Here in the Midwest, we have recently had a couple of big winter storms, although nothing like some parts of the country have endured. I have been pondering the last few days about the verse in Job, recounting God's words to Job. “Have you entered the treasury of snow, or have you seen the treasury of hail?” (Job 38:22 NKJV) When I clear my drifted sidewalks or drive on ice-rutted roadways, I wonder about calling snow a “treasure”! I decided there must be something I was missing.
Was Job even all that familiar with snow? Scholars are not certain where Uz, his homeland, was located, but possibly in the area southeast of Palestine and the Dead Sea or the north part of the Arabian Peninsula. Did it snow where Job lived? Perhaps. Snow falls in the mountains farther north and at higher elevations, but we can't say with certainty that Job had experienced the mysterious appearance of snow. To him, snow drifts amounting to a “treasury” would have been beyond belief. We know more about the weather-related creation of snowflakes than he would have studied, and we have micro-photographs that reveal their intricate designs, all different. A treasury indeed!
History tells us that about fifteen hundred years later, people in other parts of the world discovered they that could make flavorful icy desserts with fresh snow from faraway mountains along with fruits and nuts, juice, or honey. (Every Kansas kid knows that! Although with the “clean” of snow being in doubt now, many moms do not allow that delicacy.) God didn't invent ice cream, but it seems to me He just as well have when he made snow! The “discovery” of ice cream is another treasure for which I can be grateful when I drive through snow-clogged streets!
MaryMartha
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Art from http:www.sxc.hu/
