Reflections on Genesis 1:14

And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years.

When one thinks about how cultures have used the stars for a variety of reasons over the millennia, it’s even more awe-inspiring that God thought of everyone, EVERYONE that would require the use of the stars (as well as sun and moon) to map the seasons, traverse the seas, celebrate festivities.  Not just Christians, but a whole variety of other religions and even non religions.  It’s as if God knew that everyone, not just his own children, would need to depend on the stars in the same way so that their own lives could fall into patterns.

An example can be seen in ancient times, and as recently as the turn of the last century, stars served as an essential navigational aid, guiding sailors and travelers across vast oceans and deserts. Moreover, celestial bodies influenced agricultural practices, helping farmers determine planting seasons and predict weather patterns.

Another example is the Constellation of Cygnus which rises in the late summer and early autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. The rise of Cygnus signifies the coming of Autumn, the beginning of the Harvest season. Farmers would mark this constellation and it’s rise to know when to harvest the summer crops and plant any winter crops.

Did God know that many would choose to worship those rather than turn to him, or did he suspect, and still let them rely on the stars for their activities in the foreknowledge and/or hope that one day, they may move their reliance on to God.

With the placement of the stars, it meant that God knew that there were “star signs” per se, as people drew pictures in their minds, connecting the dots between the stars so that we now recognise the signs such as Aries, Aquarius, Sagittarius, or the stars in their recognised groups such as Orion, the Southern Cross, the Big Dipper, etc.

When God demanded that they “serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years” did He know of all that would be in the many beliefs of today’s world?  Not just from those who identify as Christians, but of the many others as well.