Late in the night while others were
drifting off to sleep, I went for a short walk up a sandy dune to sit on the
deserted peak. The warm breeze caressed
my skin, the quiet enveloped my soul and I gazed up into the crystal clear sky
to see more stars than I’d seen in a very long time. (Living close to a city will do that!) It became my favorite nightly pastime as I
felt so close to God.
Time seemed to move unhurriedly and I looked
up to count the stars: one, two… twenty… seventy eight… oops,
lost track again… It seems impossible to count them all, and
that’s just the ones we can see but what about the ones we can’t see? They are beyond human count-ability. Rough estimates are about 30-70 billion
trillion stars with just 200-400 billion in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.
Genesis says about stars, “And let them
be for signs*, and for seasons, and for days and years.” (v.14) So, if you are into astronomy (study of
stars, NOT
astrology) you can know time frames using the stars, but they are also for
signs. There are many Biblical signs
that come from them, but here’s one we don’t often consider: they are signs/ give evidence of His omniscience- all knowingness
and omnipotence- all powerfulness. (*signal, flag, beacon, monument, evidence…)
For what can be known about God is plain to them*,
because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his
eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the
creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without
excuse. Rom. 1:19,20 ESV *man
How do they
show God’s attributes? The following
Scriptures say He created all the host of the heavens and He calls them all by
their names- all 30-70 billion trillion of them. That’s a memory bigger than I can
imagine!!! He is able to count them all-
and remember them. All of nature praises
Him for power and majesty, and so should we.
The Lord our God is beyond our complete comprehension… Whereas we can’t even count the stars, He
knows them each by their name. How remarkable
is that!
To whom then will you compare Me, or am I equaled? says the Holy One. Lift up your
eyes on high, and behold, who has created these, who brings out their host by
number? He calls them all by names by the greatness of His might, for He is
strong in power; not one is lacking. Is.
40:25,26
He appoints the
number of the stars; He calls them all by their
names. Ps. 147:4
Praise Him, sun and
moon; praise Him, all stars of light.
Let them praise the
name of Jehovah; for He commanded, and they were created. Ps. 148:3,5