God Personally Controls The Weather

Jesus is very clear on what He means.

Matt 5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The fact that God sends His rain on the wicked and the righteous is surrounded with the point being made to love your enemies. God does show love, kindness and mercy to His enemies by directing rain their way (and executing His son Jesus in our place). He is merciful and long suffering and would rather a sinner repent and allow Him to make them safe from sin and wrath. So we are to follow His example and bless those that curse us and to be kind to those that despitefully use us. In doing this we leave justice, vengeance and wrath to Him.

Rom 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So God is merciful in directing His rain on those who love Him and those who don’t, at the same time He is just when He executes judgment in this life on those who continue to reject that mercy. God chooses when, how and to whom to show mercy (unmerited favor) and when to execute His justice. Because of these things, He is to be loved, feared, obeyed, glorified and praised.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Very nice. Nature wouldn’t be able to do its autonomous thing if God didn’t instantiate, ground, it. So autonomous that He knows as much that it will rain tomorrow as the cat. Amen.

God’s control over all His creation is all the time. He sustains it by the word of His power. He lifts up kings, kingdom and individuals and puts them down at His desire. No God is like Him, who can stand against our God. Throughout Israel’s history God used not only the weather to create blessed times but also to cause famine, drought and hard times. When Israel broke the covenant God judged them as He said He would and when they obeyed He blessed them. It’s not just the weather, it’s all things are subject to Him. If people don’t submit to Him, it is His right to destroy them but at the same time He can show mercy to whomever He chooses. Here is an example of one of His warnings to Israel because of their sinful rebellion. Notice how God will bring famine and plagues and He will even control the wild animals.

Jer 27:4"Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please . 6 Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.

8 “’ “If, however, any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon or bow its neck under his yoke, I will punish that nation with the sword, famine and plague, declares the Lord, until I destroy it by his hand. 9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish. 11 But if any nation will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let that nation remain in its own land to till it and to live there, declares the Lord.” '”

12 I gave the same message to Zedekiah king of Judah. I said, “Bow your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon; serve him and his people, and you will live. 13 Why will you and your people die by the sword, famine and plague with which the Lord has threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Do not listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying lies to you. 15 ‘I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord. ‘They are prophesying lies in my name. Therefore, I will banish you and you will perish, both you and the prophets who prophesy to you.’”

God has always had sovereign rule over His creation, even to this day. It only takes a virus to bring total chaos to the world. People in fear for their life but still don’t repent and turn to God. Sin increases in so many ways, people trying to gain more power, hatred, murder, thefts ect. Our nation is full of all types of sexual immorality, perversions and rebellion. God has not changed; He still will use His creation to judge the nations. Hopefully by this chastening many will repent and turn to Him. Mercy is there for all who see their wickedness and turn away from it and call on the name of the Lord.

All of creation declares the glory of the LORD!

Cody, there are largely going to be two classes of responses here to your efforts: those (believers) who already agree with you that God is sovereign over all processes. And those (non-believers) who don’t accept any of this in the first place. So, figuratively speaking, your pulpit is in the presence of the proverbial choir behind you, while the pews in front of you are pretty much empty - as everybody else has pretty much left the building. (Maybe there are a few exceptions out there … but have you been able to identify a single believer here that takes issue with God bringing us rain, droughts, sunshine, etc.?)

So the “choir” here had already pretty much been on board with all this. But what I don’t think I’ve ever seen you acknowledge yet, is God’s faithful use of regularity in nature in ways that are so dependable that science can learn from it and even use it to usefully make predictions and increase our understandings of the mechanics of what God does. Are you ready to accept God’s word in this regard - that the steady operations of nature are a reflection of His faithfulness?

Genesis 8:22:

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.

From Hosea 6:3

Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; …

Starting at Jeremiah 33:20

Thus says the Lord, if any of you could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night would not come at their appointed time, only then could my covenant with my servant, David, be broken …

Or many other scriptures (some of which I’ve already brought to your attention before) about creation itself declaring God’s glory. If God is willing to use his own works as examples for us to learn by, are you willing to acknowledge the value of attending to both God’s works as well as to the written word?

4 Likes

Aye Mervin. If God exists then no process exists without Him grounding it. As to Him interfering in how that works out, only in and around incarnation. I mean He can’t possibly know exactly where and when it’s going to rain tomorrow as that is dependent on quantum events. He’s so Sovereign He lets nature do its thing. I like that in a God. He empowers creation with no puppetry. He’s that smart.

Here is some of the choir.

03Cobra Vance

I think we can draw from the first creation story that God moves the earth from chaos to order and rested, with the processes working.

Of course, God can intervene.

SkovandOfMitaze Mi Krumm

I also just know God spoke to people in a way they understood. I know that I don’t have to decide that weather patterns are unpredictable and based on Gods whims.

LM77 Liam

Reality: Does God control the weather? Yes. Do a complex set of meteorological rules control the weather? Yes.Disbarring miracles for a mo, how does God control the weather? Through his divine providence. How is that providence worked out? Through the complex meteorological rules, which, ultimately, originated in the mind of God.

mitchellmckain Mitchell W McKain

The mathematics of the weather is well understood. But that understanding includes chaotic dynamics which make predicting the weather exponentially more difficult the farther into the future you go. It leaves considerable room for a all-knowing all powerful Deity to stick His hands in things when needed. But most of the time, the weather has no influence on the things which really interest Him so I doubt He has much reason to bother with it. I think He is far more interested in seeing us take responsibility for our own lives now that we can.

jpm Phil McCurdyModerator

I agree. But when the human author wrote of seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, even though explained in modern terns as a natural weather cycle, would he have not said “God will send…”. It is difficult to discern whether it was God’s expressed desire that there be a famine vs, God’s permissive will that it would happen as a result of natural weather patterns, and through it he would use Joseph’s circumstances to preserve his family.

Klax Martin Peter Clarke

Very nice. Nature wouldn’t be able to do its autonomous thing if God didn’t instantiate, ground, it. So autonomous that He knows as much that it will rain tomorrow as the cat. Amen.

Klax Martin Peter Clarke

Aye Mervin. If God exists then no process exists without Him grounding it. As to Him interfering in how that works out, only in and around incarnation. I mean He can’t possibly know exactly where and when it’s going to rain tomorrow as that is dependent on quantum events. He’s so Sovereign He lets nature do its thing. I like that in a God. He empowers creation with no puppetry. He’s that smart.

Multiple voices in the choir and not all sing in harmony. At this time I have been persuaded by scriptural history that God is involved more intimately than most of the voices think. Without a doubt He has controlled His creation for the fulfillment of His purpose and it wasn’t done by providence that was initiated billions of years ago, it was activated at a precise time for a specific purpose of His choosing. It is obvious that God knows the future and acts accordingly at specific times to direct the outcome. And it is obvious that one reason for the multitudes of times that He has pulled back the veil and allowed us to see what He did or was going to do, is there to help build our trust in Him. Many of these are not momentary miracles but lengthy drawn out works of His. As I said before, I don’t know if He controls every drop of rain but I do know that if He doesn’t have a hands on, at this moment control of His creation there is no reason to request things of Him. Don’t ask for rain, more work to supply your family with food, health ect. If it’s all just natural process established billions of years ago, our song of praise should be, Que Sera Sera, whatever will be, will be.

But instead, I will have to conclude, John 5:17"My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
Thank you Mervin for your interaction.

Ours is too.

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