" 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: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 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. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 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. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
We must bear in mind carefully that from Genesis 1:22And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:2) we have the story of the reconstruction of a ruined and chaotic world, which at the first had been created in perfection and beauty.
On the fourth day we have the setting of the sun and the moon in their appointed places in relation to the earth. Besides the sun being the source of heat, the ripener of the harvests, the power for evaporation in order that rain might descend on the earth, we are told it is to rule the day, and the moon to rule the night.
It has been thought by some that light was independent of the sun, that on the first day God created the light, and that on the fourth day He created the sun. But we are not told that on the fourth day He created the sun and the moon, but that He made two great lights. We believe that the sun and moon were created at the first, and were included in the statement that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. What proves this, we believe, is the statement that the evening and the morning were the first day, proving the diurnal motion of the earth, in relation to the sun, resulting in day and night.
We are told these two lights were for signs and seasons and days and years. They are God's great timekeepers. Every day they are signs to mankind. They declare the Creator's "eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. 1:2020For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: (Romans 1:20)). In the wonderfully vivid and beautiful language of Psa. 19, the heavens declare the glory of God. Day by day utters speech. Night by night shows knowledge. Its speech is known by all mankind. In the heavens bath He set a tabernacle for the sun, which as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
Moses blessing the tribes of Israel said, "Blessed of the LORD he His land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious things brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon " (Deut. 33:13, 1413And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, 14And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, (Deuteronomy 33:13‑14)). They are for seasons. Spring ushers in summer; autumn succeeds summer; winter follows autumn, and the winter gives place to spring again. They are for years. The earth traveling round the sun in its orbit produces the year. How wonderful is God's timekeeper.
We have the assuring promise that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease" (Gen. 8:2222While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8:22)).
In five short words the arranging of the stars in their relation to this earth is stated-" He made the stars also." When God made promise to Abraham, He told him that his seed should be "as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the seashore innumerable" (Heb. 2:1212Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. (Hebrews 2:12)).
Skeptics have scoffed at this statement. But as telescopes increased in range and power, and remarkable stellar photography came to the fore, it was seen how vastly numerous are the stars. The Milky Way contains millions upon millions. Nor do we know that we have even touched the fringe of the mighty universe. Sir James Jeans, the great astronomer, tells us the stars are as the sand of the seashore for multitude. Multitudes of these stars are in reality suns, many many times larger than our sun. So we read of God, "He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names" (Psa. 147:44He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. (Psalm 147:4)).
We can only exclaim that such knowledge is too wonderful, it is too high, we cannot attain to it. The late Dr. Alfred Russell Wallace, the great scientist and skeptic, as the result of his researches believed that our earth is the only place' in the vast universe capable of sustaining human life. Thus we can understand how Gen. 1 is written from the standpoint of the earth. God's delights are with the sons of men (Prov. 8:3131Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men. (Proverbs 8:31)).