Judges 5:4-5
“O Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.”
This is part of the song which Deborah and Barak sang after the Lord had given them a great victory. They are remembering what an awesome God he is, and are looking back to the Israelites’ experience of meeting God at Sinai. The story in Exodus recounts the earthquake, the smoke and fire, and thick dark clouds with thunder and lightning, as well as the sound of a trumpet and even God’s voice. ‘The clouds poured down water’ sang Deborah and Barak. But Exodus doesn’t mention rain. I suppose it should be obvious that if there was such thick cloud as to make it dark, with thunder and lightning, then there would also be heavy rain. But – heavy rain and fire? How do these go together without the former extinguishing the latter? It reminds me of what happened on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), when Elijah had his sacrifice to God drenched in water till it was totally sodden, and then God sent fire to consume the sacrifice. The God of nature’s elements is not limited by them! Our God is an awesome God!
O Lord my God! when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works Thy hand hath made,
I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed:
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
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