Genesis 1:14-19
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
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"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him," (Col. 3:17).
Words. They carry the power of life and death (Prov. 18:21). Humanity is the only part of God's creation with which He shares the power of the spoken word. How do we handle this gift? James warns us that we should not with the same mouth bless God and curse men who were made to be in the image of God (James 3:9-10).
"And God said..." (vs. 14). Who was God speaking to? We know from St. John, Chapter 1, that it was Christ who made all things that were made "and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men," (vs. 3,4). The Father had released the Christ when He initially said, "Let there be Light". It was at that time that Christ's spirit came forth from the Father to do the creative works on the earth. "All things were made by him."
This same Christ was in the earth throughout the Old Testament; yet, He did not have a human body to "tabernacle" or live in. A dwelling place was established for Him in the midst of His people by the commandment of the Father and had to be built according the heavenly pattern (e.g., Ex. 25).
"And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people." (Lev. 26:11-12).
So then Christ has been here since "before the world began" (John 17:5). When God said to Him, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven..", those lights came forth from His being. He is called in the New Testament the "Father of lights":
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," (James 1:17).
There is a difference between creating something and "fathering" someone. We are known as the "offspring" of God (Acts 17:28-29). John 1:13 says that we were "born" of God. Ephesians 2:10 says that we were created in Christ Jesus. Many scriptures refer to believers as the Body of Christ. And then there are those that reveal us as the "children of the Light" [Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Eph. 5:8; I Thess. 5:5]. The Son of God is called the "everlasting Father" (Isa. 9:6).
There is a difference between creating something and "fathering" someone. We are known as the "offspring" of God (Acts 17:28-29). John 1:13 says that we were "born" of God. Ephesians 2:10 says that we were created in Christ Jesus. Many scriptures refer to believers as the Body of Christ. And then there are those that reveal us as the "children of the Light" [Luke 16:8; John 12:36; Eph. 5:8; I Thess. 5:5]. The Son of God is called the "everlasting Father" (Isa. 9:6).
"And God said..." (Gen. 1:14); "...and it was so," (Gen. 1:15). God spoke and the Word concluded a work. Now we move on to the next several verses.
"And God made..."
Read Genesis 1:16 again. The sun, moon and stars do not come into physical existence until God "makes" them. In the making of these natural lights, for the third time His purpose is to have light to rule over darkness. The greater light (the sun) rules the day and the lesser light (moon) rules the night along with the stars that were made. In the making of the stars I wonder if there was a star made for each of the "lights" of verse 15.
- We know that Jesus has a star. "Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him," (Matthew 2:2).
- Many times God declared that Abraham's seed would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. (e.g., Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4).
- In Joseph's dream his family was represented by the sun, moon and eleven stars (Gen. 37:9).
- Judges 5:20 says that the stars of heaven "fought" against Sisera.
- Job 38:7 says that the "morning stars sang together" and that the "sons of God shouted for joy".
No man can number the stars. Yet God knows each one of them, tells them apart and names them all.
"He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names," (Psalm 147:4).
In Psalm 148:3 the stars of light are commanded to praise the Lord. Daneil 12:3 speaks of the wise shining as the brightness of the firmament and that those who turn many to righteousness shine as stars forever and ever. The glorified Christ reveals to John on the Island of Patmos that He holds in his hand the seven stars and then explains that the stars are the angels of the seven churches.
We do not worship stars. There needs to be those in the Body of Christ assigned by God to study the stars as the wise men did and who understand by the wisdom of God that the Messiah had been birthed into the earth.
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars" (Luke 21:25). If no one in the Body study's God's heavens, we will miss the signs He places in the sun, moon and stars.
Read Genesis 1:17 again. Notice that after God makes the sun, moon and stars it says that he "set them in the firmament of the heaven." He specifically places them in constellations or wherever He purposed them to be. God pronounces His work as good. Light has now been given to the earth in at least three dimensions to rule over the darkness: the Light of Christ; the light of His children; the light of the sun, moon and stars.
There's a mystery of God hidden in the heavens. Is anyone looking up to understand and reveal it?
We cannot talk about the light without also addressing the darkness over which the light was sent to rule. Next week we will explore The Power of Darkness.
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