It has been in my heart to write about an observation regarding the movement in the heavens : weather, climate, sun and universe. It concerns me that people do not give the God of the Bible the glory for His gift of life, moment to moment, and the giving of rain and sun.
The Lord Christ, said, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” (Matthew 5:45)
The Heavens: from Clouds to Stars
Day to day the the God of the Bible causes the sun to rise and rain to fall. Modern work by scientists deals mostly with unobservable mechanisms but avoids causes. Nobody has answered Isaac Newton's argument that the massive forces in the rotating motions of the universe couldn't just happen either historically, or moment to moment now. Right now as you read this some huge force is keeping the earth in a wobbling ellipse about the sun, so as to stop it from going in a straight line, just as a tennis ball on a string flies off in a straight line if the string breaks. More than that clouds are now found to be complex and despite years of study are still little understood. For example www.srh.noaa.gov explains some mechanisms of wind, but these have (inexplicable) exceptions. The article avoids mentioning what causes these mechanisms, let alone the exceptions. The latest IPCC report notes regarding clouds that “there exist two distinct challenges: fundamental understanding of processes and their representation in large-scale models p608.” IPCC The understanding of the incredibly complex process of cloud formation is proving elusive. If the mechanics of the motion is proving irreducibly complex, and hard to explain, the cause of the motion of clouds are never explained. There are massive forces 'driving' the weather, and no one can explain their origin.
Then we come to the Bible where it is striking that the God of the Bible describes himself as the one who now, day to day, controls these great forces including the movements of all bodies in the heavens and the weather!
Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretches them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which comes out of it; he that gives breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof. (Isaiah 42:5-10)
In context the 'stretching out of the heavens' may be ongoing, and the earth being spread forth must be read in context with the ongoing nature of how things grow and come forth from the earth and how God gives breath to all living things (which is an ongoing work from that time to today). We see that hour to hour the God of the Bible sustains the life of all living. The name of the God of the Bible is Yahweh Elohim of Israel (see here) which means 'He who is and will be the Mighty Ones of Israel' and descibes his power to help and his intent to show forth his glory in people. Also Here
Do we give him thanks, praise or glory for this? When the Mighty Yahweh declares to his servants the future, he points to the witness of the heavens and earth, and the fact of human life.
The nation of Israel and Climate
When speaking of the evil that would come upon the Jewish people when they were scattered from their land, the God of the Bible points to the witness that he builds the clouds and brings rain.
And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good. And the Lord GOD of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
It is he that builds his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name. Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the LORD. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? (Amos 9:4-7 KJV)
As we have seen the Jews were scattered and subjected to evil. The fact of Jewish survival despite suffering in exile is proof that the God of the Bible has not forsaken his people. Because of this we can know the veracity of the claim that Yahweh Elohim the God of Israel builds the clouds, calling for the waters from the sea to pour onto the earth!
In the same way Yahweh Elohim sent Jews into exile He will fill the Holy Land, the mountains of Israel with men again.
The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, saying, “Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall lift up a shout against thee. He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. (Jeremiah 51:14-16 KJV)
The assurance that the God of Israel would restore Israel was given with the guarantee of the evidence of his power over the rain and the whole water cycle. The promise to restore Israel was also given with the evidence of God's control over the ordinances of heaven.
Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them. (Jeremiah 33:25-26 KJV)\]
The promise of salvation to the cities of Judah comes with the assurance of the one who measures the waters and earth.
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? (Isaiah 40:9-12 KJV)
It is unequivocal that God controls everything we see moving. The God of Israel when he points to evidence for his promises, pointed to the ordinances of heaven. The question begging to be asked, and which is not being asked (let alone answered) by modern scientists is 'how there came to be ordinances in the heavens?' More than that few people now consider God controls the Heavens moment to moment, now. The movement of the Universe is very complex, with variously composed masses moving in elipses at angles everywhere. Now accepting that those ordinances can't be changed by humans, in the same way we have seen that the seed of Jacob is not cast away we can know that the restoration of Israel is also uncontrolled by the nations, but is beign brought about by the God the of Bible, the Holy One who called himself “He who will be Mighty Ones of Israel”.
The Promise of Future Greatness
But there is more.
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Thus saith the LORD, which gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 31:33-37 KJV)
When did the God of Israel divide the sea? When Israel came out of Egypt. When did he divide the sea before that? When he made the dry land appear. Can we measure the heavens? Well it turns out the answer is no. Even to measure the distance to a star is only an estimate because it requires a six month rotation of the earth to allow a viewpoint to compare to another star using parallax and the star being studied is also moving. (NASA Nearest star)
If we now know we can't measure the heavens because they are constantly moving, we also know we can't ever fully understand the earth below us. “The exact composition of the mantle is not known with certainty, but is determined or inferred by the material coming from volcanic eruptions.” Even this explantion we find is a simplification. There are some serious scientific papers grappling with the problems. One Abstract begins, “Compositional models of the Earth are critically dependent on three main sources of information: the seismic profile of the Earth and its interpretation, comparisons between primitive meteorites and the solar nebula composition, and chemical and petrological models of peridotite-basalt melting relationships.” Science Direct If we can't search the foundations of the earth or measure the heavens, we can be sure that Israel will not cease from being a nation and we can know that God's dividing of the sea at the beginning of their nationhood was indeed fact.
When people speak of 'Nature' and 'mother nature' they take from the God of Israel His Glory and Power, and give it to another. “I am He Who Will Be: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isa 42:8) When the Bible speaks of God arising, He has power over the majesty of the great power of the weather.
God is jealous, and the LORD revenges; the LORD revenges, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserves wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (Nahum 1:2-3)
A Powerful God!!
ASIDE: This photo emerged as I wrote this article. This is a fireball cloud called the 'hand of God' shaped as a fiery fist! over Maderia, which means 'wood'. The most signifant event of Maderia is that Charles I, the last Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, went into exile there after WW1. For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God (Deu 4:24).
We hear calls for praying for people who have been victims of disasters after the event, yet so few pray to the Great Power to protect them from the great forces of the earth before the event.
My help comes from Yahweh, which made heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:2)
The question 'Does God give rain?' is the same question as 'How powerful is the God of the Bible?' The God of the Bible has great power and can give good or evil. When God gave the commandments which also were for good, he pointed out in his Great Power to do good, because even the Heavens of heavens were His, and all the earth was His.
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. (Deuteronomy 10:12-14)
Let us ponder that even the things we build and do are from things made and given by God. By considering this we may have a more reasonable view of our efforts, and rather than being lifted up we may be humbled and give God the glory due unto his Name.
Thus saith Yahweh, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” (Isaiah 66:1-2)
Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: He Who Will be is his name: (Amos 5:8)
If you liked this you may wish to read more Walking on the Wings of the Wind
On Sunday May 16, 2016 a gust of wind changed Boston's “Freedom trail” and knocked over the statue of Benjamin Franklin. It has great significance, and likely is no accident or freak chance.
We were discussing the age of the earth, for there is debate on this matter, when it was pointed out that our great Creator's habitation is the universe, and he has always existed.
For a while now I have been dissatisfied with explanations to rebut Evolution. Over a year ago I was asked by someone to think upon how I would answer in favour of the Bible account of creation.
Three times in the Bible we are introduced to the creation of the heavens and earth. The first instance is in Genesis, the second is by the prophet Isaiah and the third is in Revelation.
