The weather can be seen as an expression of God's judgment and grace, as well as providing insights concerning human nature.
The weather as an expression of God's judgment
Judgment in battle
Joshua 10:11 See also 2 Samuel 22:10–15; Isaiah 30:30; Ezekiel 38:22
As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
Judgment in general
1 Kings 17:1; Haggai 1:10–11 See also Genesis 7:11–12; Exodus 9:22–26; Leviticus 26:18–19; Deuteronomy 11:17, Deuteronomy 28:22–24; Jeremiah 3:3, Jeremiah 14:1–6; Ezekiel 22:24; Amos 4:7; Zechariah 14:17–19
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was among the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As surely as the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in these years except at my word!”
Therefore, on account of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth has withheld its crops. I have summoned a drought on the fields and on the mountains, on the grain, new wine, and oil, and on whatever the ground yields, on man and beast, and on all the labor of your hands.”
The weather as a source of spiritual insight
About the shortness of life
James 4:14 See also Job 7:9, Job 24:19, Job 30:15; Hosea 13:3; James 1:11
You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
About empty profession
Hosea 6:4 See also Job 6:15–17; Proverbs 25:14; 2 Peter 2:17
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes.
About God's judgment
Jeremiah 23:19 See also Jeremiah 4:11; Hosea 8:7
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
About God's salvation
Isaiah 55:10–11 See also Isaiah 44:22, Isaiah 45:8
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
About righteous rule
2 Samuel 23:3–4 See also Psalm 72:6; Proverbs 16:15; Isaiah 25:4–5
The God of Israel spoke; the Rock of Israel said to me, ‘He who rules the people with justice, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of the morning at sunrise of a cloudless dawn, the glistening after the rain on the sprouting grass of the earth.’
About wholesome teaching
Deuteronomy 32:2 See also Job 29:23
Let my teaching fall like rain and my speech settle like dew, like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants.
About the troubles of life
About the signs of the times
Matthew 16:2–3 See also Luke 12:54–56
But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’ and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.