Berean Break
February 7, 2016 broadcast
Snow
by George Sinkie

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     Good morning and welcome to the world of white.  My name is George A. Sinkie and I want to welcome you to the Berean Break.  On this program we search the Scriptures to learn, teach, believe, and obey only the will of God.  I encourage you to check out what is taught here on this program, and if you ever believe that it is not the truth, please contact me with your question.  As we begin this morning let’s go to God in prayer:

Great God in heaven, Thank You for this day in our lives.  We also thank You for the New week we are starting.  May it be a week, in which we serve You.  We pray that this would be the week that many turn from the false religions that they follow and dedicate their lives to serving You.  As we study today may we open our hearts and our minds to Your will.  And apply Your truth to our lives.  In Jesus’ Name,  AMEN!!

     Well it is winter in South Dakota, that can mean a number of things to people.  I was born and raised here in South Dakota.  And except for three years that I went to school in Colorado and about four months of military training, I have lived my entire life here in South Dakota.  One thing that winter in South Dakota means is SNOW.
     The amount may vary, from very little to more than we know what to do with.  I’ve seen it come in October and stay until May.  Throughout the writings of the Bible, God has used snow to illustrate several lessons.  Today we are going to consider some of the things that God says about snow and the lessons we can learn to help us live better lives before God.

     Did you know that the Bible references the word “snow” at least twenty-one times?  The majority of these occurrences are in the Old Testament.   Several interesting attributes, both literal and figurative, about snow are used by the Holy Spirit to teach spiritual lessons.

     The Bible takes note of the COLOR of snow.  It is difficult to imagine snow without thinking of its color.  Often implied and occasionally stated outright, the brightness and whiteness of snow is used to depict leprosy in the Scriptures.  An example of this is in Exodus 4:6 where God gives Moses a sign to prove he is sent by God, ‘
And the Lord furthermore said to him, “Now put your hand into your bosom.”  So he put his hand into his bosom, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow.
     Another example is Miriam, Moses’ sister.  She rebelled against Moses and listen to what it says in Numbers 12:10, “
But when the cloud had withdrawn from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, as white as snow.  As Aaron turned toward Miriam, behold, she was leprous.

     Snow is also used to depict the white, clean appearance of the soul brought on by forgiveness.  To see this, check out Psalm 51:7, “
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
     God also uses this concept in Isaiah 1:18, “
I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool.  His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.
     In the New Testament snow is used twice to describe Jesus, once in Matthew 28:3, “
And his appearance was like lightning, and his garment as white as snow;”  [EGW editor:  Actually, in this particular passage, the description is of an angel which had rolled away the stone at the entrance of Jesus’ grave.  However, we still see snow used to visualize the white, clean appearance God provides the angel.]
     And the other time in Revelation 1:14, “
And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;

     We can learn lessons from the COLOR of snow.  We should seek to have the purity that the color of snow represents.  This purity is spoken of in Revelation 7, first in verse 9, “
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
     Then drop down to Revelation 7:13-14, ‘
And one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and from where have they come?”  And I said to him, “My lord, you know.”  And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

     The Bible takes note of the CHALLENGE of snow.  Snow here in South Dakota makes travel and other simple tasks that much harder to do.  We read about Benaiah, one of David’s mighty men, in 2 Samuel 23:20b, “
He also went down and killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a snowy day.
     Snow would make it hard to see and also hard to escape, but then mighty men are not looking for an escape route they are looking for the road to victory.  As we consider the challenges that face us in serving God, we need to remember that by staying faithful to God, we don’t just win, we overwhelmingly conquer as it says in Romans 8:37, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”

     The Bible takes note of the CLEANNESS of snow.  Job spoke of cleaning himself with snow in Job 9:30, “
If I should wash myself with snow And cleanse my hands with lye,
     Snow’s cleanness, that is, its purity is mentioned in Lamentations 4:7, “
Her consecrated ones were purer than snow, They were whiter than milk; They were more ruddy in body than corals, Their polishing was like lapis lazuli.

     Another thing the Bible takes note of is the CREATOR of snow.  Read with me, Job 37:6, “
For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.
     Elihu points to the snow as proof of intelligent design.  Snow should enhance our awe for God.  Isaiah notes the “
snow... from heaven” in Isaiah 55:10, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
     In context it appears that he is referring to more than just the fact that it snows out of the sky.  Isaiah is looking a the fact that snow originates with God.

     The Bible takes note of the COLLECTION of snow.  Two places in Job this is mentioned, the first is, Job 37:6, “
For to the snow He says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ And to the downpour and the rain, ‘Be strong.
     Here we see it falling and in Job 38:22 we see that God has an abundance stored up, “
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

     Brrr, one thing that snow brings to mind is cold, and the Bible takes note of the COLD of snow, read with me, Proverbs 25:13, “
Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest Is a faithful messenger to those who send him, For he refreshes the soul of his masters.
     The time it takes to realize how cold the snow is varies — it takes adults no time at all, but it takes children forever!  Solomon speaks of kindness being as refreshing as a cold snow in the ordinarily warm or even hot climate of harvest time.  [
EGW editor:  Proverbs 25:13]

     In Ecclesiastes 3, Solomon wrote of the appropriate time for many things, he does not mention the time for snow here.  But he does over in the book of Proverbs, because the Bible takes note of the CLIMATE of snow.  It says in Proverbs 26:1, “
Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool.
     Untimely snow is used figuratively to speak of things that make no sense, like giving honor to a fool.

     The final thing we are going to look at today is, the Bible takes note of the CONCERN of snow.  That is, snow creates concern.  Look with me at Proverbs 31:21, “
She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
     The virtuous woman is not afraid of its potential damage, because she has prepared her household.  But the unprepared can be devastated by it.  Like many of God’s natural wonders, there are dangers attached.

     God teaches lessons to us through the simplest, most ordinary things.  As the snow falls this winter and you growl and grit your teeth, stop and praise God for this marvel.

     An important question to ask at this point is are you pure and white like snow in your relationship with God?
     The only way to have this whiteness is to follow the will of God.  God’s will for you and for all mankind is to hear His word and to have faith based on the word.  Paul writes in Romans 10:17, “
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
     Then based on your faith you need to repent of your sins, as Peter said in Acts 2:38, ‘
And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
     Acknowledging, or confessing, our faith in Jesus is another important aspect of our faith, as Philip traveled with the Ethiopian eunuch he taught him about Jesus.  The eunuch realizing he was lost and that he needed to be immersed took advantage of them coming to some water.  Note what it says in Acts 8:35-37, ‘
And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look!  Water!  What prevents me from being baptized?”  And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”  And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
     And being immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins is an important and necessary step in our relationship with God, as we saw in Acts 2:38.

     This process is what Jesus spoke of as being born again in John 3.  As you come up from your burial in the water, you arise to walk in newness of life.  It is at this point that God adds you to His church and you begin a lifetime of devotion to God and His church.  To maintain the purity of this new life we must continue to live faithfully to God.

     This Berean Break is brought to you, in love, by the pre-denominational and non-denominational church of Christ that meets at 1600 East First Avenue in Mitchell SD.  You are welcome to meet with us at 10:00 Sunday mornings for our assembly followed by a time of Bible Study, also on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for an additional time to study God’s Word.  If you have a comment or a sincere Bible question, please call or text me at 605-770-5555.  We want to remind you of the non-denominational TV program, “KNOW YOUR BIBLE” on KDLT-TV at 9:00 on Sunday mornings.  This is George A. Sinkie for the Lord’s church, here in Mitchell, good-bye for now.  Remember that we care about you and may God bless you as you do His will.

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      © George Sinkie; used by permission. rev.161218
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