said the budding of the fig tree was a sign that the summer drew near (Matthew 24:32). Of course this He used as a picture for an impending judgment upon Judah. It is needed that we are aware of the times and prepare ourselves accordingly. The prophet Jeremiah wrote,
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved! (Jeremiah 8:20)
May that not be the case with us. Let us enjoy all that God has given to us, but be sure that we also commit ourselves entirely to serving Him, so that when the harvest of this earth has come, when the summer of life has ended, we are indeed saved and will be with the Lord in eternity.
Links: YouVersion | GROW magazine
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