THE HYDROLOGICAL SYSTEM
(Friday Church News Notes, April 27, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)
“When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures” (Jeremiah 10:13). In describing God’s power and wisdom, the Bible refers to the great hydrological system. (See also Job 38:25-30, 34-35 and Amos 5:8.) Jeremiah mentions “the multitude of waters in the heavens” (referring to the clouds which hold great volumes of water); “the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth” (referring to the condensation and evaporation and evapotranspiration processes where water is carried aloft from the earth); the “lightnings” (lightning is an essential part of the hydrological system, though only dimly understood by modern science; it is an element of the electrification of the cloud system whereby “the storm clouds are charged like giant capacitors in the sky”; lightning strikes the earth about 100 times per second; it contains up to one billion volts of electricity, can be five times hotter than the sun, and can travel at 200 million mph); “with rain” (referring to the return of water to the earth by precipitation), “the wind” (which controls the movement of the clouds and affects precipitation). By the global hydrological cycle, water, which is essential for life, is purified and redistributed and replenished. At its heart is the mysterious and marvelous element of water itself, which is capable of changing states between liquid, vapor, and ice. Jeremiah says God is in control of these things. “He uttereth … he causeth … he maketh .. he bringeth forth.” These processes are not “natural” in the sense of having evolved or having a life of their own. The Creator is not an absentee God. He upholds all things (Heb. 1:3). By him all things consist (Col. 1:17).