◄ What Does Genesis 1:14 Mean? ►

Then 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;

Genesis 1:14(NASB)

Verse of the Day

Genesis is the book of beginnings and gives an account of the creation of time, matter, and space. It is the foundation upon which all truth stands, for it identifies God as the sole source of knowledge and the eternal Creator of all that is visible and invisible. It was on the fourth day that the Lord said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night."

It was on the fourth day of creation that God placed the sun in the firmament to govern the day, while the moon and the stars were set in their courses to rule the night skies. The sun, the moon, and the twinkling stars, were to be His light-carriers who were to shed light upon the earth from above, and were skilfully designed to establish an earthly calendar.

God's first great creative word was: "Let there be light," which He spoke into being on the first day. On the fourth day He pronounced, "Let there be lights." One of God's eternal attributes is Light and His sovereign voice of authority spoke intrinsic light into being on that first day of creation, while He placed a myriad of light-generators into the heavenly sphere on that fourth day.

The intrinsic light of day-one and the illuminating lights of day-four were to divide light from darkness and the day from the night-time. The warming, yellow sunshine was to beam down its life-giving energy onto the earth, to swell the grain and ripen the fruits for man's sustenance. The cooling blue-light of moon-beams was to govern nature's night-time activities and usher in a constant, rhythmic period of rest and refreshment for man's body and soul. The sun, the moon, and the starry heights, united together: "To be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years."

The sun, moon, and stars, would usher in the different seasons where spring follows winter and the sultry summer sun precedes the mellow fruit of autumn, as year succeeds to year. The red skies of evening would inform the shepherd of the warm and clement weather he was to enjoy on the morrow, while the ruby-red streaks of early morning light would warn the fisherfolk of stormy weather ahead.

Not only were these light-giving bodies to be a day-by-day calendar and weather forecaster for humankind, but they were also to be prophetic indicators of God's perfect plan of redemption. They were given to man as 'signs of the times' in God's prophetic calendar. They were to declare the glory of God to a lost world and to broadcast abroad the wonders of His name to the fallen race of man in need of redemption.

In His omniscience, God knew that the man He was to create in His own image and likeness on the sixth day, would sin. He knew ahead of time that man would fall and that His plan of redemption, which was formed before the foundation of the earth, would have to be brought into play. And so, in His wisdom, the Lord placed His two great lights in the starry heaven to be used as signs of the time in which we live, and seasons that would inform us of His unfolding plan of redemption.

God knows the end from the beginning, and prophetic signs and seasons, days and years, would need to be recorded in Scripture by holy men of God so that the earth would recognise the Man, Christ Jesus. Not only did God provide us with the terrestrial signs and seasons we so enjoy, but also celestial signs and prophetic seasons so that we would know God's plan and purposes, and trust in Jesus Christ, Who came to save the world from their sin.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the book of Genesis which tells us of the origin of everything and informs us of Your divine purpose in history, the salvation of man and the restoration of Your beautiful creation. Thank You for the warming sunshine, the cooling light of the moon, and that You threw stars into space on that fourth day of creation and set them in their various courses to be for signs and seasons, days and years. I praise You for the different seasons and for the various prophetic signs that have been recorded in Scripture for my learning. Teach me Your ways and draw me closer to You with every passing day, year, season, and tick of the clock. Help me to interpret the signs of the times, knowing that Jesus is coming soon to take us to be with Himself. Thank You, in Jesus' name, AMEN.