God had previously created spiritual Light. In this devotional reading, He created the sun, moon, and stars.
Nuggets
- God focused on creating physical light on the fourth day.
- The sun is very important to earth.
- The moon, just as Jesus reflected God, reflects the sun’s light.
- Stars symbolize glory and triumph.
- Taken all together, the sun, moon, and stars show the majesty of God.
God was moving right along on His creation plan. He had created day and night, but now He needed something to rule them.
God created the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. He even threw in the stars.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Celebrating Creation’s Story series
Day 4
“Then God said, ‘Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.’ And that is what happened” (Gen. 1: 14-16 NLT)
God focused on creating physical light on the fourth day.
What He created — the sun and moon — are massive objects. What He created — the stars — are of infinite number.
All have one obvious purpose — giving light. But they also rule the earth.
- They govern time by separating the daytime from the nighttime.
- They govern the seasons.
- They not only govern days, but they also govern years.
The thing is most things that God physically created also has a related spiritual aspect. Since God is more concerned about the spiritual than the physical, we need to address that, too.
The Sun
“God made two great lights — the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness ...” (Gen. 1: 16-18 NLT)
The sun is very important to earth.
Whether the sun suddenly burst forth in the heavens or if it did a reverse Avenger-snap and came together particles at a time, I doubt the light burst forth until the sun was totally complete.
What a sight that must have been when the in switch was flipped!
Sacra described the sun as the heart and brain of earth. I can see that.
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If the sun were to explode or turn off, we would be in bad shape. Well, maybe not all of us. But earth would be no more.
In other words, the earth functions because of the sun’s light.
The sun gives us our seasons by the way it shines upon the earth.
The descendants of Koran told us that God is our sun and our shield. “For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what us right” (Ps. 84: 11 NLT).
Before we start the spiritual discussion, we need to be reminded that Jesus was referred to as the Sun of Righteousness. “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture” (Mal. 4: 2 NLT).
Morris told us about the Sun of Righteousness as it would have appeared at that first moment. He wrote,
“On that morning the sun burst forth in its unveiled glories, irradiating the new-made earth, and revealing upon its face scenes of loveliness and grandeur which could neither be seen nor known before. So arose the Sun of Righteousness [Jesus] upon the world of mankind, an object as wonderful and as new in His person, and character, and office, as the great orb of day when it first came forth to run the circuit of the heavens — pouring a flood of light from above upon benighted humanity, and opening up to them views of truth, happiness, and immortality, such as the world had never known or heard before; and, like the solar light, while revealing all else, remaining Himself a glorious mystery.”
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I can see Jesus being called the Sun of Righteousness. His purity and illumination is reminiscent of God — along with His power and His strength.
The Moon
The moon, just as Jesus reflected God, reflects the sun’s light.
A year is determined by the time it takes the moon to revolve around the sun. The four phases of the moon, each lasting approximately seven days, give us weeks and months.
Jesus often said that He could do nothing except the Father’s Will. “For I [Jesus] have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will” (Jn. 6: 38 NLT).
Morris likened the moon to the Church.
- Disciples are all members of the family regardless of geographical location.
- Disciples reflect the Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness.
- Disciples are tasked with the job of reflecting light in darkness.
- Disciples are to “… ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone’” (Mk. 15: 16 NLT) as the moon is not motionless.
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Just as Jesus imitated God, so is the Church – and we as disciples – supposed to imitate Him.
- “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Phil. 2: 5 NLT).
- “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps” (I Pet. 2: 21 NLT).
- “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters”” (Rom. 8: 29 NLT).
Imitating God is one way we walk with Him.
The Stars
Stars symbolize glory and triumph.
Think of how monotonous and dull our lives would be without the stars — and the sun and the moon. If it were daylight 24/7/365, it would become wearisome. If it was just darkness with no stars 24/7/365, it would become tedious.
The stars add so much beauty to our world, especially to the night. Yes, the full moon shining is a beautiful sight.
But the infinite number of stars add so much to the picture.
The moon and the stars have defeated darkness.
One purpose of the stars is to act as our guide. They point us where to go and how to get there.
Ooo, baby! Think of that picture.
- God is the sun, shining in all His glory.
- Jesus is the moon that reflects God’s glory.
- The Holy Spirit is the stars that direct us to Jesus so that we can bask in God’s glory.
Judgement and The Work of the Fourth Day
“... And God saw that it was good. And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day” (Gen. 1: 18-19 NLT)
Taken all together, the sun, moon, and stars show the majesty of God.
“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers — the moon and the stars you set in place — what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?” (Ps. 8: 3-4 NLT).
But they also teach us a very important lesson, as Gaussen pointed out. He wrote, “It was the will of God that man should be able to measure and reckon time, that he might learn its value and regulate its employment of it.”
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Our time in this life is temporary and it is fleeting. We can’t take forever to decide whether we are following God or not.
In case you missed the previous devotions, we talked about how the New Living Translation makes it sound like we are just talking about a 12-hour time period — evening passed, and morning came.
What about the rest of the day?
This is not how it was originally written. “… And the erev (evening) and the boker (morning) were Yom Echad (Day One, the First Day, Mk 16:2” (Gen. 1: 5 OJB).
We can’t let the version we use lead us away from God.
Let’s recap the physical creation so far.
- Light has come to make the darkness known and counteract it.
- Conditions were put in place so that life could be sustained.
- A place was made for this life to occupy, and a way to sustain it was provided.
- Then, food was provided to support life.
- The sun, moon, and stars were hung in the sky to show God’s control over everything that happens on earth.
Let’s recap the spiritual creation so far.
- The Plan of Salvation was introduced to the world in the form of the Light.
- Salvation and sin coexisted.
- Just as the emerging earth must change and grow, so must mankind.
- We must approach God with humility, not pride.
Making the Connections #1
Boardman tried to connect the creation story with scientific principles. For example, he brought up the fact that the light shone before the sun was created. He gave several answers to how that could be.
One answer Boardman gave was the sun, moon, and stars were created before Day 4 but only became visible then.
Well, the New Living Translation does say that God told them to appear. What does the Complete Jewish Bible say about each day of creation? It says that the standard or some version of let there be.
In the beginning: God created.
Day 1: Let there be.
Day 2: Let there be.
Day 3: Let the waters be gathered. Let the earth put forth.
Day 4: Let there be. God made the two lights. God put them in the dome.
Day 5: Let the water swarm. God created.
Day 6: Let the earth bring forth. God made. Let us make man. God created humankind.
No, God didn’t have the sun, moon, and stars in the back of His closet, waiting to pull them out when needed. He may even have had them hanging in place but shut off.
God created them on Day 4.
If that doesn’t obey man’s laws, we have to remember man didn’t have any laws then. Physical laws were not applicable until creation was completed.
God lines outside time and space. He is Sovereign God. He can build the earth with anything He wants – any way He wants.
Making the Connections #2
I thought Spurgeon said something interesting that fits here. He wrote,
“He [Jesus] should be the Alpha and Omega of all our preaching and teaching. If you leave out Christ, you have left the sun out of the day, and the moon out of the night; you have left the waters out of the sea, and the floods out of the river; you have left the harvest out of the year, the soul out of the body; you have left joy out of heaven, yea, you have robbed all of its all.”
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As believers, we have specific marching orders.
- “And then he told them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone’” (Mk. 16: 15 NLT).
- “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28: 19-20 NLT).
We are tasked to go and tell of Him — Jesus. He is the Gospel. There is no Gospel if we leave Him out.
It isn’t a social message. It isn’t just a message of love.
It is a message of redemption and salvation.
How Do We Apply This?
- Be mindful of our days so that we make right our relationships with Hod before we are called home.
- Evaluate ourselves to determine any sin in our lives.
- Ensure we are fulfilling the purpose God has for us.
- Value time.
- Understand that there is a time for everything (Ecc. 3: 1-8).
- Realize this life is temporary while eternity is forever.
Resource
Father God. You had already enlightened the world with Your Light. Then You created beautiful, physical light. You knew we needed light more than darkness. Thank You. Amen.
What do you think?
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