words :: books :: ideas

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Having to do with Weather

Creation’s revealing His majesty,” declare the lyrics of the song “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio. In concurrence, Romans 1:20 states that God’s “invisible attributes…have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made…” The last several chapters of Job depict this, enlarging my view of how the elements and creation bring glory to God and reveal the Creator’s power.
Elihu, Job’s friend, describes various aspects of the weather, using each one to point to God. He expresses rain as “his mighty downpour” (Job 37:6) and says, “By the breath of God ice is given…” (Job 37:10). The clouds and lightening “turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world” (Job 37:12). Concerning lightening, Elihu additionally proclaims, “its crashing declares his presence” (Job 36:33).
After recounting each of these weather conditions, Elihu exhorts Job to “consider the wondrous works of God” and rightly asserts that “God is clothed with awesome majesty…he is great in power” (Job 37:14, 22-23). As the Creator, God formed the elements and has dominion over them. The book of Job shows that He is immanent, directly involved with creation. Like the psalmist relates, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).