Faith Science - The Formation of Ice, Astronomy and Controlling the Weather

Welcome to Faith Science Chapter Studies! These monthly sessions are open to the community and provide an open forum for discussion, discovery, and debates arising from the inevitable collision between modern scientific developments and timeless biblical truth!

You can join us in person on Saturday, February 26th from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at AMLI at Milton Park, 26000 Mill Creek Ave, Alpharetta GA 30022. Please RSVP to faithscienceonline(at)gmail.com if you plan to join us.


From Faith Science..


The Formation of Ice

Who is the mother of the ice? Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens? For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.
Job 38:29–30 nlt

In polar circles and temperate climates as temperatures drop below freezing during winter, water surfaces freeze solid. The way liquid water turns to solid ice is a scientific process that God created. Since he created it, he knew all the details and could verify Job’s response. Also, in cold conditions, the dew freezes in the morning as frost on the ground. The cold temperatures cause the energy in the water particles to be reduced as they slow down and combine to form ice.

Astronomy

Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion? Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens? Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?
Job 38:31–33 nlt

God decided to discuss the constellation of stars and the way in which they maintain their formation. People who study stars or take interest in their horoscopes will recognize these formations. According to Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Pleiades is a cluster of stars found in Taurus that’s visible in the spring. In the dictionary, Orion is described as a very bright equatorial constellation. The sequence of seasons represents the zodiac, according to the Amplified Bible.

Barnes’ Notes say that the bear with her cubs is a reference to the constellation Arcturus, or Ursa Major, in the northern sky. People have always believed that the stars guide the laws of the universe. Maybe they’re right and we can interpret this to mean that those who follow daily horoscopes can use them to tap into universal mysteries. Unfortunately for them, the implication of God’s questioning of Job is that it cannot be done.

Controlling the Weather

Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain? Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct? Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind? Who is wise enough to count all the clouds? Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?
Job 38:34–38 nlt

I saw a movie based on sophisticated technology that could dictate the weather. For generations, people have tried different methods, like “cloud seeding,” to cause controlled precipitation, with limited success. God alone knows how to make the process work in our favor. Without his authority, we can’t change it at a moment’s notice. However, with his authority nothing is impossible. The Bible says, “Jesus said unto him, ‘If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth’” (Mark 9:23 kjv).

Job couldn’t provide a positive answer to any of God’s questions about controlling the weather. Even so, in 1 Kings 17–18, the rain obeyed Elijah, and in Mark 4:39, the rain and wind obeyed the commands of Jesus. Scientists know that they can’t make the weather do anything, so humans are satisfied to report and predict it. We do have an understanding of the process now, but in our natural ability we can’t do much better than observe it.

In 2008, when there was a severe drought in the State of Georgia, nothing worked until Governor Sonny Perdue called a day of prayer. He was strongly criticized, but people stopped talking when the rain started falling. A few years later, things were back to normal. We cannot change the weather on our own, but if we can just believe God, nothing is impossible.