The title of this article is taken from Genesis 1:16, where, on the fourth day of creation, God made lights “to give light upon the earth.” It is significant that God spent one whole day, and only light was created; nothing else was made on the first day. God Himself did not need the light of the sun, moon or stars to be able to work, for on the first day He had said, “Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). Because of this light, light was separated from darkness, and thus light became day, and darkness became night. But then, on the fourth day, God created the sun, moon and stars.
Quite a bit of information is connected with the sun and moon, for once again they were to divide the day from the night. More than this, they were to be “for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” (Gen. 1:14). The sun was to rule the day, and the moon was to rule the night; they were to give light upon the earth.
The Stars
But then, when it came to making the stars, the Word of God brings them in almost as an afterthought. It simply says, “He made the stars also.” In another translation, the reference to the stars is even briefer. At the end of verse 16, it reads, “And the stars” (JND). When we realize the vast numbers of stars that exist and the colossal size of many of them, the sun and moon seem insignificant in comparison. Yet the Spirit of God devotes much more space to them, describing their creation and function. Why is this?
I would suggest that it is because the sun and the moon are involved with the blessing of God’s creation on this earth, and particularly the blessing of man. The universe, at least what we know of it today, is so vast that if a model of it were to be made that was large enough for this earth to be seen with the naked eye, the model would be too large for this earth to contain it. Yet God chose this earth, one of the smallest entities of His creation, to be fit for man to live on it, and He placed man on it. Then He proceeded to work out His purposes concerning His beloved Son on that same small earth.
The Earth Was Made for Man
When God made this earth suitable for man’s existence, He was interested in what would be for man’s comfort and enjoyment here. God’s beloved Son was “daily His delight” (Prov. 8:30), and His Son was destined to become a man and come down to this earth. Thus we also read that God rejoiced “in the habitable part of His earth” and that His “delights were with the sons of men” (Prov. 8:31). Surely God takes an interest in all of His creation, but His interest is particularly in this earth, and even more particularly in the part of it that is habitable. What grace on God’s part!
God created man in order to have a relationship with him, and thus that part of creation that affected man was important to God. When it came to making the stars, they were not as important in God’s eyes as the sun and moon, for the sun and moon are particularly connected with the earth.
The Creation of Stars
Why then should God create the stars? We know today that they are very numerous, and as we have noted elsewhere in this issue, astronomers know that there are 10,000 times as many stars in the heavens as there are grains of sand on this earth! This is mind-boggling, to say the least. What is even more mind-boggling is the size of some of the stars and the distance between them. The closest star to our solar system is about 4.25 light years away, and a light year is the distance light travels in a year. Since light travels at almost 300,000 kilometers per second (186,000 miles per second), we can easily see what huge distances are involved. All other stars are much farther away.
Most of the stars are larger than our sun (which is also a star), and the largest star known to date is called UY Scuti. It is so large that if it were an empty globe, it could hold five billion suns! Since more than 900,000 earths could fit inside the sun, you can imagine how big this star is. To make it more realistic to us, suppose that the earth were the size of a ping-pong ball. The number of earths that would fit into this huge star would cover the state of Texas (U.S.A.) to a depth of two feet!
The Display of God’s Glory
According to Scripture, God created these stars to display His glory in creation, for we read that “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork” (Psa. 19:1). On a clear night, we can see the beauty of the stars in the Milky Way, and when we realize how many there are and how large they are, they certainly create in us a sense of awe for the Creator of them. They move in harmony, for God controls them, and thus we read that “all things subsist together by Him” (Col. 1:17 JND). Even if man does not have a direct revelation from God or access to His Word, through the witness of creation he is responsible to recognize God’s “eternal power and Godhead” (Rom. 1:20).
However, the stars have other meanings in Scripture too. They are often used to represent individuals, and Abraham was told that his seed would be as numerous “as the stars of the heaven” (Gen. 22:17). Elsewhere in the Word of God, single individuals are represented as being stars. Most notably, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ is described as “a Star out of Jacob” and “He that shall have dominion” (Gen. 24:17,19). It is possible that it was an understanding of this scripture that prompted the wise men from the East to recognize the star that heralded the birth of our Lord into this world. That same Lord Jesus Christ will appear as the Morning Star to His church when He comes to take her home to Himself.
Negative Uses of Stars
However, the stars have been used in a negative way too. Men have invented zodiac signs that have connected the stars with the occult, and sadly, many put their faith in this nonsense. Stephen could accuse the nation of Israel of taking up “the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them” (Acts 7:43). It was for the worship of idols that God allowed them to be carried into captivity.
In Revelation 8:10-11 we read that “there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp ... and the name of the star was called Wormwood.” While it is beyond the scope of this article to go into all the possible meanings of this star, yet it is evident from the context that it represents a ruler, or one given responsibility before God. His original authority comes from heaven, but he turns out to be a degraded apostate who falls under the judgment of God. Another star is described in Revelation 9:1: “I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth.” This is another evil ruler, distinct from the one in chapter 8, and possibly the Antichrist. He is allowed to open the bottomless pit, from which issues a flood of demons who cause untold suffering to a select group on earth.
The Bright and Morning Star
But God does not end His Word on this note. Rather, in Revelation 22:16, the Lord Jesus reminds us that for His church, He can say, “I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” We can look up into the night sky — the present night of this world—and expect Him to appear as the Morning Star at any moment!
W. J. Prost