Why did God create the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day rather than the first day?

One possible explanation is that in this way God has emphasized the supreme importance of the earth among all astronomical bodies in the universe. In spite of its comparative smallness of size, even among the nine planets, to say nothing of the stars themselves, it is nonetheless absolutely unique in God's eternal purpose.
    

    It was on this planet that God place man, created in His image, to exercise dominion and to worship Him. It was to this planet that God came in the person of His Son more that nineteen hundred years ago to become a permanent member of the human race and to die for human sins upon a rugged cross. And it will be to this same planet that this great God and Savior will return again to establish His kingdom. Because of its positional superiority in the spiritual order of things, therefore the earth was formed first, and then the stellar systems.
   

    Another possible reason for this order of events is that God, by this means, made it clear that the earth and life upon it do not owe their existence to the greater light that rules the day, but rather to God Himself. In other words, God was perfectly able to create and take care of the earth and even living things upon it without the help of the sun. Apart from the scriptures, of course, this would hardly be an obvious fact to mankind.

    In ancient times (and even in some parts of the world today) great nations actually worshiped the sun as a god. In Egypt he was called RA, and in Babylon he was known as Shamash. After all, such worship seemed quite reasonable in view of the fact that the sun provided light, warmth, and apparently, life itself.
  Even the Jews were greatly tempted to enter into such worship[, as may be judged by such passages as Deuteronomy 4:19 and 17:3. Job confessed:

JOB 31:26 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness;
JOB 31:27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand:
JOB 31:28 This also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above.

Evolution theory provides a modern and very subtle counterpart to the ancient sun-worship cult, for if they trace our origin to the sun, or even to a proto-sun, and if we live, move, and have our being exclusively through its boundless blessings and provisions, then IT IS OUR GOD!

The creation account in Genesis completely undermines all such blasphemies by putting the sun in a secondary position in reference to the earth. It is not only a mere creature of God, but also a servant to man, the crown of God's creation.

But if the sun, moon, and stars are not ultimately essential to the earth's existence, then why did God create them? Three basic reasons are listed in Genesis 1:14. They are for lights, for seasons (a clock-calendar), and for signs.

As lights, they replaced the special and temporary lights of the first three days.
As a calendar, dividing seasons, days, and years, they enable men to plan their work accurately into the distant future, thus reflecting the purposive mind of God.
As signs, the teach and ever remind men of vastly important spiritual truths concerning the Creator.

David learned from the heavens the transcendence of God and his own comparative nothingness: "When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou has ordained; what is man that Thou dost take thought of him?" Ps. 8:3

The Apostle Paul insisted that men are utterly without excuse for their idolatries, for "what has been made" gives clear testimony to the "eternal power and divine nature" of the Creator. (Rom. 1:v20)

The heavens are the work of God's "fingers" (Ps 8:3), and when they have fulfilled their God-intended purpose, they will flee away from His face and no place will be found for them (Rev. 20: 11). The eternal city will have "no need of the sun or of the moon, to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it", and the Lord Jesus Christ will be the lamp thereof (Rev. 21: 23:) cf.22:5)

Christ and His Word, therefore, must be our final guide as we seek to understand the origin, meaning, and destiny of the heavens and the earth.

excerpt taken from "The Early Earth" by John C. Whitcomb
available at   Answers InGenesis

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