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nD God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of
the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for
seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. (Gen 1:14-15)
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HEN I consider thy heavens, the work of thy
fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 4 What is man, that thou art mindful
of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Psalm 8:3-4)
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HE heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament sheweth his handywork. (Psalm
19:1)
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky
Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are
When the blazing sun is gone
When he nothing shines upon
Then you show your little light
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are
Perhaps
the first rhyme I learned as a child was Twinkle,
Twinkle, Little Star. In the dawning mornings, while it was yet dark, my
father would wake me up, wash my face with cold water (I hated that), and take
me outside to see the gleaming stars of heaven. It was almost a ritual with
him. I was fairly grumpy at first, but the was awed by the appearance of
heavenly bodies in the pristine skies of the late 1940’s. I once insisted that my dad get a ladder and reach up and
take the moon for me – he
never even tried! He pointed out different star constellations including
the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper and the smallest dipper of all the Seven
Sisters (Pleiades). He also taught me how to distinguish the North Star,
Polaris, by extending a line through the two stars of the extreme boundary of
the Big Dipper to the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper. That star was
Polaris that is located in the constellation, Ursa Minor. The Big and Little Dippers can only be seen
from the Northern Hemisphere. But, thankfully,
the Seven Sisters cluster can be seen from every inhabitable point on the
globe.
That
Littlest Dipper from antiquity, has been known as the Seven Sisters. Strangely,
one of those seven stars has gone dim and is no longer visible to the naked
eye. Astronomers posit this may be a result of that missing star being a ‘shell star’ whose characteristic is to periodically change
the intensity of its energy output. The Seven Sisters star cluster is also
known more primitively as Pleiades, but in ancient lore, it has always held a
special meaning in its definition as the Seven Sisters. There are astrological
superstitions that are common to Greek and Roman mythology concerning the
meaning of the Seven Sisters, but I discount any influence whatsoever to the
stars in determining the course of events in human history. However, I do
believe that God places His seal on every aspect of that Creation which He
began in the utter darkness of that first night of Creation in Genesis.
If
we see the hand and glory of God in the rose, the newborn baby, the way of the
ocean seas, and in the soul of man, perhaps we should also seek to see His
glory in the heavenly bodies He has so artfully placed before us - not for
any supernatural power of the superstitious, but for their abject beauty and
whatever meaning we may perceive of God in setting them there. As the Psalmist
proclaims: “let them be for SIGNS, and
for SEASONS, and for DAYS, and YEARS.” There
are four different purposes listed in that verse, but one is quite different
from the other three as Dr. D. James Kennedy points out in one of his sermons
on the topic. That different purpose is the nature of heavenly
lights as SIGNS - not signs to forecast future events, but to remind us of
the greatness and glory of God.
The
Scriptures make much ado about the number seven. Seven is the number of God’s completeness and perfection. It is
the number of days of the biblical Creation. The sign of the New World
following the deluge was that of the RAINBOW with seven colors thereof. If
you mix every color of the rainbow together, you will have the color that best
describes the Godhead - WHITE! There are seven notes in the musical scale
- the eighth being the beginning of another scale. There are seven churches in
Revelations, and the number of sevens continue in great number (for a reason
that we should be curious to study). Time does not permit an in-depth study of
these sevens in a mere devotion, however, the Bible is available to every
reader for further research.
It
is interesting to note the star cluster known as Draco, or the Great Dragon,
almost encircles the Seven Sisters formation. It is perhaps a coincidental
reminder of the Woman spoken of in Revelations 12: 1 And there appeared a great
wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet,
and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2 And she being with child
cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. 3 And there appeared another
wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars
of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the
woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born. 5 And
she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 6 And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her
there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (Rev 12:1-6) We
know the Great Dragon was Satan because we are told so in the verses that
follow in that same chapter. His encirclement is to the south, but the great
North Star is the One to who we look.
When
I look upon the natural Creation, I see the fingerprints of God everywhere. If
I see them in the morning dews and damps, why not in the greater splendors of
the heavenly bodies. In my imagination, the Seven Sisters represent those seven
Churches of Revelation 1-3. That church that received the greater condemnation
of the Lord was Laodicea - they were not fervent in faith, but were, as
many churches today, lukewarm. Perhaps that is the dimming star of the
seven. And who is it that is the Bridegroom and Protector of the churches - the
Lord Jesus Christ. He is like the star at the tip of the handle of the Little
Dipper - Polaris, the North Star. He is unvarying in His position and is used
as a guide for all who travel this world - or should be.
Who
is your North Star, or Polar Star? Whose counsel do YOU seek for every step of
your journey of faith? If you seek the counsel of frail men, you may suffer the
same fate of the blind guides. But if you seek the Counsellor of the Way, the
Truth, and the Life, your course is certain and your destination assured. Our
Lord Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had
known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him,
and have seen him. (John 14:6-7) Our Lord is not simply ‘A’ way,
but He is THE WAY! THE TRUTH! And THE LIFE! There is no other WAY. God says in
Malachi: For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye
sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Mal 3:6) And in another place, Jesus
Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Heb 13:8)
Just
as there is a hierarchy of laws of earth beginning at the smallest village and
extending up to the highest judicial authority - and then to God, for all
legitimate law descends from God; there is likewise a hierarchy of law in
nature beginning in the smallest one-celled organism and extending up to the
heavenly bodies whose orbits obey the gravitational principles instilled by their
Creator - and then to God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth.
So
the next night you walk out to view a clear sky, look to those bodies that God
created in the immense firmament and consider God’s
great love for you. Not a single star bears the value you hold in the love of
the One who made you. The stars have no soul or mind. You do have. This is the
one and only God - all others (Allah, Buddha, the Hindu gods) are all imposters
to enslave the souls of man. No one is like unto God in His power, majesty, and
glorious omniscience Which shaketh the earth out of her place,
and the pillars thereof tremble. 7 Which
commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Which
alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the
south. Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders
without number. (Job 9:6-10) Remember
the awe ascribed to God in Job: “31 Canst thou bind the sweet
influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? 32 Canst thou bring forth
Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? 33 Knowest thou the ordinances
of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth? (Job 38:31-33)
He has known you
and I before the worlds were made. What a preeminence of value a soul has in
the eyes of our God!
