The use of “snow” as Moses’ comparison of choice represents its commonality in the Middle East. In Exodus 4:6 and Numbers 12:10, Moses hand and Miriam’s body were made “leprous like snow.” Presumably their skin was made white like snow. Twice in the Pentateuch (Genesis– Deuteronomy) “snow” is mentioned-and both times it is related to leprosy. Snow in Redemptive Historyįast forward to the time of Moses. Genesis 8:22 promises “while the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Though these seasons may have existed in some fashion before the flood, its very likely the mention of “cold” and “winter” in this verse signify the unpleasant introduction of these conditions into the world. Or more biblically, the four seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter were introduced to bring about redemptive history (see the important connection between the new covenant and the Noahic covenant, Jer 31:35–36). Moreover, if it did not rain before the flood, it couldn’t have snowed either.Īll that changed when God sent a flood to earth to judge human and angelic wickedness (see Genesis 6:1–8). Until the flood, the world was protected under the waters of heaven, nourished by mist from the ground, and unconcerned with tropical depressions and deadly blizzards. But that all changed when the canopy collapsed and the rains began (Gen 7:11). Under an “expanse of water” (Gen 1:7), humanity flourished-i.e., they lived for hundreds of years (see Genesis 5)-and the tropics extended from pole-to-pole. ![]() Creation scientists point to tropical plants and animals in the arctic as evidence that the world as we know it wasn’t always snow-capped. So before Adam sinned (Genesis 3) and God subjected the earth to futility (Romans 8:18–22), the had plenty of water, but no subzero temperatures to create ice crystals and snow squalls.Īccordingly, snow is a product of a world fallen from its original goodness. 6) and “a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there is divided and became four rivers” (v. In Genesis 2, we learn “mist was going up from the land watering the whole face of the ground” (v. On the second day God separated the waters in the sky from the waters on the earth (Gen 1:6–8) on the third day he gathered the waters on the earth, forming the dry ground (Gen 1:9–10). ![]() ![]() In the beginning, there was water but not snow. If you have time, here’s the meditation that traces the theme of snow through the whole Bible. And may our dependence on him in this day and in every snowy (or sunny) day help us to respond to him with reverence and adoration. Today, as we sit waiting warmer days, and praying for the care of those who are suffering cold, we would do well to reflect on the God who made the world and who designed cold to be a means by which we would tremble-physically tremble-before him. To aid in that proper response to God, I wrote up this devotion a few years ago, when we were inundated with thirty inches of snow. And more than respect, it calls for us to tremble before the One who is our Maker, Sustainer, and Engineer of every snowflake. And as this verse implies, nothing happens on the earth that God did not intend in heaven. As Job 37:13 says, “Whether for correction or for his land or for love, he causes it to happen.” What does God cause to happen? Everything in creation. Let’s pray for them.įor those who do have power, though, but no place to go, perhaps it would be worthwhile to redeem the extra time today with a brief meditation on God’s Word and the power of God’s weather. And as of Tuesday, many were still waiting to be freed from the accumulated ice crystals on I-95. ![]() Yesterday, in less than six hours our warm Sunday turned into a cold, icy, snowmaggeddon Monday. “He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs Īs we sit in Northern Virginia under blue skies and a blanket of snow, we wait for roads to be cleared and power to return.
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