Dust storm by the hand of God?

Israeli News Network posted video of a large dust storm that appeared almost exactly above the border between Israel and Syria along the Golan Heights. The storm was Dec. 1.

Claims are being made that a biblical storm cloud of dust and rain was 'sent by God' to act as a barrier between Israel and ISIS .

The huge storm allegedly stopped on the border of Syria, and was 'unable' to enter Israel's Golan Heights region. ...

One Facebook user replied: Absolutely the divine intervention of God protecting Israel. Amen!"

Other more cynical viewers disagreed, adding: "Actually, sorry to be boring, but it's simply a weather phenomenon."

But Israel News Online hit back almost immediately, writing: "Yes it is of course. Now do we ask who controls the weather? Whatever the cause it sat between ISIS and Israel and did not enter Israel."

So, an act of God or freak of nature? Let's compare to the famous parting of the Red Sea by Moses when the recently-liberated Hebrew slaves of Egypt were fleeing Pharaoh's pursuing army. Probably this is the most famous cinematic rendition there is, from Cecil B. DeMille's epic The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston as Moses:



The problem is that that this scene occurs nowhere in the Bible. Yes, Moses did hold his staff over the waters after being so ordered by God, but let's let Exodus 14 speak for itself from then:

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

Did you read carefully? "... all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind.. ."

The same question applies to the strong east wind as to the Syrian-border's dust storm: was it an act of God or a freak event of nature?

Well, both events were acts of nature, after all, and doubtless can be explained in meteorological ways. But is that all there is to it? Maybe that great theologian Yogi Berra had some insight: "It's too coincidental to be a coincidence."