Author's Note: All previous volumes of this series are here. The first 56 volumes are compiled into the book "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible." "Part Two," featuring volumes 57-113, was published in December 2022.
News Flash: $1 Million Challenge to Replicate the Shroud of Turin – Contest Details.
Thanks for joining our study. Today’s topic was inspired by the April 8th “Eclipse-a-Mania.” I was captivated by the extensive media coverage from a cultural and religious perspective.
Culturally, seeing such a polarized nation come together to experience a heavenly occurrence over which humankind has no control was phenomenal. One might say the eclipse had no religious connection, but I beg to differ. All I could think about was how Almighty God, King of the Universe, showed His mighty power and invited us to worship and glorify Him with our lives.
Given that He is a God of precision and order, the Creator of heaven, earth, and all life within, scientists have been able to precisely determine the eclipse’s timing for years—and will again on August 23, 2044.
While reading the selected Bible passages referencing the sun and moon, remember that the Bible writers saw the same sun and moon, representing the continuity of God.
In the early morning, I marvel at the dark sky but know that soon, the sun will turn darkness to light. That “knowing” reinforces my faith. He has ordered the universe, so we know He is the power behind the sunrise. However, God does not want us to worship the sun or the moon; we are to worship the Creator. He gives non-believers a chance to believe every day, especially when God “shows off” like he did on April 8.
Now, let’s open the Word of God beginning with a famous quote from Genesis:
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). Then God segmented that light:
"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" (Genesis 1:16). Notice the “sun” and “moon” are not named. Fourteen chapters later, the sun is mentioned for the first time:
“As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him” (Genesis 15:12). This verse is from when God made his covenant with Abram, whom God later renamed Abraham.
The “moon” goes unnamed until the story of Joseph:
“Then he [Joseph] dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, ‘Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me ’ ” (Genesis 37:9).
The book of Exodus describes the sun’s heat on the “manna” that God provided daily for the Israelites to eat in the desert after miraculously escaping Egyptian bondage. God was teaching them about obedience and total dependence on Him:
“Morning by morning they gathered it [manna], each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted” (Exodus 16:21).
For the following passage, I repeat what I wrote earlier, “God does not want us to worship the sun or the moon; we are to worship the Creator.” Here is how God conveyed that concept to the Israelites:
“ ‘And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven’ ” (Deuteronomy 4:19).
What follows was discussed in Vol. 89 — Joshua’s miraculous military victory resulting from his obedience to God:
“So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day” (Joshua 10:13).
Psalms always inspire, especially about today’s topic:
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).
“From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” (Psalm 113:3).
I love this Psalm, which reiterates the introduction to this study:
“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created” (Psalm 148:1-14).
This passage is powerful:
“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, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name” (Jeremiah 31:35).
From the final book of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, God speaks:
“ ‘My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 1-11).
I have space for only two New Testament sun-related gospel verses, but these are all we need. First, from Jesus’s “Sermon on the Mount”:
“‘But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45).
According to Jesus, God controls all the elements of His creation. Indeed, Jesus is the authority since He was there (“in the beginning”), as John famously wrote:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning” (John 1:1-2).
Finally, Jesus speaks about the coming of the Son of Man, which is about Him. (See Vol 53.) To describe that eventful day, Jesus paraphrases a prophecy recorded in the Hebrew Bible book of Joel:
“The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31). Jesus said:
“ ‘Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken’ ’’ (Matthew 24:29).
Yikes! Be Ready! But know that He is in control.
Myra Kahn Adams is a conservative political and religious writer with numerous national credits. Her book, "Bible Study For Those Who Don't Read The Bible," reprints the first 56 volumes of this popular study. "Part 2,” with the same title, reprints Vols. 57-113. Order it here.
Myra is also the Executive Director of SignFromGod.org and the National Shroud of Turin Exhibit. Both are educational donor-supported ministries dedicated to building a permanent Shroud of Turin exhibit in Washington, D.C., and promoting the $1 Million Challenge to replicate the Shroud. Contact: <MyraAdams01@gmail.com>
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