by Pastor Afolabi Oladele

Continuing with our admonition on our awesome God, do you know the secret carried in the underlying structure of the ice which under compression becomes snow? Snow crystals, also called snowflakes, are single crystals of ice that grow from water vapour. They form in copious numbers in the atmosphere and are well known for their elaborate, symmetrical patterns. The molecules of water that form each tiny ice crystal naturally arrange themselves into a hexagonal (six-sided) structure. The result will be a snowflake with six sides or six arms.

Photograph of a snowflake revealing its hexagonal (six-sided) crystalline structure. This crystalline structure makes ice a “mineral.”

Put in simple terms, what you are looking at represents the six corners of two superimposed triangles reminiscent of the Star of Israel or Star of David or Shield of David, evidently speaking to the defence of Israel of whom it is written – When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court. “For the people of Israel belong to the Lord; Jacob is his special possession. Deuteronomy 32:8,9 (NLT).

Little wonder that when it came to the defense and deliverance of Israel God spoke both ice and hails as weapons He reserved for the day of battle – Exodus 9:18; Joshua 10:11; Psalm 18:13,14; Isaiah 30:30 and Revelation 16:10.

Ordinarily hailstones are small, about the size of a pea or smaller, but occasionally much larger stones are generated. Hailstones the size of golf ball is fairly common, but there have been reports of stones as large as oranges. Stones this large can seriously damage houses, automobiles, and actually cause the death of animals and humans. I have experienced this driving with friends in Northern Sweden nearly two decades ago.

The formation of hailstones is a very complicated phenomenon involving rain, a freezing layer of air, and turbulent air currents with powerful updrafts. Raindrops falling through a frigid layer of air are frozen and fall to the ground as hail. If the air is quite turbulent, the drops are blown back up to the cloud where they pick up additional moisture, and as bigger drops, fall back down through the freezing layer of air to form bigger stones. The more times this recirculation occurs, the larger the stones produced.

An unknown writer aptly summarise today’s admonition in these words:

“This description would serve to impress upon Job the truth that all natural forces are rigidly under God’s control. There are no chance whirlwinds, or lightnings, or snow, or hail storms; all are in His hands. The forces that had stricken Job and his family to the ground were part of God’s well-ordered host. This being so, all these forces exist and act for the highest ends. They fight God’s battles, and are ministers of His glory. So we have a clear assertion of two truths.

THE SUPERNATURALNESS OF PHYSICAL FORCES – Modern science would habituate us to regard the world as a machine, the play of blind forces, requiring no explanation beyond its own nexus of causes and effects. Our text contains a far grander and more inspiring conception, telling us that the profoundest fact in creation is not “law,” but “life.” Natural laws are the expression of the Divine life, but do not exhaust it.

THE ETHICAL END OF PHYSICAL FORCES – They are God’s warriors, treasured up for the day of battle. And what does God fight for? That He may universalise the kingdom of love, that He may see in the world as in a perfect mirror His own image. Clearly, then, creation is not a dull round of cause and effect, perpetual motion without a meaning. Nay, it is all set in the kingdom of love. Love lights the stars, and speeds them on their way. The treasured snow and haft fight for the kingdom of love, or else they would cease to be treasured up. For everything that will not help to bring in the reign of love shall perish. The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, waiting for the glory of the sons of God. (Anon.)”

To this we urge all men to submit, that the Lord our God is mighty, to be loved, honored and obeyed, not for His benefit, but for ours. Whether you like it or not, every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess Him. Why wait any longer? Today is the day of salvation. Selah.