The Greater Light

 

Genesis 1

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.

 

Psalm 19

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. 6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

 

Related passages: Job 9:7-10; 38:33; Psalm 8:3-4; 74:16-17; 104:19-24; 136:7-9; 148:1-6; Isaiah 40:26; Amos 5:8.

 

  1. Today is June 21, 2006.
  2. The summer solstice occurred for us in Greenville, SC at 8:23 A.M. this morning.
  3. What is the summer solstice? The longest day of the year, when the sun is farthest north.
  4. For the southern hemisphere, they had the winter solstice, or the shortest day of the year.
  5. What is the winter solstice? The shortest day of the year, when the sun is farthest south.
  6. For the southern hemisphere, it is the longest day of the year, occurring Dec 22 in 2006.
  7. What are the vernal and autumnal equinoxes? The two times each year when day = night: when the sun crosses the equator heading for the next solstice: determining spring and fall.
  8. What creates the solstices and the four seasons? The earth’s axis at an angle of 23 degrees!
  9. God created the seasons, and He has guaranteed that they will continue (Genesis 8:22).
  10. So consistent are the effects of the sun that we can forecast our weather (Matthew 16:2-3).
  11. How big is the sun? It is 109 times thicker (diameter) and 1,300,000 times bigger (volume) than the earth. We think the earth is large driving a few miles to church, but it is not!
  12. How far are we from the sun? On average in our elliptical course, about 93 million miles, or about 370 times as far as we are from the moon at only 240,000 miles!
  13. How fast are the sun and we traveling? We are rotating at 1,040 mph! We are revolving at 67,000 mph! The sun is moving through the galaxy at 447,000 mph!
  14. God boasted to Job of ability to set the ordinances of heaven and their dominion (Ps 38:33).
  15. He stopped the sun for a whole day by Joshua’s prayer to destroy enemies (Josh 10:12-14)!
  16. He moved the sun backward 10 degrees for Hezekiah (II Chron 20:8-11; Isaiah 38:7-8).
  17. He stopped the sun from shining at our Lord’s crucifixion for three hours (Luke 23:44-45).
  18. God’s covenant of mercy and salvation in Christ can no more be altered than the ordinances and seasons (Psalm 72:5,17; 89:36-37; Isaiah 54:5-10; Jer 31:35-37; 33:20-26)!
  19. The Spirit gave David a picture of His Son Jesus by a metaphorical sun (II Samuel 23:1-5).
  20. Jesus Christ is the Sun of righteousness by glory (Mal 4:2; Acts 26:13; Rev 1:16; 21:23).
  21. We avoid any religion of the sun (Deut 4:19; II Kings 23:11; Jer 10:1-2; Ezek 8:15-16).
  22. David saw the LORD God as a sun – the glorious provider of blessings and life (Ps 84:11).
  23. Do you think your needs are greater than Joshua’s? Then pray, believing (Matt 21:22)!
  24. When you experience a sunny day, you should respond with great praise (Acts 14:14-18).
  25. Our Father sends sunshine on the evil and the good, giving us an example (Matt 5:43-48).
  26. When the sun goes down at night, you should have settled wrath with anyone (Eph 4:26).

For Further Study:

  1. Google search for technical information about the summer solstice.
  2. Google search for comparative information about the size of the sun.
  3. Google search for presentation of how fast we are moving on earth.