My first thought was that this picture was of some sort of unique rainbow. After all, it is composed of many colors and the dark clouds surrounding it seem to be the remnant of a passing storm. But, this grouping of colors is unlike any rainbow that I have ever seen. My best GUESS is that ice crystals are the source of this unique formation, but this is simply a GUESS, because I really don’t know.
Then, I recalled reading the following passage from from Job and along with it another passage that related to this mystery...
Job 38 ( World English Bible )
1 Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
2 “Who is this who darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
3 Brace yourself like a man, for I will question you, then you answer me!
4 “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measures, if you know? Or who stretched the line on it?
6 Whereupon were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8 “Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it broke forth from the womb,
9 when I made clouds its garment, and wrapped it in thick darkness,
10 marked out for it my bound, set bars and doors,
11 and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further. Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
12 “Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place;
13 that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?
14 It is changed as clay under the seal, and stands forth as a garment.
15 From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken.
16 “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
17 Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
18 Have you comprehended the earth in its breadth? Declare, if you know it all.
19 “What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place,
20 that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house?
21 Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
22 Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
23 which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?
24 By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?
25 Who has cut a channel for the flood water, or the path for the thunderstorm;
26 To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; on the wilderness, in which there is no man;
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate ground, to cause the tender grass to spring forth?
28 Does the rain have a father? Or who fathers the drops of dew?
29 Out of whose womb came the ice? The gray frost of the sky, who has given birth to it?
30 The waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen.
31 “Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the constellations in their season? Or can you guide the Bear with her cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens? Can you establish its dominion over the earth?
34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, That abundance of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are?’
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of the sky,
38 when the dust runs into a mass, and the clods of earth stick together?
39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lioness, or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens, and lie in wait in the thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven his prey, when his young ones cry to God, and wander for lack of food?
AND
Ecclesiastes 3 ( WEB )
1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
God questions Job and Job can not answer. Why? Because human beings simply do not have the answers to these questions. Yes, there are things we do not ( and may never ) know. So what? Is it really necessary that we know EVERYTHING? I think NOT!
As far as the picture of the sky above, it is beautiful and I just need to accept that fact and move on. Like so many other things in this world I may not have an answer, but I do remember a verse from the book of Genesis that gives me great comfort…
Genesis 1 ( WEB )
31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
This sky picture is beautiful and quite pleasing to the eye, which makes me wonder: Could this sight have been in the heavens above on the first day? after all, I would consider this a very good picture.
God has determined the time and content of the world, perhaps I should worry less about these things and just enjoy them more. I think that would be a good way to think from now on, how about you?