Read with Me
Genesis 1:14-19 (HCSB)
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years. They will be lights in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to have dominion over the day and the lesser light to have dominion over the night—as well as the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to provide light on the earth, to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. Evening came and then morning: the fourth day.
Listen with Me
With the coming of day four, God created the sun, the moon, and the stars, and from that time forward the light of day and the light at night came from these bodies. Included in the general term used for “stars” would have been such things as planets, comets, galaxies, nebulae, and anything else that appears in “the heavens”.
The sun and moon are not named in this passage. They are simply referred to as the greater and lesser lights. This is because those light-giving bodies were considered deities by many people groups at the time. God’s statements in this passage indicate that these things were created, and that they are impersonal, mere objects unworthy of worship.
God’s purpose in creating these things is to allow humankind to order their lives around monthly and yearly cycles. The Jewish calendar had four main cycles, three of which were delineated by the heavenly bodies. The day was the period from sundown to the following sundown. The month was a period from one new moon to the next new moon. And the year was the period when the sun returned to the point where it was surrounded by the same stars. The only time cycle that has no astronomical basis is the seven-day week. This period is based purely on God’s commandment regarding the seventh-day Sabbath, which was in turn is based on God’s creation of the universe and everything in it over the course of six days, with the seventh day set aside as a day of rest (Exodus 20:8-11).
The earth was set in orbit around the sun at just the right distance to allow for life (in what astronomers refer to as “the goldilocks zone” – not too hot, not too cold). The moon was placed into a locked orbit around the earth, with the same side facing the earth continually. The moon’s position not only produces tides on the earth, but it also maintains the earth’s tilt of about 23½ degrees, producing seasons on the earth as well as making significantly more of its surface habitable.
Of course, at the same time, God created many more heavenly bodies than are mentioned here, such as comets, satellites circling the planets of our solar system, and even planets orbiting other stars. Most of these would not be discovered for a long while after they were created, but when they were, they would become a source of wonder for all people, and a revelation of God’s power and wisdom for all who have eyes to see.
Pray with Me
Father, that final statement is very true. As our improved telescopes enable us to see more clearly farther and farther into the depths of the universe, we truly can see the marks of Your workmanship in everything we discover. “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.” (Psalm 19:1) Lord, You are truly amazing! Amen.