“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.” Genesis 1:16
Have you ever slept out in the open? Perhaps as you were lying on your back in a sleeping bag you suddenly noticed that the stars were beginning to appear. There were just a few at first, but more and more soon appeared until the sky seemed chock-full of stars—some twinkling, others colorful, but all thrilling you with their beauty.
After a short while you perhaps realized that a group of stars you had especially noticed were no longer where they first were, but now were twinkling through some nearby trees and others seemed to have taken their place. If you thought about it you probably realized this was due to two things—the earth was turning about a thousand miles an hour, and the stars themselves were traveling at a similar or even greater speed. But you knew that tomorrow night they would be there again.
An experience like that is something amazing. David, out in the fields with his sheep, had the same experience and later wrote Psalm 8, declaring, “When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man?” (vss. 3-4). Also in Psalm 19 he wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God” (vs. 1), as well as similar thoughts God put in his heart to write.
It must be that everyone in the world at some time wonders about those billions and billions of stars—where they came from, how they always have their own place in space, or why they never crash into one another. It would seem that the Creator wants everyone to recognize that He alone brought them into being and keeps them in their places. His beautiful displays should cause us to say, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11).
Astronomers have wonderful opportunities to look at the stars with huge telescopes and find much more of their beauty than the rest of us can see. Every year they discover galaxies never seen before, and many feel there is no end to the whole universe. They have given names to some stars, but could never find enough names for the billions more that are out there. However, the Creator knows exactly how many there are and has given a name to every single star. Psalm 147:4 says, “He [counts] the number of the stars; He [calls] them all by their names.” Isn't that wonderful?
Surely we should recognize Him as Lord of all and declare with the Psalmist, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3).
ML-07/06/2008