Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
but what of our Fathers heavenly storehouses?
Does His storehouse have widows?
As His storehouses are in heaven then are these the same windows of heaven mentioned in Genesis 7:11?
Here, Mahchesan is the Hebrew word for storehouse.
מחסן
warehouse, storeroom, store, depot, shed.
In Malachi 3:10 is the most familiar reference to the windows of heaven
“Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”
He doesn’t say you have to do it to go to heaven, to be loved by God, or in order to know the kindness of His mercies along the way of your life. He says that if you would like to see a harvest of overflow, of spiritual blessing, and provision from heaven’s sources into your earthly setting, then He’s calling you to sow by faith into the realm of His Spirit. Then we are to make up our mind whether we’ll do it. 2 Cor 9:7
7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of [a]necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. Obedience is the key and to obey what He tells the individual to do with a willing heart.
In the three places in the Tenakh/Old Testament the Scripture speaks of the windows of heaven,
The flood in Noah’s timeGenesis 7:11 – The surging torrent here represents judgment.
In the midst of a famine2 Kings 7:19 – In the pouring out of blessing from heaven, God increases the natural resources around us.
Spiritual resourcesMalachi 3:10 – God says He wants His people to sow in the physical realm in a way that indicates they’re sowing to the spiritual.
The Hebrew word refers to
sluice or sluice gates.
So we could understand that the windows of heaven are like sluice gates. Similar to those we see on enormous dams and when the sluice gates are opened, and out of the front of the dam there are gushing torrents of water being released.
The term sluice gate means a channel which regulates flow by a valve or a gate. Those resources are held in reserve until, by the action of the person who opens the sluice gates, they are released. The term also refers to the enormity of the resources that are behind it.
A slue or slew is something there is a whole lot of. The sluice is that: great reserve that is behind the gate.
So this picture of
the sluice gates or the windows of heaven,
is
a reserve that is held and waiting to be distributed,
which is measured out by the person who controls the gates.
This simple picture has profound implications because our Heavenly Father is saying, that there is more than we can imagine, and it’s held in reserve in heaven.
The windows of heaven are the source and outflow of God’s blessing flowing into every part of our lives and every circumstance of our experience; and not just a reference to financial blessing. It refers to God releasing spiritual growth and increase in our lives.
Scriptures that speak of the windows of heaven:
The first line of the Bible states that heaven is created along with the creation of the earth Genesis 1. It is primarily God’s dwelling place in the biblical tradition: a parallel realm where everything operates according to God’s will, plan and purposes.
Isaiah 24:18
Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit,
And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.
Genesis 8:2
Also the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky was restrained;
2 Kings 7:2
The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”
2 Kings 7:19
Then the royal officer answered the man of God and said, “Now behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” And he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.”
The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from them. Deut. 28:8-12
There are storehouses in Heaven holding what we need, Our prayers unlock the storehouses of heaven.
And the storehouses of Heaven are full.
1Corinthians 2:9 says: ‘But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
Yeshua/Jesus Given Authority by God
Matthew 28:18; John 17:20-23
The Only Authority to Open the Storehouses of God’s Grace John 14:1-6; Matthew 11:27-30; Mark 16:16
Consider these points in light of Jesus opening the storehouses of God’s grace to salvation. Yeshua/Jesus Given Authority by God. Matthew 28:1
Yeshua/Jesus’ authority was given, as was Joseph’s, and was not limited. (ALL, IN HEAVEN AND EARTH) All should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him John 5:23. John 17:20-23
Yeshua/Jesus in His prayer for all believers: He and God are one – in authority, purpose, etc. We are to be one, as they, and one with them – in things authorized by them, word, deed, purpose, etc. The same was with Joseph and Pharaoh – what Joseph said was Pharaoh’s command, and all were expected to obey him. There are implications following this principle in salvation.
The Only Authority to Open the Storehouses of God’s Grace. John 14:1-6 There are things prepared for us in heaven, just as grain was prepared and preserved for the famine in Egypt. Only those who went through Joseph and his authority could enjoy the benefits of Pharaoh’s store of grain. Only those who go through Yeshua/Jesus can get to the Father, to heaven, where mansions are prepared for us. Matthew 11:27-30
Yeshua/Jesus will take the burden of sin away from our lives, but we must willingly take His yoke. v. 27 – The only knowledge of the Father and of salvation comes through knowing Yeshua/Jesus. He offers an easy yoke of rest from the burden of sin. Yoke is a symbol of subjection and service.
Yeshua/Jesus is saying we MUST DO AS HE SAYS! Mark 16:16 Yeshua/Jesus clearly laid down the conditions of salvation. Joseph Opened the Storehouses to All Who Would Come.
Jeremiah 10:13
When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the wind from His storehouses.
Psalm 135:7
He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who makes lightnings for the rain,
Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
Psalm 33:7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
Job 38:22
“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
treasures of snow
otseroth shalag
אצרות. שׁלג
Job 38:22:
People who live where it snows a lot may not consider snow as a treasure, yet the Bible says that there are treasures in the snow.
The word snow appears in the King James Bible 24x, describing various situations. Some of God’s richest treasures can be found in the snow.
The word treasure in Job 38:22
is the Hebrew word “o-tsaw”
which means: an armory, or storehouse.
Although snow flakes are very small, when enough of them band together they have the power to shut down an entire city. God can use something as small as a snowflake as a source of great power. Sometimes God will sends “storms” in our lives to bring us to a stop long enough to acknowledge Him.
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
The English word “treasure” has in the Old Testament at least five somewhat distinct meanings as expressed in the words:
“treasure,” genaz (Aramaic) or genez (Hebrew), usually meaning “the thing stored”; translated “treasures”
in Ezra 6:1, but in 5:17 and 7:20 translated “treasure-house”: “search made in the king’s treasure-house.”
as is ganzakh in 1 Chronicles 28:11. Storehouse, not the thing stored but the place of storage; ‘otsar means depository, cellar, garner, armory, store or treasure-house. In several places it ought to be translated by some of these words.
It is the most frequent word for treasure, the English Revised Version and the American Standard RV both translated in some instances by other words,
e.g.1 Kings 7:51, “treasuries of the house of Yahweh,”
There are 3 Hebrew words with this meaning and all in the King James Version translated “treasure.”
(1) Matmon, which literally means “a secret storehouse” and so a secreted valuable, usually money buried, and so hidden riches of any kind, hid treasures:
“dig for it more than for hid treasures” Job 3:21;
“search for her as for hid treasures” Proverbs 2:4;
“We have stores hidden in the field, of wheat,” etc. Jeremiah 41:8.
(2) Mikhman, treasure as hidden, used only inDaniel 11:43: “have power over the treasures of gold and silver.”
(3) Saphan, meaning hidden treasure or valuablesconcealed: “hidden treasures of the sand” (Deuteronomy 33:19).
Snow (probably from its whiteness),
Hebrew: שֶׁלֶג, šeleg (H7950)
Transliteration: šeleg
Biblical Pronunciation: sheh-LEɡ
Hail,
Hebrew: בָּרָד, bārād (H1259)
In reading these verses there are many natural elements mentioned: rain, lightning, winds, hail and snow. Lightning/thunder initiate heavier downpours and in recent years we hear of thunder snow! Hail and snow are frozen rain.
The winds are referenced in Ezekiel 37:9
Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’
and in
Zechariah 2:6
“Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord.
Zech.6:5 The angel replied to me, These are the four spirits of heaven, going forth after standing before the Lord of all the earth,
Jer. 49:36
Matthew 24:31
And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
Revelation 7:1. 1 “And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth,
Daniel 7:2-3, “ Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
And I have brought four winds to Elam, From the four ends of the heavens, And have scattered them to all these winds, And there is no nation to where outcasts of Elam do not come in. Jer 49:36
Daniel 8:8
Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.
It is interesting that this book, the oldest in the Bible, contains more references to snow, ice, and frost than any other book of the Bible.
Job 6:16 Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
The references to snow in Scripture are few, as might be expected in a land where snow seldom or never fell; but even though the writers may never have felt the cold touch of the snowflake on their cheek, they had in sight two mountains the tops of which were suggestive.
Other mountains sometimes lose their crowning glory, but Lebanon and Mount Hermon have snow all the year round and through the ages never lost that glory. The first time we read of a deep fall of snow in the Bible is when Samuel describes a fight between Benaiah and a lion in a pit.
“And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow.” 2 Samuel 23:20.
To do great deeds in a time of snow, makes things a little more heroic as this is a time when it is more treacherous to move about and see clearly.
The snow is not fully recognized in scripture until Job is questioned by God concerning its wonders, saying:
“Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow?”
In the Authorized Version the translation is
the treasures of the snow.
The Hebrew word means: treasuries or magazines
The treasures of the snow are in its treasuries.
Snow and hail, seem to be represented as having been created and laid up in great storehouses in the heavens or above them, from which God draws them out for the moral disciplines of His sovereign government of the nations which comes in the form of judgement for sin.
Vast accumulations of snow actually exist in various portions of the earth’s surface, but the fresh snow that falls is not taken from these treasuries, but newly generated by the crystallization of floating vapors in the atmosphere.
In Job, the snow is given a place among the wonders of the world, and ranked with the morning stars and the sea and the lightnings and leviathan and death. It is one of the things over which Job is told to meditate in his heart, in order to restore his shaken faith in God’s greatness, goodness and mercy. It is taken as one of the countless marvels that are available to all men, revealing the Divine Power that lives and moves throughout the universe He created, finding nothing too great for His guidance, nothing too small for His constant focus and care.
In Psalms there is an beautiful hint of a snowfall through the perfect stillness, and a marvelous storm-piece into which the snow comes with other elements.
In the Proverbs there is a passage, where the writer says, “As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so a faithful servant refreshes the soul of his master.”
Isaiah has a magnificent image of the truth falling softly on the heart, as the snow falls softly on the earth. Interestingly, there is not a word about snow recorded as spoken by Yeshua/Jesus; and it is only referenced in the Brit Chadashah/New Testament as a comparison, never as an experience.
The snow is a treasure in other ways as well. The winter’s snowpack in the mountains is often called “white gold” because of its indispensable water storage capacity, released in the melting season each spring to provide life to cities and irrigation in the desert.
Snow is no more than a form of water. It is simply the vapour of water in a crystallized form. Indeed, the term “crystal” found in most of the European languages is derived from the Greek word crystallos, meaning ice or frozen water, and was subsequently transferred to pure transparent stones cut into seals, which, as was thought, were produced only in the extreme cold of lofty passes of the Alps. The atmosphere is charged with watery vapour to an immense extent, and when the temperature is sufficiently low to freeze this moisture, snow is formed. When produced in calm air, the icy particles build themselves into beautiful shapes, each star possessing six rays.
The perfection of the snow crystals assures us that God cares for little things.
Snow has a special place in scripture because of its qualities and descriptive usage as a simile.
The first thing that strikes us about snow is its purity.
The snow is white because the tiny crystals of which it is made reflect so much light.
So much light is reflected by the snow that it often makes people snow-blind from excess of light.
What is the whitest thing in the world?
The whitest thing in the world is the driven snow, for this is not superficial, but whiteness through and through. It has been said that in all the moral universe there is nothing so glorious as the whiteness of holiness; the fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of saints.
Its whiteness in the removing of our sins.
Although snow looks very clean and white, in reality it acts as a filter to remove germs and impurities from the air. It has a powerful cleansing effect on the atmosphere. Snow is actually formed around some matter already existing in the atmosphere like a piece of dirt, thus when it falls it brings this dirt to the ground out of the atmosphere. It still looks pure and white though. The dirt is hidden by the whiteness, and the air is very clean after a snow storm. As the dirt has been hidden by the whiteness of the snow, so also our sins are filtered out by the blood of Yeshua/Jesus and hidden, being cast into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19).
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Nothing can wash away our sins except the blood of Jesus/Yeshua.
In the Scriptures, its pure white color is often used tosymbolize the cleansing of a sinful heart that trusts the Lord.
“Wash me,” said David, “and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”
the Lord promises those who come to Him for salvation (Isaiah 1:18).
Snow too has a wonderful power. Just one flake is weak, but what can the avalanche and glacier not do? Here In this apparent weakness is the hiding of His strength.
Another thing about snow is how silently it falls, and so many in number as to cover miles of countryside with them to over a foot deep with in just a few hours?
He giveth his snow like wool,
and like a covering of wool; God cares for all nature; from the seeds to the roots; all the burrowing and hibernating animals; He covers them all; giving His snow like woolen blanket. Won’t He so much more care for us?
Snowflakes are like feathers from the protecting wings of the Creator.
“His raiment was white as snow.”
Here are 3 visions:
Daniel saw him, when all the earth powers had vanished, approaching in a chariot of flame to take the seat of ultimate power and authority, while ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him, and His garment was white as snow.
The 3 disciples went with Yeshua/Jesus onto the Mount of Transfiguration, and while the cloud of “the most excellent glory” folded them in, they saw Him changed; His face shining like the sun and His garments “white as no fuller on earth could whiten them.”
John on Patmos saw Him in the midst of the golden candlesticks clothed in a priestly garment down to His feet; in His right hand seven stars; His voice as the sound of many waters; His countenance as the sun shineth in His strength; and His head and His hairs were
“white as snow.”
All this is to present His holiness.
The great multitude around His throne are ever praising Him and saying,“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!”
This assurance of the glorious outcome is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving because His Word is doing its work :
“His word shall not return unto him void, but shall be like the snow which cometh down from heaven; it shall accomplish that which he doth please and prosper in the thing whereto he sends it.”
In God’s plans and purposes everything has its use; and just as every snowflake is under commission, so are each of us.
Even the forces of nature are called to obedience of them it is written: “Praise ye the Lord. Praise him from the heavens. Praise him from the earth. Ye monsters and all deeps; ye fire and hail; snow and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling his word!”
There are treasures in the snow that God would have us to see.
Snow is a treasure because of it’s provider. In warm weather these high and low storehouses melt and seep into the soil or release a flow of clear water into rivers, lakes and reservoirs - a vital supply for the needs of every living thing. Coming fresh and pure from melted snow, this water is more valuable than can be told. melted snow seep into underground reservoirs called aquifers, some of which are very deep and hundreds of miles long.
Psalm 148:8
Fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling his word: The word “treasure” can also be translated as “storehouse”.
It carries with it the idea of God
storing up snow, and
releasing it at His time and place of choice
and if God can release the snow upon the earth….cannot He release the supply of all the things that we need for a godly lifestyle?
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Snow is a treasure because of it’s unusual qualities. We know that there are many different shapes of snowflakes and there are some 35 general categories that snowflakes fall into. Under a microscope you could see some that are like needles….some like stars…..some like trees……some look like fishbones……some look like bullets……and the amazing thing about them is that no 2 snowflakes are exactly the same.. each one unique; just like His children!
We have similarities……but we each have distinct characteristics that separate us from everyone else. Our fingerprints are unique so too are our footprints. The pattern of our eyes are also unique from anyone elses. What does this say about God and how He has formedus?
Just like snow, we too have a designer. We are of great value. We are special because we have a creator that knew us before we were formed in the womb, and who knit us together distinctly from all others before us!
Like snow we are distinct, unique.
We are not only unique in the way that we look, but the purpose He has for each one of our lives is also. Like snow we have a destiny a very important place in His plan.
Snow has more of a purpose than just to make our countryside look beautiful.
If we can see God’s purpose even in the smallest of things like a snowflake……..without doubt God has a purpose for each of our lives!
Snow is a treasure because of it’s purity.
Psa 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Snow has a powerful cleansing effect on the atmosphere….sometimes called
“wash-out or snow-out”
In His storehouses there is also hail.
Revelation 16:21 And great hailstones weighing almost a hundred pounds each rained down on them from above. And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.
Exodus 9:18 Behold, at this time tomorrow I will rain down the worst hail that has ever fallen on Egypt, from the day it was founded until now.
Joshua 10:11 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.
Job 37:6 For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’
Job 38:23 which I hold in reserve for times of trouble, for the day of war and battle?
Isaiah 30:30 And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
Ezekiel 13:11 tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth
In Job 37:56 we read: “Great things doeth He, which we cannot comprehend. For He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain.”
God’s bounty never stops at our mere needs, but He provides beyond our power to ask or think. There is not only the majesty of snowcapped mountain peaks showing His creative handiwork, but in more ways than we have considered, His hidden treasures of the snow provide so many benefits to us. We can truthfully say, “How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”
Final thoughts are some of the lessons that God would have us to learn from the snow…..and to remember next time we see those flakes falling…
God told Job to consider the snow, for He ranks it with the stars and the seas among nature’s wonders.
The study of snow forces us to think of the infinite. It leaves us speechless when we consider the works of His hands.
Let every time it snows remind us of the Storehouses and treasuries in Heaven and the treasuries of the snow, and let every flake remind us of God’s love for every individual.
What is it that YHVH/Our Heavenly Father values most or what is His treasure? Us His children and like the robe of Messiah’s Righteousness, which covers our dirty, sinful nature with a pure white covering, giving a soft beauty to our natures; creating a nature that will be accepted by the Father who cannot look on sin.
When we repent, Yeshua/Jesus’ robe of righteousness covers all, even the stains of sin, no matter how dark they are. He promised that we can be made as white as snow. We cannot actually see the robe of Messiah’s righteousness because only the unseen world can see the whiteness of it, however we can see the fruits, a loving and honest heart, and an exalting of Yeshua/Jesus and His Righteousness in and through us.
“God thundereth marvellously with His voice; great things doeth He, which we cannot comprehend. For He saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of His strength. He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know His work.” Job 37:5–7.
It is God who brings the snow and decides just how much should fall. He is in control. We need to learn to trust Him completely. The unsaved and the wicked may become frightened with the various troubles on this earth, whether in the elements of nature, or whether from mankind; however it is all in God’s permissive will as part of His plan.. Nothing will touch His children except what He allows. We are as the “apple of His eye.” Zechariah 2:8
As the snow comes down from heaven, so comes the Word of God to ask the soul… have you entered the treasures of the snow…. have you asked Our Heavenly father to save us through the sacrifice of His Son Yeshua/Jesus?
Rain and snow are a gift from God to us, given to accomplish a purpose.
There are many treasures to be seen in the snow. God wants to wash us and clean us to the point that we are whiter than snow. He wants to cover us with His robe of righteousness. All we have to do is surrender to Him.
Do not delay—start today.
Right now.
We are the storehouse
of the Bread of Life
in a world that is spiritually starving.
We must open the doors of our storehouse
and provide food to this spiritually famished world.
Shalom shalom
‘Mishpachah’
‘Family/Tribe’
משפחה
Mish-pa-KHa,
friends, visitors and every reader…
Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His
and are truly born from above.
Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is
your Redeemer, Savior, Lord
and soon returning King
and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.
NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..
SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry.
I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.
