This verse came to my mind yesterday, as I was out blowing and shoveling the snow. To be honest, I misquoted it – I said to myself, “Hast thou considered the beauty of the snow?” That thought morphed into what might become a devotional message for tonight. But of course, as is so often the case, the scripture opens more doors than our thoughts do. “Hast thou entered into the TREASURES of the snow.” Correctly read, there are more points for thought in that scripture, than my original question.
I jotted down eight things about the snow which apply to us in one way or another. And at the same time I looked up all that the Bible says about “snow.” I was surprised that the Bible, coming from a rather warm part of the world, says so much about “snow.” Are you aware there are twenty-four verses with that word in them? They come from three original words – one Hebrew, one Greek, and one Aramaic word used in Daniel.
I want to begin this evening in pointing to some things the Bible says about “snow,” making an application or two as we go along. For example, the first thing we see is that snow is related to leprosy. Both Moses and Miriam were for a time leprous. “The LORD said furthermore unto (Moses), Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.” So the first references to snow, put it into a negative context – at least comparatively. Should we learn that even the most beautiful things can be dangerous and related to sin? There are at least two verses which remind us that snow doesn’t stay around for ever. Job said to Eliphas, “Drought and heat consume the snow waters.” Can we apply that thought? Even the most beautiful things in the world don’t last for ever. Or if you happen to be of a different temperament than me – no matter how cold and bad things may be for the moment, they are not eternal for the children of God. Job expresses my next thought one way while Isaiah puts it another – snow can be used to wash things Job said, “If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; yet shalt thou plunge me into the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.” Perhaps we could use the verse to teach that no earthly cleaning is permanent or sufficient for God. On the other hand there is that famous statement of God in Isaiah 1 – “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” Similarly, David uses snow as a picture of cleanness – Lord, “purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” Yesterday I was blowing the snow, when a gust of wind caught it, throwing it into my face – refreshing! But I don’t think that is what Solomon had in mind in Proverbs 25:13 – “As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters.”
Most of the Biblical references to snow are found in the Old Testament, but there are three in the New. And I found it interesting that the New Testament references are of a completely different nature. When the ladies came to the Lord’s tomb on the morning of the resurrection, they found an angel whose “countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:” Mark tells us that at the transfiguration of Christ, “his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.” And when we see the Son of God in all His glory in the first chapter of Revelation, “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.” The difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that the former makes more reference to the physical phenomenon of snow, while the latter puts it into context of the Lord’s glory. Beyond each of these, my first thoughts were in regard to the purpose and product of the snow. “Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?” The word “treasures” isn’t speaking of diamonds, but of the “treasuries” where the diamonds are kept. “Hast thou entered into the treasuries and storehouses of the snow?”
What are some of the things stored in the treasuries of the snow?
Not necessarily in order of importance or value, one of the treasures of the snow is BEAUTY. Not this last storm, but the two previous snows, sitting on the trees and covering just about everything in sight, were beautiful. Even though we have seen the same sight hundreds of times, Judy wanted to take pictures. The beauty of the snow draws our eyes and our hearts. Just after I started on this message, I got a text from Casey Reynolds; part of which I’ll paraphrase: “I praise Jesus for all the snow! For snow is like grace falling from heaven bringing life-giving water, cleaning the air and covering the ugliness… It is just like His grace which covers us from the mess and ugliness of our inherited fall.” Amen! There is a great deal of beauty in God’s creation and snow is just one of them. But what is greater – beauty in the sin-cursed creation or the beauty related to the new creation? Sunday night as we were getting ready to leave church, Sister Rosemary and I were outside with snowflakes falling all around us – and on us. And looking at the sleeve of her coat, we could examine individual flakes. Each and every one of them looked like they had been created by an Heavenly artist – exquisite. Even in the simplest of things, when the Almighty God is involved there is beauty.
And in a completely different way, snow BRIGHTENS the night. I can blink open my eyes at 5:45 in the morning and know whether we have had snow during the night. Our bedroom has horizontal blinds, which we always close at night, and in addition to them we have purple curtains which I always close, and which Judy always rearranges because I don’t do it correctly. Despite those blinds and curtains, the night-time ambient light is always brighter when there is fresh snow. Somehow those white flakes, either falling or fallen, can take what little light there is at night and magnify it. The snow brightens the night. That should remind us that the Lord has His special ways to make our darkest nights brighter. He can turn our grief and our groans into joy and jubilation – in surprising ways. Sadly, when some people see the snow they respond differently than I do – that is when their groaning begins.
Of course, for many people snow means WORK. And again, for some people that is a good thing, but for others it is bad, depending on their outlook. There are hundreds of people who earn a good living plowing snow in parking lots and off the streets. And there are thousands of others, who get out their shovels and blowers to clean off their driveways and side walks. When I wake up and recognize that more snow has fallen, I cancel my trip to the gym. I go to the gym for exercise, but there is exercise in moving snow, so I switch to plan B when it snows. And after half an hour to an hour of work, even though I dress rather lightly, I come in sweaty. There is work in throwing snow, blowing snow, pushing snow.
And with that snow there is opportunity for SERVICE. For a couple years, Bill Asmundson had his snow blower here at the church, but it was hardly used. So I asked him, if he would mind if I brought it to my house, and he agreed. Then I asked my neighbor, who has a small trailer, to help me, and we brought it home. Well, that neighbor isn’t as healthy today as he was a couple years ago. He is not well enough to shovel snow or even to run a snow blower. So when I get out Bill’s snow blower to clean my driveway, I also clean that man’s driveway and sidewalk. And when I am done, I take it to the neighbor’s on the other side, and I do his as well. Last year when he was still living there, I took that blower across the road and would clear the driveway of a man with Parkinson’s disease, because he was not well enough to do much. When any those people come out to chat, I tell them that God has blessed me with a borrowed snow-blower, and I would like to use it to be a blessing to others. Only the snow could give me that particular opportunity.
And furthermore, I hardly ever see some of my neighbors during the summer months. Usually our schedules don’t blend, so that we are out in our yards at the same time. Oh, but when another 5 inches of snow has fallen, we find ourselves all out at once. There is a FELLOWSHIP in the snow.
Obviously, I have to admit that snow can be a TRIAL, as well as a blessing. I praise God and thank Bill for his snow blower, because my back isn’t what it once was. It’s not just weak, but there are structural problems, which make an hour of shoveling by hand, difficult – if not impossible. And I’ve been told that snow-shoveling has caused a great many heart-attacks down through the years. Snow can cause trials. When it is 6 inches or deeper, it makes driving difficult – just to get to church. And when we find ourselves in the midst of the blizzard, it is not just difficult, it is dangerous. Driving at night, even in a mild snowstorm, the falling flakes make visibility difficult. But that is not to be compared to the blizzard with its white-out conditions. Snow can be a blessing, but we must remember that it is still a part of the curse.
And then, last but not least, snow can be such a JOY, especially to kids. I’ll leave the subject of skiing and snowboarding to others, because I have never done either, but there is so much more. Our next door neighbors on the east have two children, about 5 and 7. Their dad made a 4 foot mountain of snow in their yard, and those kids have been sledding for days. And yesterday afternoon they were out there making a big snow man. As a child I lived at the bottom of a hill in Omaha, Nebraska, on a street filled with kids. It didn’t matter if the temperature was 20 above or 20 below, we had our Flexible Flier sleds, toboggans, and big chunks of cardboard, sliding down the frozen ice covering the pavement of Frederick Street. And then in Colorado, as a teenager, we would go up into the mountains with our inner tubes, flying down the slopes at 50 mph. Ah what warm memories some of have in the cold, cold snow.
The treasures of the snow, one of God’s gifts, can be both a blessing or a curse. It seems to me that our attitude towards it, helps to determine what it will be to us. No matter in what storm you currently find yourself, determine to turn it into a blessing rather than a problem. “Hast thou entered into the TREASURES of the snow.”