Topical Bible: Rain: Often Succeeded by Heat and Sunshine

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Rain is a significant meteorological phenomenon frequently mentioned in the Bible, symbolizing both divine blessing and judgment. It is often succeeded by periods of heat and sunshine, reflecting the cyclical nature of weather patterns in the biblical lands, particularly in the Near East.

Biblical Significance of Rain

Rain is depicted as a blessing from God, essential for the sustenance of life. In Deuteronomy 11:14 , God promises the Israelites, "I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil." This verse highlights rain as a divine provision necessary for agricultural prosperity and survival.

In the context of covenantal faithfulness, rain is often portrayed as a reward for obedience. Conversely, the withholding of rain serves as a form of divine judgment. In 1 Kings 17:1 , Elijah declares, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." This drought was a direct consequence of Israel's idolatry and disobedience.

Rain Followed by Heat and Sunshine

The transition from rain to heat and sunshine is a natural sequence that reflects the climate of the biblical regions. After the rains, the sun's heat is necessary for the growth and ripening of crops. This pattern is evident in the agricultural cycles described in the Bible, where the early and latter rains are followed by periods of sunshine that ensure a bountiful harvest.

The alternation between rain and sunshine is also metaphorically significant. It represents the balance between God's mercy and justice, His provision and discipline. In Matthew 5:45 , Jesus teaches, "He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." This verse underscores the impartiality of God's providence, as both rain and sunshine are given to all, regardless of moral standing.

Theological Reflections

Rain, followed by heat and sunshine, serves as a reminder of God's sovereignty over creation. It illustrates His ability to nurture and sustain life, as well as His power to withhold blessings as a form of correction. The cyclical nature of these weather patterns invites believers to trust in God's timing and provision, recognizing that periods of trial and blessing are both under His divine control.

In the eschatological vision of the new creation, the need for rain and sunshine will be transcended. Revelation 22:5 states, "There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light." This future hope points to a time when God's presence will be the ultimate source of life and light, surpassing the natural cycles of the present world.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

2 Samuel 23:4
And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Isaiah 18:4
For so the LORD said to me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat on herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Mission Tours.
... comes on they creep into a place where the rain cannot reach ... now wonder how we got
out of them, and succeeded in getting ... Happily it was often with us a reality ...
/.../life and work in benares and kumaon 1839-1877/chapter xiv mission tours.htm

The High Woods
... And (so goes the story) he succeeded. ... One has heard often enough of bison-hunting
in Himalayan forests ... Nearly eighty inches of yearly rain and more than eighty ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/at last/chapter vii the high woods.htm

Prison Experiences for Conscience' Sake --Our Prison
... We succeeded in giving these young officers a slight ... toward whose work our hands
had often started involuntarily ... on the ground [soaked] with the rain of the ...
/.../prison experiences for conscience sakeour.htm

The Northern Mountains
... To this degrading influence of mere rain and air must be ... which the traveller is likely
to see often in Trinidad ... He succeeded: but not altogether as he had hoped ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/at last/chapter xi the northern mountains.htm

The Reaction against Egypt
... of their native lands, and he had often whole regiments ... and one or two reservoirs
for catching rain or storing ... of the empire, and only succeeded in maintaining ...
/.../chapter iithe reaction against egypt.htm

Another Wonderful Record of 25.
... We too often forget that God is as willing to listen to our temporal wants as ... met
him that day with the usual salutation, 'no money,' he succeeded in disposing ...
/.../various/the wonders of prayer/another wonderful record of 25 00.htm

On the Soul and the Resurrection.
... feel the heat; how the moisture of the rain infused into ... the complete disc of the
sun is often to be ... all that is said by the philosopher who succeeded him and ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/on the soul and the 2.htm

A Canticle of Love
... Nothing shall affright me, nor wind nor rain. ... will be most for your good, and I am
often astonished myself ... burning, and they have brought me more heat and fire ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/martin/the story of a soul/chapter xi a canticle of.htm

Memoir of John Bunyan
... dreams, and visions of the night, which often made him ... and so was comforted with
the light and heat of their ... one of that number that did sit in the sunshine. ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/memoir of john bunyan.htm

part ii
... Being covetous, sensual, and proud, we often look contemptuously upon them, cry
out at them"the meek lambs"get out of temper, not wishing to understand ...
//christianbookshelf.org/calvin/my life in christ/part ii.htm