From Whence Cometh Snow Days?

This morning, our daughter looked out her window to find a white sheet of snow laying on top of the grass. Seeing this, she shouted, “where did it come from!?” In some ways, that’s the question of Psalm 29.

If you read the passage, you’ll find that weather is a central theme. As God’s people come in contact with other tribes, they’re likewise exposed to the gods of those people. One such god is Baal. This god, it was taught, rode on clouds, controlling the storms.

One might expect the Hebrew Scriptures to argue that Baal, and all other gods worshiped by gentiles, doesn’t really exist. He’s a fiction of the people’s imagination, incapable of blowing a single leaf off a tree, let alone putting snow atop Mt. Hermon. The Jewish-Christian cosmology is more complex than this, and we encounter this complexity no more starkly than in Psalm 29, which begins: “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.”

The Hebrew word translated as “heavenly beings” or “mighty ones” is most literally rendered “sons of god.” Who are these creatures? They are the “divine council” made up of spiritual beings to rule under Yahweh’s control (Psalm 82:1). A subset of these heavenly beings, led by Satan, rebelled against the Most High God. Since their fall, these gods have sought the destruction of the very people they were intended to protect.

With this spiritual conflict in the background, Psalm 29 sizes up the battle. The God of glory “thunders,” we read. “The Lord is over many waters,” the Psalmist says. The voice of the Lord “shakes the wilderness,” we’re told.

Yahweh isn’t the only spiritual being in existence. Yes, there are malevolent gods, Baal being one, who seek our destruction. But the good news of Scripture, including the 29th Psalm, is that Yahweh is more powerful. He presides over the whole kit and caboodle of creation, weather and all. Psalm 29, like all of Scripture, is good news. It is gospel. We need not fear: He will win the war.

My daughter was reminded this morning what we’re all reminded of in this passage: “God says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’” And so, enjoy the snow day. It comes straight from the hand of God!