I was talking to a friend of mine recently about wintertime, and specifically snow. He told me that he loves a good snow. He loves to get out just after it has snowed and drive around in it, or just go walk in the woods. He said the snow blankets everything and is so pristine and undisturbed. He described how the snow made everything so still and quiet as it clings to the tree branches. He said it “covers everything up completely” in a blanket of pure white.
The Bible uses pure white snow as a description too in several places. They include:
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Psalm 51:6-8
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:17-19
“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool.” Daniel 7:8-10
“And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.” Matthew 28:2-4
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.” Mark 9:2-3
“And in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.” Revelation 1:13-15
The description of being “white as snow” is applied to us as sinners after being “purified” and “washed” by the Lord, likewise our sins are described as being like snow. The clothing of God, Jesus, and the angel of the Lord are all described as being as “white as snow.” Even Jesus’ hair is described by John as being like snow. It should also be noted that for those of us that overcome, we too are promised to be “clothed in white garments” similar, I imagine, to the Lord’s.
He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 3:5-6
The description of something being “as white as snow” is a beautiful image. Whether it is our sins being made to be “pure” and “covered completely”, or our robes we will be clothed in that are made exceedingly white, unlike any laundry detergent on Earth can clean them. The snow that falls in wintertime is a beautiful reminder of the promises to come for Christ Followers, that the Lord has made to us through His word.
