The Sun Declares God's Glory

Job 37: 21-23: "No one can look at the sun, bright as it is in the skies after the wind has swept them clean. Out of the north He comes in golden splendor; God comes in awesome majesty. The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power."

It is amazing to see the ways that even nature illustrates the majesty of a Holy God. No one is able to look at the bright sun in the sky; the sun is too bright for our eyes to gaze upon it. We must turn away from its brilliance; still we enjoy its rays of light and warmth that shower the earth.

I believe that God has made the sun the way it is to help us better appreciate His radiant glory. We are unable in our finiteness to look upon the majesty of THE HOLY GOD! We must look away, for He is too radiant for us to behold in His Holiness. The song, Crown Him With Many Crowns expressly communicates in verse two the brilliance of our Lord, Jesus Christ before His heavenly hosts: "Crown Him the Lord of love: Behold His hands and side--Rich wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified. No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight but downward bends his wond'ring eye at mysteries so bright."

Still, we see that God has made the sun to appear to race across the sky. Although we know that the earth revolves around the sun (which illustrates our calling as believers to make the SON the center of our universe), we see the sun move across the sky from east to west. Psalm 19:4 tells us God has placed the sun in the sky to teach us that its movement is not unlike God's movement as a bridegroom, "coming forth from His pavilion" for His bride (Psalm 19:5). We know that Our Lord, Jesus Christ will return in Majestic Splendor with a loud command, bringing forth eternal life for those who were once dead in their sins (I Thessalonians 4:16).

In Genesis 1:17, we find that God set the sun in the sky to govern the day. All created things need the light of the sun to survive physically; so too all spiritual beings need Christ to survive spiritually. We know that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world (John 8:12). He said, "whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Jesus has all authority over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18), and He is the final Judge who will separate those who are declared righteous and those who are unrighteous (Matthew 25:31-33).

Although we are not to worship the sun (Deuteronomy 4:19; Ezekiel 8:16; Romans 1:23), we can find in our observation of the sun that its purpose reminds us of a more Supreme One who is Radiant beyond our ability to observe, who gives the Light of life to those who would submit to His Lordship, who is Sovereign and thus has the authority to rule, and who as the Righteous Judge will bring judgment upon the reprobate.