Genesis 1:14-19 | Creation Day 4 Sun, Moon, Stars

Recap – Day 2 &3, which included the “expanse” or the “firmament”. We discussed the Canopy Theory, what it is and why some people believe in it and why some do not. Also, last episode saw the introduction of the water cycle to prepare earth for the life that God will soon create.As well as vegetation, and that vegetation reproduces after its kind.
Which now brings us to creation day 4, which discusses the Sun, Moon, and stars.
V14- 15
14 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,[f] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
“Let there be lights” – remember, we discussed in a previous episode this “let there be light”, and that the source of the light had already been created. Same thing applies here.
God is not creating the Sun and the Moon for the first time here on Day 4. Remember, God created the heavens and the earth as described in V1 in the beginning.Now we are simply covering details about God’s creation.
We disussed in a previous episode that the Sun had already been created, but as an observer on earth, you still could not see the sun due to the very heavy atmosphere, that was almost 200x thicker than our current atmosphere.
So when God is saying here “Let there be lights”, what is being communicated is that now the source of the lights will now become visible. We have already had “light” which is what allowed photosynthesis to take place and therefore plants and vegetation to grow.
But now, as the atmosphere has changed from opaque to translucent, it now begins to change from translucent to transparent, and has breaks in the clouds, so that we are finally able to see the actual sources of the light
The Sun, Moon, and stars become visible from earth for the first time
It is also worth mentioning that it may be possible that what is being communicated is NOT that on each day God “made”something but that God said something
And what does scripture say was the significance for being able to actually see the Sun, Moon, and Stars? “Let them be for signs and for seasons” and “for days and years”.
And so here we have, not God creating the Sun, Moon, and stars, but assigning their functions. God is establishing order and function to his creation
Signs and seasons, for who? There is nobody here yet. There aren’t even any animals here yet.
What is interesting is that prior to day 4, none of the life forms or plants that are on earth at this time needed to see the sun or the moon or the stars.
But, the life that will be described on days 5 and 6 require at least some awareness of the positions of the sun, moon, and stars.
This awareness is vital to knowing when the best times are to feed, reproduce, for agriculture reasons, to hibernate, or to migrate!
Even mankind has always used the stars for navigational purposes to travel around the globe
Before God creates complex biological life, with a biological timeclock, he is preparing the environment they would need to fill their purpose.

V16-19
16 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. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Now don’t get confused where V16 starts out by saying “And God made two great lights”, as if this is the first time he created them. The Hebrew verb form used here for “made” is referring to an action already completed, something done in the past.
Remember, this is a review, a parenthetical statement. In V1 God created all of physical reality. So now we are just going into more detail on how God created and why
It has also been pointed out that the verb made” here does not specifically mean to “create’. It can refer to that, but it can also refer to “working on something that has already been made”, or “appointed”.
So there may be some credibility to the thought that God is referring here to the appointing of the roles of the Sun, Moon, and stars
Notice that the Bible calls the Sun and Moon both “great lights”. Compared to the Sun, the moon is tiny, so why would it be considered a great light? It is interesting that the Sun is about 400 times the size of the Moon, but as observed from earth, the Sun and the Moon appear to be the same size. That is because even though the Sun is about 400 times the size of the moon, the Moon is about 400 times closer to the earth than the Sun, so it gives the appearance of being equal in size
I believe another reason this verse exists is to act as a polemic, or argument, against pagan beliefs at the time which worshipped the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars.
Deut 4:19- And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them,
Genesis makes it very clear that the Sun, Moon, and Stars are not Gods. They were created by God. In fact, God does not even mention them by name here, he just calls them “two great lights”. This was a way to dethrone these two supposed gods, if you will. Because here in the Bible, the Sun and the Moon are just nameless objects, created by the one Creator God to serve humanity
Not only that, but Genesis tells us the reason for the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Not only would life be impossible without all three of them, but they are to serve as signs and seasons.
Scripture tells us that God arranged the visible stars into constellations, and even names two or three of them.
The constellations Orion and Ursa Major(the Bear) are named in Job and Amos. The star group Pleiades is also named in these same passages.
Here is something very interesting, but I am just throwing this out there for you to do your own research on.
In Job 38:32, God asks Job “Can you lead forth the Mazzeroth in their season?
Now, the word “mazzeroth” is a Hebrew word that is left untranslated in many bible translations
But when it is translated, it is usually translated as “constellations” or, get this “zodiac”.
Some believe that our modern day Zodiac is a perversion of the biblical mazzeroth
There are some who believe that the constellations, or the zodiac, act as a mnemonic, or a pattern of ideas to help you remember something more easily. But that the constellation act as a mnemonic for the story of creation, the fall, and redemption
So the story begins in the constellation/sign Virgo, and ends in the constellation/sign of Leo! From the virgin to the lion…sound familiar?
And indeed, if you begin with Virgo, the last sign you come to in the Zodiac is Leo
Again, I am not dogmatic on that idea, I am just introducing the idea to you. For more information on that, check out a couple of books, one is titled “The Witness of the Stars”, written by E. W. Bullinger, another book titled The Gospel in the Stars, written by Joseph Seiss
But nowhere does the Bible mention that the celestial bodies are for determining the destinies of men, of individual humans, like astrology teaches!
Astrology is the “interpretation” of the supposed influence the stars and planets have over your future.
Throughout history, going back all the way back to Babylonians, astrologers have consulted the celestial bodies for guidance. Babylonian astrologers, for example , would council the king on when to attack or go to war based on the alignment of stars
Unfortunately, many people take this stuff seriously. Maybe many people are just so desperate for direction, meaning, or purpose in their lives, they look for it anywhere they can think of looking.
People are starving for truth. And unfortunately, when people are starving, they will eat anything
But the Bible specifically warns against this practice, along with others such as divination, sorcery, and necromancy. But regarding astrology specifically, the Bible says
Isa 47: – 13
You are wearied with your many counsels;
let them stand forth and save you,
those who divide the heavens,
who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
what shall come upon you.
14
Behold, they are like stubble;
the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
from the power of the flame.
Yikes!

Before I leave V16, 16 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
V16 – ends with almost a footnote – “and the stars”. Some translations will read “And he made the stars also”. So in addition to the Sun and the Moon, there is this almost afterthought “oh, and the stars too”
I have always found that to be a candidate for the understatement of the year award!
When you consider how many stars are in the universe. Trillions upon trillions!
Our best scientific estimates are that there are approximately 10^23 stars in the known universe. That is a number that is basically incomprehensible it is so large.
To give you an idea, that is also approximately how many grains of sand exist on all the beaches and deserts on the entire earth!
And to blow your mind just a little more, between each of those trillions of stars, like the grains of sand on earth, between each star there is an average distance of 30 trillion miles! 30 Trillion miles between each star!!
When you stop and consider the vastness of this universe, just consider how great, how mighty, how awesome a god we serve and worship.
Just as Psalm 19:1 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God”!
And Psalm 147:4 tells us that “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name”
And you are so much more valuable than a star. And if God calls each of these trillions of stars, like the grains of sand on earth, he calls them each by name, you better believe he knows you
And the good news is that he loves you. He loved you enough to suffer and die for you.
The next time you look up into the night sky and see the stars, you think about that. The one who created every one of the stars loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.
I look forward to our next session, as we begin creation days 5 and 6 which will see the creation of animals and humans. Thank you for listening, and god bless.