The Windows of Heaven Are Open

All scripture references are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

I was reading my Bible this morning and in Genesis 7:11, is the story of Noah and the flood. The Bible says, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." As I read the last phrase of that passage of scripture, I remembered an old, old chorus we used to sing in church when I first turned to God. The words go like this:
     The windows of heaven are open, God's blessings are falling tonight.
     There's joy, joy, joy in my heart, since Jesus made everything right.
     I gave Him my old tattered garments, He gave me a rope of pure white.
     I'm feasting on manna from heaven, and that's why I happy tonight.

Genesis 7:11 is not the only place in the Bible the windows of heaven are mentioned. In Genesis 8:2 the Bible says that when the Lord remembered Noah, etc., that "The fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained..." Also in 2nd Kings chapter 7 the Bible gives the account of the siege of Samaria and the ensuing famine when the armies of the Syrians were surrounding Samaria. (If you want to know about the surrounding circumstances of this story you can read it for yourself in 2nd Kings 6:8-33.) The prophet Elisha said in 2nd Kings 7:1, "Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria." Then in verse 2, the Bible tells us of, "a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" Elisha answered him saying, "Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." Then finally in Malachi 3:10, God spoke through the prophet Malachi saying, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." There is a lot of good meat in here!

I started out today remembering an old chorus. Let me finish this blog with a couple of thoughts on the subject, "The Windows of Heaven." First off, God can open to us the windows of heaven's blessings, but He can also shut them up. Don't take God's blessings lightly! Secondly, the Bible says in 2nd Chronicles 20:20b, "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper." Don't be like the lord upon whose hand the King of Israel leaned. And finally, don't be stingy with your tithes and offerings. The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 9:6, "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." God loves a cheerful giver. (See 2nd Corinthians 9:7) If you will cheerfully and generously give to the cause of the Lord Jesus, the Bible promises you that He will, "open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."