Genesis 1:14-19
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, 15and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Matthew Henry: “2. The use they were intended to be of to this earth. (1.) They must be for the distinction of times, of day and night, summer and winter, which are interchanged by the motion of the sun, whose rising makes day, his setting night, his approach towards our tropic summer, his recess to the other winter: and thus, under the sun, there is a season to every purpose…
Ecclesiastes 3:1.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven
Clay Miller: It is in this type of sense that the heavenly bodies govern us. We certainly do not govern them. We do not tell the sun to wait to rise. If we could I would be doing it all the time. I could sleep as long as I wanted!!!! Of course the battle of wills between every human being telling the sun what to do would be utter chaos…yeah, it just would not work too well. Actually, as a side note, the sun does not actually “rise”. The earth is actually revolving so that it appears to us that the sun is rising and setting. This is called phenomenological language. Bible writers employ this in their writings much. They write things from their perspective, not from the perspective of God. So next time the weatherman says the sunrise will be at such and such time, you can yell, “liar”!!!! “The sun does not rise!” Don’t do that, really. I am only kidding around.
Matthew Henry: “(2.) They must be for the direction of actions. They are for signs of the change of weather, that the husbandman may order his affairs with discretion, foreseeing, by the face of the sky, when second causes have begun to work, whether it will be fair or foul…
Matthew 16:2-3
He answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.'You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.
…They do also give light upon the earth, that we may walk and work…
John 11:9
Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
John 9:4
We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
…according as the duty of every day requires.
Clay Miller: This is another type of ruling the heavenly lights have over us. They determine our activity and plans. As I type this, I have my TV on to the Lakers vs. Thunder game (unfortunately the Thunder are getting hammered). This game is being played at 9:30 my time, 7:30 California time. Why? Because of where the sun is in California and because of the time people are getting off because they work at a time dictated by the sun. It is pretty amazing how much that big light up there dominates our lives.
