Table of Contents
Heavenly Bodies
God said in the book of Genesis when He created the heavenly bodies, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years” (Genesis 1:14).
Signs
The heavenly bodies (sun, moon and stars) marked special acts of God’s favor or displeasure. In the Old Testament, God miraculously helped His people by stopping the movement of the Sun at Joshua’s time. We read, “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon. So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies… So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day” (Joshua 10:12, 13).
Again, the Lord stopped the movement of the Sun at Hezekiah’s time. We read, “So Isaiah the prophet cried out to the Lord, and He brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down on the sundial of Ahaz” (2 Kings 20:11).
And in the New Testament, the Lord darkened the light of the Sun on the crucifixion day. Matthew wrote, “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land” (Matthew 27:45).
And Jesus predicted that there will be an end time signs in the heavenly bodies (Sun, moon and stars) before His second coming (Matthew 24:29). For more, check the following link: https://bibleask.org/is-the-darkening-of-the-sun-and-falling-of-stars-in-matthew-2429-literal-or-symbolic/
Seasons
Yearly festivals and holidays for the Jews were figured by the movement of the heavenly bodies (Psalms 104:19; Zechariah 8:19). In addition, the sun and moon have a precise periodic affect upon agriculture, navigation, and upon the animal and vegetable life, as for example the breeding time of animals and the migration of birds (Jeremiah 8:7). The days and years are set by the movement of the sun and the moon which has given people of all times the basis for calendars—lunar, solar, or both.
Astrology Forbidden
Some have wrongly believed that the heavenly bodies were created also to determine the individual destinies of humans. Astrologers use Genesis 1:14 to justify their wrong practice of divination. However, the Bible clearly rejects any form of divination and fortunetelling. The Scriptures are clear that the Lord didn’t appoint the heavenly bodies to serve astrologers as guides in predicting human events and destinies.
The worship of the heavenly bodies is a trap into which people have fallen from ancient times. And the Lord warned against it: “And take heed, lest you lift your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has given to all the peoples under the whole heaven as a heritage” (Deuteronomy 4:19).
Jeremiah urged God’s children not to follow the practices of the heathens in relation to the heavenly bodies (Jeremiah 10:2). And Isaiah spoke with irony against the astrologers, stargazers and foretellers, who offer misguided information (Isaiah 47:13, 14). Although the superstition of looking for the destiny of humans in the stars was not allowed among the ancient Israelites, they were influenced by it (Jeremiah 19:13; Ezekiel 8:16; Zephaniah 1:5).
God’s people in the Old Testament sinned by taking part of the pagan practices of worshiping the heavenly bodies (2 Kings 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4, 5; Ezekiel 8:16; Zephaniah 1:5). Unfortunately, today, such worship still exists in many Eastern countries and has been adopted by the New Age religion that has infiltrated the Western nations.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
