We’ve been studying creation in the sermons at church in a new series in Genesis. Through the six days of creation so much is created each day and a number of things have struck me as new.
Genesis 1:14-19 says, And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.”
The sun and moon get a lot of the attention and detail and then almost as an afterthought Moses slips in, and the stars. It’s seems such a small mention of the stars in the creation story. And yet, the stars are incredible, amazing, astonishing, awe-inspiring, breathtaking, extraordinary, incredible, marvelous, sensational, spectacular, stunning, unbelievable and captivating to the point where we lie outside and look up and watch them. Looking up into the night sky on a clear night can be mesmerizing.
I follow NASA on Instagram. The pictures they post of the stars and space are astounding!! (I’ve used a couple in this blog). What the new space telescopes can now see is a game changer. To think that God created all those just for us to look at and discover.
Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”. This is one of the clearest biblical statements that nature itself is meant to show the greatness of God. These words are in the present tense. That is, the heavens “are declaring,” and the sky “is proclaiming” the creative work of God. It’s a continual display. What we see in nature is meant to constantly show us that God exists and tell us how amazing a Creator He truly is.
What other “mentions” of stars are in the Bible? Here are a few…
- The Star of Bethlehem was a sign that the Jewish Messiah had arrived. Numbers 24:17, Matthew 2:2
- The Three Wise Men followed the star to find Jesus in Bethlehem. Matthew 2:2
- God created the stars, and established them in their place. Isaiah 40:26
- God gave each star a name. Psalms 147:4
- God promised to multiply Abraham’s descendants as many as the stars in the sky. Genesis 15:5 & 22:17
- He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Psalm 147:4
- There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:41
- He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. Job 9:9
- You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you. Nehemiah 9:6
Thinking about God’s promise to Abraham, he could only see what was visible to him in the night sky, but God knew all that was out there and truly understood the promise of what he was telling Abraham. The technology that allow is to see farther and father into the universe and beyond continues to amaze. And God put it all there for us to discover and lead us to Him. There is no much more to consider than… and the stars!
Meandering Moose 