So much can be said by so little. In the inspiration of God, Moses wrote about the creation of the countless number of stars and galaxies and celestial bodies in the unmeasurably vast universe. "And the stars." Why such a little phrase about such an enormous universe? Perhaps it is to emphasize the bigness of God. The glory of the stars does not belong to the stars themselves but to the God who simply spoke to create them. The universe of celestial wonders is huge. God is bigger.
Moses also gave further explanation about all the lights that God created on day four. Genesis 1:17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth. If we believe what this verse is stating (and I do), it means that the stars are in their specific places because God placed them there. He set (placed) them in the heavens. If we carefully read the words of Genesis, we cannot go past the intentionality of every act of creation. There is simply no room for randomness. God creates, God sets in place, God gives purposes and God declares what is good. When we look in the sky on a dark clear night and see the wonder of the stars, we should be amazed at more than the innumerable lights. We must be amazed at God lest we worship what is lesser. Deuteronomy 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
The Psalmist took it a step further. Psalm 147:4-5 He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. God not only created them, but he also numbered and named them. He knows every single one. The difference then is not as much measured by our smallness compared to the universe, but our smallness compared to God. Genesis 15:5 And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Imagine being Abraham. He cannot possibly do what God can do. He cannot possibly name and number the stars. Imagine the wonder he then experiences when God tells him that his offspring will be an uncountable number like this. From one man chosen by God would come offspring measured by looking up to the heavens and considering the number of stars. How on earth (or in the heavens) could that be possible?
Paul gives us a key in Galatians when he describes Abraham's offspring. Galatians 3:7-9 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. We know Abraham's offspring are the children of Israel, but this tells us that what God was promising was a wider population than mere national identity. It was the true Israel. It was Abraham's children by faith that included believers from every nation. When you think about those sharing the faith of Abraham in the promise of the Messiah, the number you might think about starts to look like stars in the sky. An innumerable host of those saved by faith in the promise and fulfillment of Christ.
We are not only numbered like stars, but we share something common in purpose. They shine on the earth. Like the stars in number, we can be like the stars in shedding light, except our light is the direct witness of Christ in a world darkened by sin. Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
One last humbling factor is that the light we shine is not our own light. It comes from the great light that has been given to the whole world. This light is Christ. It is entirely fitting that Christ is finally called The Bright Morning Star. Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star."
The brightest star of all is Christ. The darker the world seems the brighter his light shines in his saints who live in contrast to an evil and wicked generation. Our light shines Christ who shines forever in glory and wonder through his work of redemption and reconciliation of all creation.
The glory of stars is not found in simply looking into the sky and seeing the wonder of lights and the vastness of the expanse of the universe. It is found in realizing that the God who created these stars shines brighter in the redemption of his saints. His light is the eternal wonder of his glory shared by all who believe.
The glory of stars is so much more glorious in Who they point to. They remind us of the glory of Jesus.