I was on the way to lunch with a friend when my husband, Mike, called to ask where I was. He said for us to be careful because he was in the middle of a bad thunderstorm with hail. I could hear it over the phone. We got into the restaurant just in time! As soon as we sat down the rain pounded, thunder roared, lightening flashed and then the hail began. My friend and I just watched. We talked about how it still amazes us to see ice cubes falling when it is so warm outside. One mom ran out to get her son a piece of ice, teaching him about hail. How can you see that and not be reminded of God’s unlimited power.
I mentioned recently that I have been blessed to stand at the Grand Canyon and think of the beauty of God's handiwork. I have been blessed to stand on the top of Table Mountain, South Africa and look down on the clouds and think of God's wondrous works! I have been blessed to stand in the vast ocean of my hometown and think of God's wondrous works! Everyday sunrises and sunsets amaze me! I do not need to see God to believe He exists. There are so many things around that show me He exists. Romans 1; 20, "For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Even the hailstorm spoke to us!
Hail is made up of frozen raindrops. They are usually larger than a raindrop, sometimes three or four inches in diameter and a pound or more in weight. Hailstorms usually fall in the spring or summer during severe thunder storms. Raindrops are carried upward by rising air currents and freeze in the cooling air. When the hailstones fall, they often form solid masses, which can do great damage. Hail is mentioned in the Bible, as an instrument of God’s judgment.
Hailstorms can be powerful and damage roofs, damage crops and cover cars with small dents. The Bible talks about hail storms. Exodus 9: 29, "The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.” The Lord brought on a hailstorm as the seventh plague on Egypt for their disobedience. It was much more widespread and powerful than what we experienced last week! This hailstorm forced the king of Egypt to let God’s people freely worship him. It also demonstrated God's rule over His creation!
God speaks to Job about His own sovereignty over creation, time, and over all the peoples of earth. Job 38: 22-23, "Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble, for days of war and battle?"
"Times of trouble"? These are phrases referring to the final days of the Tribulation. God has used hail in judgment and He will do it again. Exodus 9: 25, "Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both people and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree." It looks like there will be future judgment that will contain another plague of hail. Revelation 16: 21, "From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible."
I don't think I will ever look at a hailstorm the same again! I will be reminded of God's rule over His creation!
Comentários