Clouds Are the Dust of His Feet!: The Role of Clouds in Scripture: an Example of the General Revelation of God

By H. Wayne Sampson PhD ThD

Man's fascination with clouds is legendary: their appearance, their formation, their beauty. Meteorologists use clouds to help predict weather. There's even a Cloud Appreciation Society with more than 34,000 members who share pictures and stories of clouds. Clouds also remind us of God's majesty, power, and beauty in creation. Indeed, the heavens declare the majesty of God.

In Clouds Are the Dust of His Feet! author H. Wayne Sampson shares the role of clouds in Scripture. He examined each of the 157 references in the Bible referring to clouds and then organized them into several similar groupings to determine their function or role in the verse. In the course of this study, Dr. Sampson discovered that clouds in Scripture reveal an array of characteristics of the almighty God, such as His might, creative power, mercy, and gracious provision, as well as the promise of security by our heavenly Father. Dr. Sampson also demonstrates God's imagination in using clouds as transporters, His kindness in establishing a way for the frightened Israelites to speak to him, and His guidance and protective power.

Clouds are the Dust of His Feet! communicates that clouds, as well as all the other wonders of nature, should remind us of the loving creator.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512700046

H. Wayne Sampson PhD ThD

H. Wayne Sampson, PhD, ThD, earned his PhD from Baylor University and his ThD from Newburgh Theological Seminary. He has taught human anatomy for forty-five years, the last thirty-six at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. This is his third book.

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Copyright © 2015 H. Wayne Sampson, PhD, ThD.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-0003-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0005-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0004-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/07/2015

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1.   Clouds Demonstrate the Majesty of God

Chapter 2.   Creation of Clouds

Chapter 3.   The Formation of Rain

Chapter 4.   The Covenant Token

Chapter 5.   Clouds as Heavenly Transporters

Clouds Are the Chariot of God

Jesus Ascended in a Cloud

Other Specific Humans Ascended in a Cloud

Rapture

Jesus Will Return in a Cloud

Fall of Satan

Chapter 6.   God Speaks from the Clouds

The Transfiguration

Chapter 7.   Shekinah Glory of God

Chapter 8.   Angelic Clothes

Chapter 9.   Dark Clouds of Judgment

Chapter 10.   Clouds Serving as Covering or Protection

Chapter 11.   Clouds Can Be Fleeting or Elusive

Fleeting

Elusive

Chapter 12.   Cloud Metaphors

Conclusion

Bibliography

Illustrations

Figure 1 Taken in Arlington, Texas, by Susan and Jim Kersbergen.

Figure 2 Taken in Leonard, Texas, by Chele Walker.

Figure 3 Taken from an airplane by Mike Youngblood.

Figure 4 Taken near Crandall, Texas, by Mark Sampson.

Figure 5 Taken at Lake Belton, Texas, by Sandy Blevins.

Figure 6 Taken at Lost Lake in New Mexico by Nancy and Rick Hooker.

Figure 7 Taken near Greenville, Texas, by Duronda Sampson.

Figure 8 Hayfield, provided by UnSplash.

Figure 9 Taken in Kansas City, Kansas, by Randy Crabtree.

Figure 10 Taken at Daytona Beach, Florida, by Robyn Green.

Figure 11 Taken on New Mexico 518 between Mora and Las Vegas by Nancy and Rick Hooker.

Figure 12 Taken in Angel Fire, New Mexico, by Nancy and Rick Hooker.

Figure 13 Taken near Longview, Texas, by Mike McIntyre.

Figure 14 Taken at Mount Rainer by Mike Youngblood.

Figure 15 Taken at Mount Rainer by Mike Youngblood.

Figure 16 Taken at Mount Rainer by Mike Youngblood.

Figure 17 Taken between Belton and Temple, Texas, by Sandy Blevins.

Figure 18 Taken near Grayson, Georgia, by Denise Rabon.

Figure 19 Taken in Angel Fire, New Mexico, by Nancy and Rick Hooker.

Figure 20 Taken in Salado, Texas, by Randy Anderson.

Figure 21 Taken from an airplane by Mike Youngblood.

Figure 22 Taken in Angel Fire, New Mexico, by Nancy and Rick Hooker.

Figure 23 Taken at Mattox Creek in Colonial Beach, Virginia, by Mike Youngblood.

To my beloved wife, Joyce;

The Cousins;

The Children;

Nathan and Susan,

Cara, Amanda, and Brian;

The Grandchildren;

April, Rhiannon and Amanda,

Bailey, Bishop, Brystal, Daniel and Rebecca

The Great-grandchild,

Kayden.

I pray that as each looks up to see the clouds, he or she will be reminded that there is a God in heaven who loves him or her dearly. And I pray that each then considers the glory and majesty of our dear Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.

Preface

Several years ago, while studying the book of Nahum, which means comfort, my eye was drawn to verse 3 of chapter 1, where Nahum tells us that the clouds are the dust of His feet. Being from the country, I was well aware of my feet throwing up dust clouds when I walked down a dirt road in the summer and was captivated with the verse. Whenever I saw a cloud, the verse would come to mind and remind me of the majesty and glory of God. I recalled many years earlier, having taken a course in theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, in which Dr. Charles Ryrie taught us about general revelation. It was the year that he was presented, during our class time, with the first copy of his new Ryrie Study Bible, a very memorable time. Since then, I have read many theology books, and the topic of general revelation intrigues me. At that time, since I am an anatomist and think in pictures, I thought of making a book of pictures contrasting God’s creation by use of pictures of the greatest things of nature or God’s creation that I could find, contrasted with man’s creations and results. But I could never get past the darkness of man.

I knew that my father, who died a few months before I was born, was a preacher and would go into the woods to pray, as many of my uncles did after him. I always felt closer to God and was able to come up with my best Bible lessons when I was around nature. So I decided to look more into the concept of clouds to determine their role in Scripture, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the number of their occurrence is vast. I also hoped to determine if clouds indeed could fit into the realm of general revelation and remind us of God’s mighty power. They certainly do for me!

I would pray that the readers, after finishing this book, will not be able to look at a cloud in the sky or any other aspect of nature without thinking of its mighty Creator and that, above all, God will be glorified.

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank my wife, Joyce, for her continued encouragement and patience in enduring—or maybe enjoying—the silence for six hours or so a day as I typed the manuscript. I still type with only two fingers!

I want to thank my daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Jim Kersbergen, for the cover picture; my many cousins, friends, and relatives; and the members of my Sunday school class, who provided me with cloud pictures—both those that I could use and those that I could not. I regret that I could not use them all, but there were so many wonderful pictures submitted.

Most of all, I want to think my Father in heaven for inspiring the Holy Word that teaches me doctrine, that cleanses my heart, and that teaches me right living. I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against me, nailed them to His cross, and covered them with His precious crimson blood, whereby I received a new book, a new joy in life, and an everlasting assurance. I want to thank the Holy Spirit, who persistently brought to mind Nahum 1:3 for several years, until I finally listened and wrote this book. The Holy Spirit constantly gave me additional direction when I was empty of any more to say and was ready to toss the whole thing in the trash.

Introduction

Man’s fascination with weather and clouds is legendary: their appearance, their formation, their beauty. Meteorologist use clouds to help predict weather. Based in Great Britain, there is even a Cloud Appreciation Society with over thirty-four thousand members who share pictures and stories of clouds. It would be my hope that these and all admirers of clouds would allow the clouds to point them to the