On the fourth day of creation God created the sun, moon, and stars. Read it for yourself in Genesis 1:14-19. God must have included the planets and galaxies as well. At the time Genesis 1 was written people probably knew nothing about planets, and they definitely did not know about galaxies. They would have thought all the tiny lights were stars.
We can’t answer all of our questions about how God made the sun, moon, and stars, because the explanation isn’t there apart from the basic words, “God said…” We can have fun speculating over whether he used the rest of the waters he created “In the beginning…” and separated on day two, or did he speak the sun, moon and stars into existence from scratch. It obviously wasn’t important at the time for God to spell out all of the details. If it wasn’t important then, it isn’t important now either. What is important is that God created them.
I find the idea of the “Big Bang Theory” quite fascinating. It seems quite consistent with God’s speaking the earth into existence.
These verses go on to explain that these heavenly bodies would be used to mark time and the seasons. Until God created the sun and moon and put everything into motion, the measure we have for a 24-hour day didn’t exist. Our day is defined by the rotation of the earth with the “daytime” being determined by when the sun shines on a particular part of the earth, and the “nighttime” being determined by when the sun does not shine on that part of the earth. On earth, there is always both daytime and nighttime somewhere, but the length of a “day” is the amount of time it takes the earth to make one complete rotation.
I will continue to emphasize the importance of the sequence of the Genesis account of creation. It continues to be true to scientific understanding. A seed can be planted any time of year and it can germinate. So God could create plants before he created the sun, moon, stars, and before he set the seasons into motion. But the seasons must be there before they can propagate and cover the earth, so it had to follow right behind creating the plants.
Visit a planetarium if there is one near you. There is so much to learn about our awesome universe and beyond.
Here is a video to help you understand how huge our universe really is. Keep in mind that the God who created it all is even bigger. Size of the Universe from YouTube.com
I just learned of an awesome book Hubble Reveals Creation by an Awe-Inspiring Power, by J. Paul Hutchins I would love to read. Follow the link to learn more about this book.
Look for activities to go with Day 4 of creation at this link.
The Creation, a Bible storybook for children by Janice D. Green
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