GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
GENESIS 1:14-15
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. And let them serve as signs for seasons, for days and for years, 15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth.” And it was so.
On the fourth day, God created the luminaries, the objects that fill space above our sky. These include our sun, which is a small star, the planets and dwarf-planets and all of their moons, and our own moon, as well as the stars.
Beginning with this fourth day, the Lord began to fill up the spaces that he had made in the first three days. To begin with, the space surrounding our world was given a great many objects. Indeed, as we know, most of the objects in space are many times larger than our world. But the Lord has taken a special interest in our Earth; bright objects in our sky are there to serve our world in particular.
God gives the purpose of the stars and planets, and the other celestial objects like comets and asteroids and planetary rings. They are there in the sky, which is to say out in space, to serve our world. “Let them serve as signs for seasons, for days, and for years,” God said. All of their movements, their orbits, their movement in our galaxy, and all of the millions of celestial objects in other galaxies, exist to serve our world and its needs. They are, in effect, a great calendar. The closer the object, the more ordinary its use as a sign. The sun (which is not yet mentioned) assumed the work of the previous light to carry on giving the earth light to mark days. Whatever the earlier light had been, coming from God himself or from some temporary source, it was no longer required.
The moon (which is also not yet mentioned) is a sign to mark longer periods– months. In fact, our English word “month” (Old English monað) is derived from our word for “moon.” God’s care of the moon includes keeping the same side of the moon facing the earth at all times. This means that the moon looks the same at all times apart from the shadows that pass across its face. How is this so? God had made the moon spin on its axis in exactly the same amount of time that it takes for the moon to make one orbit around the earth in a “knuckleball” fashion.
In ancient times, twelve cycles of the moon counted as a year. This is why the people of the Old Testament celebrated new moon festivals. The new moon happens when, during the dark phase of the moon, the moon is completely dark. The new moon and the new moon festival is mentioned often in the Old Testament (Numbers 10:10, amd so on). There was also a celebration of the full moon (Psalm 81:3).
An alternate way of calculating the passing of a year was discovered by ancient mankind by observing the rising or setting of the sun at various times of the year, especially at the equinox, the two days of the year, six months apart, when day and night are precisely the same length of time. This, the solar year, is about 11 days longer than a lunar year that is measured by the phases of the moon.
Let’s consider how this verse exposes certain sins in our lives.
1, Astrology. Using the movements of the planets and the patterns of the starts to predict things in our lives runs contrary to the will of God expressed in this verse. Therefore, astrology looks to the stars for messages as if from a supernatural force. This violates the Third Commandment especially, which tells us to worship God alone and to rely on the word of God. Throw away your astrolabe!
2, They sin who doubt that light can be created by God apart from a naturally light-giving object. The light reflected by the moon takes a little over one second to travel to our eye. The light given off by the sun takes more than eight minutes to travel from the sun’s surface to our eye. From the stars, even the closest stars, light takes many years to travel this far. But the Lord who is almighty and Lord over all can make the light produced by distant objects already travelling toward our eyes, so that Adam and Even could have seen what was, to our thinking, too far away to be seen yet.
3, They sin who bow their knee to worship the sun or moon. Many ancient cultures did this, often in bloody rituals, but bloody or not, idolatry is a sin.
4, They sin who believe that human actions can bring about changes in the weather, the harvest, an eclipse, and so on.
5, They sin who refuse to believe in God’s holy account of this day’s good creating work.
Is there forgiveness for these sins? There is forgiveness for everyone who is frightened on account of their sins and who look to Jesus for forgiveness. He used the language of this day to express the greatness of his grace: “As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s love for those who believe in him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:10).
And Jesus told us that the purpose for these luminaries in the skies would come to an end on the day of his return. “In those days,” he said, “following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ At that time you will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (Mark 13:24-26). What God has made, he can unmake. What God has given for a good purpose, he can also bring to an end when it suits his purpose.
There is more to say, but this is enough for this part of this day. Praise God for his magnificent work.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – Genesis 1:14-15 luminaries