Genesis – First, God
“Those brothers, (or sisters), are like day and night”! Have you heard this said about people in your life? Maybe it’s been said about you and your husband. Randy and I are opposites and obviously opposites attract…for we are still attracted after more than 50 years of knowing each other and then being married for 48 of those years! We are as different as day and night in our thinking and behaving in the small stuff of life, but God created us to be together and work together in spite of our created differences to love Him and commit our lives to His will and plan.
Day and Night. God created them both to work together to create a world that replenishes itself. God is so amazing! His work is beyond what we think or imagine. We enjoy the sun who rules the day with the right amount of heat and light to keep us healthy. We revel in the changing seasons that give life, rest and more life. We love and marvel at the galaxies full of stars. We marvel at how the moon above earth actually causes nature to behave in ways that reveals and continues life cycles.Light and Dark. Day and Night. Work and Rest. God created it with a Plan.
Genesis 1
14-15 God spoke: “Lights! Come out! Shine in Heaven’s sky!
Separate Day from Night.
Mark seasons and days and years,
Lights in Heaven’s sky to give light to Earth.”
And there it was.
16-19 God made two big lights, the larger
to take charge of Day,
The smaller to be in charge of Night;
and he made the stars.
God placed them in the heavenly sky
to light up Earth
And oversee Day and Night,
to separate light and dark.
God saw that it was good.
It was evening, it was morning—
Day Four.
THINK ABOUT IT…Into the expanse of the sky God placed the heavenly bodies and assigned them their work: to divide the day and night and to provide “signs” to mark off days, years, and seasons. Light had already appeared on the first day, but now it was concentrated in these heavenly bodies.
Because of their religious observances, the Jews needed to know the times and the seasons, when the Sabbath arrived and ended, when it was a new month, and when it was time to celebrate their annual feasts (Lev. 23).
Before the invention of the clock and the compass, the activities of human life were closely linked to nature’s cycles, and navigators depended on the stars to direct them. Israel would need the help of the heavenly bodies to direct their activities, and God would occasionally use signs in the heavens to speak to His people on earth.
The ancient peoples were fascinated by the moon and stars and the movements of the sun and planets, and it was but a short step from admiration to worship.
Israel was commanded not to imitate their pagan neighbors by worshiping the heavenly bodies (Ex. 20:1-6; Deut. 4:15-19; 17:2-7). They were to worship the true God who created the “heavenly host,” the army of heaven that did His bidding. However, the Jews didn’t obey God’s commandment (Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Ezek. 8:16-18; Zeph. 1:4-6) and suffered greatly for their sins.
HOLY PAUSEThe admiration of creation soon turned to worship. Where do we observe this happening today?
This week, how can we express our praise to God because of His magnificent creation?
Dear Heavenly Father, Creator of All,
Thank you. Your ways, your thinking, are much higher and greater than our ways. You are God and we are not. You are Creator of all, in all and above all. You are in control. Why would we trust our lives, that you created, to anyone else but You? You know us by name. You know all there is to know about us. And still you love us. You loved us first. You love us still. Thank you for Your Presence, Your Creation, and Your love that never ends. Help us to love others that you have created like you love us.
In Jesus Name, Amen
