And 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…”
Genesis 1:14
In the beginning, God purposed the stars in the heavens to be used for both seasons and signs. I understood that the Sun was to be used for seasons, but when I considered how God used the heavens for signs it blew my mind.
What it meant was that God would use the heavens as signs for men, a means of communication to them. This is seen throughout Scripture. The sun, the moon, the stars, the skies, the orbiting planets- all of them have been used by God in the past and will be in used in the future as well.
Consider these examples of God using the heavens:
- God caused the sun to stand still for the whole day while Joshua was exacting vengeance (Joshua 10)
- God rained down thunder and hail from the skies as part of the plagues sent to Egypt (Exodus 9:23)
- Rain stopped for three years to show that God was over all false gods by the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 17)
- The stars led the shepherds to the baby Jesus (Matthew 2:9)
- When Jesus was crucified, the heavens turned black (Luke 23)
- In the end times, the moon would turn to blood and the sun will be turned to darkness (Joel 2)
- God will send stars to fall from space to kill a third of the waters and many people, as an act of judgement (Revelations 8:10)
- The sky will flee away when God judges the world (Revelations 20)
This thought just blew my mind. God communicates mighty things through the heavens! And the activity of communication will only be heightened as we are racing towards His return.