The Hydrological Weather Cycles

It's time to delve into more mysteries of the Bible that display its scientific accuracy.

Today we're going to look at weather.

People living in past centuries didn't have a clear understanding about the weather and climatic patterns that controlled our planet's environment. However, the book of Job, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah and Jeremiah all describe details about the complexity of the weather system far beyond the knowledge of the inhabitants living at that time.

The complete hydrological cycle governing evaporation, cloud formation, thunder, lightening and rain is explained in surprising detail in the words of the Old Testament. For example, Ecclesiastes 11:3 states, "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth".

Throughout history most people assumed evaporation of water from lakes and rivers was responsible for the clouds. However, Ecclesiastes 1:7 confirms that most clouds are formed by evaporation from the oceans: "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again".

Incredibly, a recent study by the United States Department of Agriculture proved that most of the water that forms into the clouds worldwide comes from the evaporation of the waters found in the oceans that cover over seventy percent of the planet's surface!

In Job 37:16, it asked the question, "Do you know how the clouds are balanced, Thou wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge?".

When you consider the weight of water compared to air it is astonishing that enormous quantities of water are raised from the oceans and lakes every hour by evaporation and lifted thousands of feet in the air where they remain suspended for long periods.

Air rises upwards as it cools supporting the water vapor in the clouds until the drops become large and heavy enough to fall to earth as rain. The answer is also found in Job 36:27-29..."For, He draws up drops of water, which distil as rain from the mist, Which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunders from His canopy?".

This incredible biblical passage reveals the complete hydrological cycle of evaporation, cloud formation, and precipitation!

What's In A Name? The Names Of God

by Bonnie Calhoun


Today, we're going to study names. This placque is the name of Yeshua (Jesus) in ancient Hebrew script.

In our modern culture, very little attention is given to the names we choose for our children. But in ancient Israel names were chosen as an expression of the character traits hoped for the child.

There is power in the authority of a name, especially God's. To give an example of that power, God actually swore by His own name in Jeremiah 44:26, to make a point.

However, it is possible to use His name incorrectly. Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11 warn us not to use God's name in vain. Leviticus 19:12 tells us not to swear falsely by His name.

We who are called by the name of the Lord need to be very careful how we are representing Him. Don't wear a T-shirt saying "In God We Trust" if you are not walking in a way that honors Him.

Besides conferring authority, the Hebraic use of a name often depicts the character of a person or place. Jacob (surplanter, replacer), Israel (wrestled with God), and Jabez (to grieve) to name a few. Look up you favorite Bible characters in a book like Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to discover their character meaning.

There are 16 names for God in the Hebrew scriptures (Old Testament):

--Elohim, meaning "God," refering to God's power and might (Gen. 1:1; Ps. 19:1)

--Adonai, meaning "Lord," refering to the Lordship of God (Mal. 1:6)

--Yahweh,(sometimes called Jehovah), refering to God's divine salvation (Isa. 12:2)

--Yahweh-Meccaddeshchem, meaning "The Lord thy sanctifier" (Exod. 31:13)

--Yahweh-Rohi, meaning "The Lord my shepherd" (Ps. 23:1)

--Yahweh-Shammah, meaning "The Lord who is present" (Ezek. 48:35)

--Yahweh-Rapha, meaning "The Lord our healer" )Exod. 15:26

--Yahweh-Tsidkenu, meaning "The Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:6)

--Yahweh-Jireh, meaning "The Lord will provide" (Gen. 22:13-14)

--Yahweh-Nissi, meaning "The Lord our banner" (Exod. 17:15)

--Yahweh-Shalom, meaning "The Lord is peace" (Judg. 6:24)

--Yahweh-Tsevaot, meaning "The Lord of Hosts" (Isa. 6:1-3)

--El-Elyon, meaning "The most high God" (Gen. 14:17-20; Isa. 14:13-14)

--El-Roi, meaning "The strong one who sees" (Gen. 16:13)

--El-Shaddai, meaning "The God of the mountains" or "God almighty" (Gen. 17:1; Ps 91:1)

--El-Olam, meaning "The everlasting God" (Isa. 40:28-31)

Jehovah, which we hear in many scripture songs, is not the correct pronunciation of the name of God gave to Himself. In fact this tetragrammation is unpronounceable, even in Hebrew, because it is sacred, and therefore unmentionable.

For centuries, it was pronounced among the Israelites by inserting certain vowel sounds between the four consonants. The pronouciation was lost 2,000 years ago. The closest scholars have come is: YaHWeH. In the Bible it is generally written as LORD.

Jehovah as a name came down to us from non-Jewish European bible scholars who tried to sound it out. Most erroneous is the sounding out of the first letter as "J". that sound does not exist in Hebrew. The yad (letter) is sounded as "ya" not "ja". Consequently, in our English Bibles, we pronounce Joel, Jonah, Jesse etc, incorrectly.

The Hem Of His Garment

by Bonnie Calhoun


In Matthew 9:20-22, we see a sick woman becoming well by touching Jesus' clothes:

"Just then a woman, who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, came up behind Him and touched the hem of His garment; for she said to herself, 'If I only touch His cloak, I will be healed.' Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart, daughter,' He said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed from that moment."

What is it about the hem of Jesus' garment? At first it seems like an odd practice. But when we understand the significance of the hem of one's garment, these passages have more meaning.

The word translated, hem, is actually referring to the fringes, or tassels (called tzitziyot, in Hebrew) required to be on the four corners of all clothing of Jewish men, in accordance with God's instruction:

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: Throughout the generations to come, you are to make tassels on the corners of one's garments, with a blue cord on each tassel. You will have these tassels to look at and so will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes. Then you will remember to obey all My commands, and will be consecrated to your God. I am the Lord your God.'" (Num. 15:37-41a)

The tassels are to remind man each Jewish of his responsibility to fulfill God's commandments. Wearing these tassels would be comparable to us wearing a large Bible on a rope around our necks. How would we behave in public, how would we speak to others, where would we go? God intended them to be a constant reminder of His Word when He told the Israelites to wear these fringes.

In ancient Israel, this outer garment became known as a tallit, and eventually evolved into the more formal prayer shawl. These shawls are white, representing the heavens, or the dwelling place of the Lord. The blue stripes represents the Ruach HaKodesh, or the Holy Spirit of God.

Therefore praying under the tallit, or prayer shawl, is covering yourself with the presence of God. The word tallit is derived from tallith... tal meaning tent, and ith meaning little. Therefore you get 'little tent'. From biblical times, this custom was a prayer closet, and it is likely this is what Jesus was referring to in Matthew 6:6 when He told us to get into our closet, apart from the people around, and pray in secret to the Lord.

The tallit was worn by Samuel (1Sam. 15:27) and it was Elijah's mantle that was conferred upon Elisha (1Kgs. 19:19). It was also worn by Jesus, and the 'hem of the garment' that the woman touched was actually the tzitziyot or tassels of His tallit.

Each tassel was to have a blue thread. With the color blue everywhere today, it is hard to imagine that during the entire biblical period, blue (or purple)was the most expensive color to produce. That's why it was reserved for royalty. The only source was a small gland in the Murex Snail. It took 12,000 snails to fill up a thimble of blue dye.

In 200 BC, one pound of cloth, dyed blue, cost the equivalent of $36,000. By AD 300, this same pound of blue cloth cost $96,000. This indicates that Lydia, the seller of purple and an early convert of Christianity, was one of the wealthiest women in the Empire (Acts 16:14).

It doesn't mean much to us, but to early readers, it said, "Hey one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the Roman Empire has gotten saved!" Imagine the impact this had on the message of the Gospel.