Purposeful Creation

Genesis 1: 14-19

Intro: Good morning, Brothers and Sisters! Today, we are privileged to continue our journey through the creation narrative. Today, we find ourselves on Day 4 of the creation account, where God positions His pre-created lights and gives purpose to that light. Light is a very fascinating concept. According to a American Museum of Natural History, light travels at approx. 186,000 miles per second. Throughout our text for today, we will see that light, besides travelling fast, serves many purposes, from giving us sunlight during the day, a lesser light at night, a time for the seasons and days, and separating itself from darkness.

I have often found the Alaskan area very fascinating. According to a resource I found, in certain parts of Alaska, individuals can expect to endure up to 3 months of darkness during the winter, typically between the months of November and January. During this time of complete and utter darkness, Alaskans have to participate in what is known as “light therapy.” Individuals will purchase these lights that provide just the right amount of “fake” sunlight to help ease the symptoms of depression that are common during these dark periods. Who ever knew light served such an essential purpose?

Well, in our text for this morning, we are going to take the time to look not only at the unique creation of lights themselves but also at the purposes that God gave for lights to serve in the world today. Our points for this morning will be as follows: Separate, Sign, and Serve. May the Lord guide our time together this morning as we explore yet another amazing creation of our Creator God.

Point 1: Separate

As I said, our first point for this morning is Separate. How many of you have ever tried to separate an egg? It is definitely not an easy task. The way my mom taught me how to do it is to keep all of the egg in half of one shell and then carefully ease the yolk over into the empty half of the other shell. It is an intricate process that involves careful attention and delicate handling, much like I feel the separation of light must have been for God.

Let’s look back at our scripture again. We read, “Genesis 1:14 “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, and for days and years,” Now before we get too far, I want to answer a question that I feel many of you may have in your minds this morning. That is the question, “Didn’t God already create light?” My answer to that question is Yes. God has already created light. We studied on the first day of creation God’s forming of light. So what’s going on here today? Many scholars and I myself, agree that on this 4th day of creation, God is not recreating light but rather, assigning tasks to the light that has already been created.

Let me explain. One of the first ways that we can know this truth is by looking into the original language. If you will notice, the word used in verse 3, where light is originally created is the Hebrew word, “ ôr” (rrr). However, in verse 14, we find the the English word light again or the word “luminary” and this is the Hebrew word, “mā·ʾôr”, which means source of light and not necessarily light itself. Now, everybody thoroughly confused. Basically, what I am trying to show you here is that if we take the time to study and look at the original language in which the Bible was written, we are able to see the truth of God’s Word come to life. God did not recreate light on Day 4, He simply gave the pre-existing light purpose. As Charles Ellicott writes, “The light was created on the first day, and its concentration into great centres must at once have commenced; but the great luminaries did not appear in the open sky until the fourth day.”

What is amazing in looking at the creation account is how God left nothing undone. I remember when I attempted to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I did fair with the book work. I made it through with the help of my teachers and classmates, but when it came time to put that put that bookwork into practice, I failed dismally. I’d be working with a client on a walking exercise and I forget to bring their wheelchair or I’d be in the middle of teaching them how to bathe and have the towel laying on the other side of the room. Definitely not my calling! LOL! Preparation was key for that job, just like preparation was key in the creation account. Commentator Ellicott explains how God left nothing undone. Heat and water were created succinctly, with the introduction of vegetation there came also the promise of things higher and nobler than mechanical laws, now, here on the fourth day of creation, we find, “first, the surface of the earth has become so cool it needs heat given to it from some other source besides itself, therefore, the creation of the sun and all the celestial beings. Never doubt brothers and sisters that God will not provide for our needs. He has been aware of the needs of creation since before the beginning of time, and is still aware of the needs in your life today. Trust in God and His ability to supply.

Now, I think I’ve chased that rabbit long enough, let’s get back to our original point, Separation. On day 1 of creation, we find God separating light from darkness, day from night. This act of separating I find so fascinating. What is God doing here? What’s His purpose behind this? One article I read on this discussed how in separating these things, God was in a way setting boundaries. Before God ever started creation, the slate was blank, options were limitless. Yet as God created, He set more and more boundaries for His creation, not to limit himself, but to show that He was and always will be more powerful than His creation.

When Adam and Eve first sinned in the Garden of Eden, as we will see here in just a few short weeks, God separated them from the Garden. Why? For their protection. When we were little and our parents would hem us in a room and set up a baby gate so we couldn’t get through, why did they do that? For our protection. I firmly feel that it was in and through God’s act of separating, that He was and continues to protect us. Everything God does is in and through love. Today, on day 4 of creation, we find God separating, but doing so in love.

Point 2: Sign

Well, folks, I feel that we have thoroughly covered our first point for this morning, that of God’s act of separating. Our next point for this morning is, Sign. Comedian, Bill Engvall, used to be famous for his phrase, “Here’s Your Sign.” I was listening to one of his routines the other day and he tells this story about going hunting with some of his buddies. He told how he was all decked out in camouflage. Had on his camouflage pants, camouflage shirt, camouflage hat, and even a pair of camouflage boots. Him and his buddies went hunting that morning and didn’t kill a thing. He said, after they left, he had to go to Walmart to get a few groceries. He walks into the store and is greeted by the little Walmart greeter who looks Bill over and asks him, “You been hunting?” To which he replies, “No, I’m on my way to a tree hugging party! Here’s your sign!” LOL!

Signs are important. They provide us information and give us knowledge about things and events around us. I love reading the church sign bloopers. I found one that read, “Don’t let worries kill you, let the church help.” Another one read, “Do you know what hell is? Come hear our preacher!” Signs!

In our text for today, we find God using what He has created to serve as signs for us today. We read in our text, “ 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, and for days and years.” Regarding light serving the purpose of time, commentator Max Anders writes, “Later in the Pentateuch (first five books of the Old Testament), God will create for his nation Israel a calendar of religious festivals regulated by the movement of the earth around the sun and the movement of the moon.” However, we must be careful not to take this passage and misinterpret it as suggesting that the celestial bodies were created as signs to guide us in making decisions or in understanding the future, much like many people use their horoscopes for today. This is never suggested and in fact is a violation of scriptural teaching on seeking guidance from none but God and through his prescribed means.” Proverbs 3:5–6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” It is in God and God alone that we should seek guidance for our lives from. I personally feel that the Lord’s purpose in allowing the lights to be signs for us is not to tell the future by but simply to know what time of year it is and the season, the time. We know that during this time of year, the days are longer, whereas in the winter months the days are shorter. We know what time of year it is based upon the light. It’s as simple as that. I feel that so many times we try to complicate God’s Word, when it is really very simple.

I also find it interesting to see how God created the sun, moon, and stars for our benefit, not for us to worship as so many other cultures and religions do, but simply for our benefit. It amazes me how misguided so many people are in the world today. We find so many people worshipping the created, instead of the Creator. I like how Ray Clendenen describes this. He writes, “The various lights, or “light-giving objects,” were worshiped as gods in the cultures that surrounded ancient Israel. In Genesis, however, the sun, moon, and stars are portrayed as servants of God that would fulfill three roles: separating the newly created realms of day and night; marking time so that those who worshiped the Creator could keep their appointed festivals; and providing light on the earth. Compared to the elaborate worship which all the other ancient nations give to the sun, moon, and stars, the simplicity of God’s creative word is striking. They are purely inanimate objects created and ruled by God.” We must be careful to never apply more to God and His Word than what is there and we must also be careful to never take less than what is there for us as well. Here’s Your Sign!

Point 3: Serve

Alright folks! We’re almost there! Everybody doing okay? Thus far this morning we have looked at God’s act of Separating, and God’s Signs. Next we are going to look at Serve. Let’s look back at our text again. We read, picking up in verse 15,“ Genesis 1:15–17 “and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth.” Once again, we see that God didn’t create anything without purpose, that goes for you and I as well! We read from these two verses of our text for today, that another purpose God had in creating these celestial beings, was not only to be signs for us, but to also serve, first God and then us. Their primary purpose was and still is to “give light upon the earth.”

One thing that amazes me about God’s creation, up to this point, is that everything He has created from Day 1 until now, continues to serve Him, glorify Him, and fulfill their intended purpose. Never have they ceased to obey God! Then, there comes you and I! The only ones out of all of creation who do not submissively and willingly obey God. Have you ever thought about that? God tells the sun to shine, it shines! God tells the sun not to shine, take for example on the day Christ was crucified, it does not shine. God tells the wind to blow in a certain direction, it blows in that direction. Not once does any of these created beings ever say, “No! I’m not going to do that! I’m going to do what I want to do.” We are the only ones!

I liked what Matthew Henry had to say on this. He writes, “The lights of heaven do not shine for themselves, nor for the world of spirits above, who need them not; but they shine for us, for our pleasure and advantage. Lord, what is man, that he should be thus regarded! As Psalm 8:3-4 says, “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” With that in mind then, how ungrateful and inexcusable are we, if, when God has set up these lights for us to work by, we sleep, or play, or trifle away the time of business, and neglect the great work we were sent into the world about! The lights of heaven are made to serve us, and they do it faithfully, and shine in their season, without fail: but we are set as lights in this world to serve God; and do we in like manner answer the end of our creation? No, we do not, our light does not shine before God as his lights shine before us. We are commended by Jesus to shine in Matthew 5:14,“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Yet do we obey as willingly and consistently as the celestial beings do? We burn our Master's candles, but do not mind our Master's work? A lot of questions that each of us must be willing to answer. Do we live for self or do we live for God? It is my earnest prayer, that we as human beings, would be as connected and in tune with our Creator as the sun, moon, and stars are and that we would be as willing and ready to serve Him as they do. May we seek and know His will and direction for our lives, and follow in the way that He leads.

Well, brothers and sisters, we have come to the end of Day 4 of creation. Today we had the opportunity to look at the creation of light, that is the light of the sun, the moon, and all the celestial beings. Within this passage of scripture, we discussed the separation of light from dark, the signs that the lights give us, and the ability of the lights to serve. The take away message from the sermon today is this, will we serve the Lord as willingly and obediently as the sun, moon, and stars do? May we look into our hearts, examine our walk with the Lord, and seek to walk closer to Him each day. This week I challenge you to listen intently to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and do at least one thing for someone else. Just as the sun shines daily for us, let’s do one thing for someone else this week. I pray that this journey through the creation account is blessing you as much as it is me. I present this to you today in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!