The Heavens Declare

By Analea Styles

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate 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 expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.” Genesis 1:14-16 (NASB) 

The Genius of Ancient Man teaches the Axiom that Satan is incapable of creating anything (Axioms section, page 100). He can only pervert that which God has already designed. In fact, it is his aim to distort anything and everything that God has planned and created. Therefore, when we see a great distortion, we can discern there must be a great truth worth distorting.

So it is with the stars. In chapter four, The Genius of Ancient Man presents a brief overview of Satan’s counterfeit of God’s work in the heavens (page 35). The stars have been used for horoscopes, astrology, false worship and telling the future, but these were not their intended purpose. They are a part of God’s creation and they declare His glory. The existences of such anti-God perversions involving the stars hints to us the existence of a pure and beautiful purpose for which God designed them. Here we would like to explore God’s purpose for the stars in more detail.

The Word of God on the Stars

1.    God created all things, for His purpose, and by His decretive will.

•  John 1:3 “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
•  Colossians 1:16 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created by Him and for Him.”

2.    God made all the stars, counts them, and named every single one.      

• Genesis 1:16b “…He made the stars also”      
• Isaiah 40:26a “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name…”
• Psalm 147: 4 “He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them.”

3.    God grouped the stars*, ordained their movements and tracks them constantly   

• Amos 5:8 “He who made the Pleiades and Orion…the Lord is His name.”       
•  Job 9:9 “Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;”        
• Job 38:31-33 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites?” **
• Isaiah 40:26b “…not one of them is missing”    
•  Jeremiah 31:35a “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night…”

4.    The stars teach truths about God’s character and nature.        

• Isaiah 40:26b “Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing.”
• Psalm 8:3-4 “When I consider the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which though hast ordained; what is man that Thou dost take though of him? And the son of man that Thou dost care for him?”
• Psalm 19:1 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

* Though there may be debates about the accuracy of the translators in naming these constellations, the fact that God intentionally designed star groupings is clear in Scripture.

** These are rhetorical questions God asks Job as He reveals His might and power. God designed specific constellations and guides them through the sky with a purpose.

God created the stars, named them and has a purpose for them.

The verses listed above make it clear that God is the author and creator of stars and their names. God cannot do anything without a purpose. If He named the stars, the names must have meaning.

Why? Well the idea that God speaks and says nothing, is impossible. How can God, in His perfect, immutable, infinite wisdom and knowledge, name anything without a meaning? Does God ever speak without saying something?

It is our view that this idea is yet another subtle attack on the authority of Scripture.

Psalm 19 tells us that the heavens are declaring God’s glory. Their God-given names must therefore be aligned with this purpose. Whatever they are, they must contain in their meaning, the glorious character and nature of God.