GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
GENESIS 1:16
16 And God made the two great lights: the brighter light to rule the day and the dimmer light to rule the night, and also the stars.
The words “sun” and “moon” do not occur in the creation account. The word “sun” is first used in Genesis 15:12, and “moon” in Genesis 37:9. Here the words are “brighter” or “greater,” and “dimmer” or “lesser.” I have translated “brighter and dimmer” because from earth, the sun and moon appear to be exactly the same size; in astronomical terms, each is half of a degree across. That is to say, if one surrounds the globe with the 360 degrees of the compass, the sun and moon would each take up half of one degree of that circuit. This despite the remarkable fact that the sun is four hundred times wider than the moon; but the sun is also four hundred time farther away than the moon. Therefore, when their orbits align, the moon is able to cover the sun, casting a shadow on the earth (an eclipse). Another variety of eclipse can happen when the earth’s shadow covers the full moon (a lunar eclipse). One can play at these things with a child by holding up a melon or a large ball and then having the child stand across the room and use a spoon at arm’s length to block out their view of the melon.
The reason that the moon is dimmer than the sun, is because the sun gives off light, heat, and radiation, but the moon is a dead sphere covered in stone and dust; it only reflects light. But being so close to us, the moon’s gravity affects out world, drawing water from the “sides” of the earth toward the moon in a “bulge” of water (and, correspondingly, away from the moon on the opposite side of the earth). This is the source of lunar tides, which move water along the ocean shoreline three feet or up to three yards. On the Great Lakes in America (and the Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea in Palestine) the tides are much lower, less than an inch. Wind-blown waves have a bigger effect on the coastline than the tides in those places.
The stars are uncountable, like the sand. The Lord compares them, “as countless as the stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore” (Jeremiah 33:22). Scientists and philosophers change their count of the stars every few years, as technology and mathematics change. But there are about 9,000 stars that are possible to see from the earth by the naked eye. Since our world is a sphere, we can theoretically see half of these on a dark, cloudless night, or about 4,500 above the horizon. For those who live in or near a town, this number drops to about 400 stars. For those who live within a city, there might be just one or two hundred stars to be seen, due to light pollution.
The light of the stars comes at us in a single ray of light from very far away, which is affected by the earth’s heat and atmosphere. This is why the stars appear to twinkle and dance. Since the visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) are so much closer, there is more of their light to see, and so a planet will appear to twinkle less, if at all.
The reason that, from night to night, the planets sometimes appear to move backwards, is due to our own position as we orbit the sun in relation to those planets, which orbit at different rates (speeds) than we do. This can be acted out with children by having a line of children stand at various distances on a ball field centered around the pitcher’s mound, and remembering that the earth would be, say, halfway to home plate. Then the line of children ‘orbits’ the pitcher’s mound (the sun), at different speeds and the earth person will see that some of the other “worlds” will appear to go backwards from time to time. In astronomy, this is called retrograde motion.
Also created on this fourth day were the seasons of the year, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, since they receive their various characteristics from our position relative to the sun and also the tilt of the earth’s axis. “For God placed the luminaries and the stars in the heavens in such a way that by the definite movements of the sun winter approaches, and when the sun ascends, the earth is opened up” (Martin Chemnitz).
The blessing of these luminaries, or “vehicles of light” as Professor Gerhard calls them, is that they give light and a changeless calendar to mankind. The nearer objects, especially the sun and moon, have an effect on our world through tides, sunlight, moonlight, heat, and even the aurora or Northern (and Southern) Lights.
Another question that has been raised by certain men is the relationship of the star of Christ as an influence of the life and work of Jesus. They have it all backwards. The miracles and life of Jesus were not influenced by the star of his birth, but rather that star appeared on account of the birth of the Son of God. Augustine said, “We do not believe that the temporal birth of the eternal Creator and Lord of the universe was influenced by the position of the stars. Therefore the star which the Magi saw was not giving out orders to Christ as he was born according to the flesh but was serving as a testimony to him. It was not subjecting him to its power but was pointing to him with obedience” (Contra Faustus Bk II ch 5).
The Apostle Paul used these “vehicles of light” to make a comparison about the resurrection of the dead on Judgment Day: “The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:41-42). There is one salvation for all believers, but the Bible describes differing glories. Just as star differs from star, and planet from planet, and moon from sun, so also with all of us in heaven. Peter and Paul will have the glory of the Apostles. Some will have the glory of martyrs, some the glory of faithful parents or grandparents, some the glory of have served God and the nation as soldiers or civil servants, some the glory of having tended the things set aside for worship in the churches, and some, more strictly judged (James 3:1), who served as pastors. Perhaps those of us in that last category will be more like the faintest stars, but we are grateful to have been used by Christ in his service and also be forgiven for our sins. For to be used as a tool by Christ only to be discarded is possible, as Saul and Judas were, but it would be a wretched end. Forgive us, dear Jesus, and give us the faith of a little child!
Father of all heavenly things, remind us to look up at the night sky not just with scientific curiosity, but with the repentance, gratitude, and childlike faith of one who knows you, our Creator, and your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
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 1:16 Of the sun, moon and stars