How many times have I looked up at the night sky and whispered, “Star light; star bright; first star I see tonight…”? The answer is hundreds of times. It is one of the very first rhymes I remember learning.
Another one was “Pink at night, sailor’s delight. Pink in the morning, sailor’s take warning.” It was a great barometer; a great weather forecaster.
Red sky at night, sailor's delight.
In order to understand why red sky at night is good but red sky in morning is not, we need to understand more about weather and the colors in the sky and for that we go to an article I found at the Library of Congress’ web site:
“Usually, weather moves from west to east. In the mid-latitudes, the prevailing winds are westerlies. This means storm systems generally move in from the West.
The colors we see in the sky are due to the rays of sunlight being split into colors of the spectrum as they pass through the atmosphere and ricochet off the water vapor and particles in the atmosphere. The amount of water vapor and dust particles in the atmosphere are good indicators of weather conditions. It also determines which colors we will see in the sky.
During sunrise and sunset, the sun is low in the sky, and it transmits light through the thickest part of the atmosphere.
When we see a red sky at night, this means that the setting sun is sending its light through a high concentration of dust particles. This usually indicates high pressure and stable air coming in from the west. Basically, good weather will follow.
A red sunrise can mean that a high-pressure system (good weather) has already passed, thus indicating that a storm system (low pressure) may be moving to the east. A morning sky that is a deep, fiery red can indicate that there is high water content in the atmosphere. So, rain could be on its way. (Published: 11/19/2019. Author: Science Reference Section, Library of Congress)
I did not know until just a few years ago that this comes from the Bible! And while this is less of an idiom and more of an old adage, I want to look at it and be reminded again of exactly what Jesus was talking about.
“And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.” Matthew 16:1 ESV
I want to stop there for just a moment. I cannot help but think of a non-believing friend years ago, after listening be bestow the goodness of God, pointe at my lamp and remarked, “If there is a God, I want Him to make that lamp fly across the room!”
I gasped, as I warned of the dangers of asking for that kind of sign; of mocking God in that way, but I think it fell on deaf ears.
Friend, the signs are all around us! Everything in nature is a sign. Our very existence is a sign of something much bigger than we can begin to comprehend.
“He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” Matthew 16:2-3 ESV
You know, Jesus had just dealt with the Pharisees and scribes and their charge against His disciples for not washing their hands before they ate. He spoke about what truly defiles a person, He spoke of the faith of the Canaanite woman and instantly healed her daughter. Chapter 15 says, “…great crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, so that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.” Verses 30-31 ESV
Chapter 15 ends with Jesus having compassion on the crowd who had been with Him for 3 days. He fed that crowd with 7 loaves of bread and a few fish. And then we turn the page to chapter 16 and read this: and the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Him.
No matter how much good Jesus did, and He did a lot of good, the church leaders and those in authority were relentless towards Him. Verse 4 has Jesus speaking harsh, yet true words. “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given…”
We live by faith. We walk by faith. Why? “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV
We don’t need a ‘sign’ of God’s existence. We can look around and see hundreds of signs every day.
by Jeanette Stark – Tuesday, July 25, 2023
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