Lights!

God spoke:

Lights!

“Come out!

Shine in Heaven's sky! 

Separate Day from Night.

Mark seasons and days and years.

Lights in Heaven's sky to give light to Earth."

And there it was.

God made two big lights, the larger to take charge of Day,

the smaller to be in charge of Night;

and He made the stars.

God placed them in the heavenly sky to light up Earth

and oversee Day and Night, to separate light from dark.

God saw that it was good.

It was evening, it was morning -

Day Four.

Starting with Day Four, we begin to see the pattern of a unique parallelism that God employed in the days of creation.  Take a look: 

Day One	Day Four
Creation of Light	Creation of that which holds light: sun, moon, stars
Day Two	Day Five
Separation of Sky and Water	Creation of sea creatures for the water; birds for the sky
Day Three	Day Six
Creation of dry land, prairies, gardens, forests, jungles	Creation of animals and humans to inhabit the land

This was no haphazard plan!  Instead, the entire process was conceived in the mind of the infinite God and spoken into existence by the words of His mouth.  On the fourth day, He created the moon and stars to break up the blackness of the nighttime sky, and a huge orb of fire to illuminate the day.  When it was finished, everything was in place, awaiting the formation of those who would inhabit this realm - living, breathing creatures to live and love on this earth.

* 

The law God enforces, the stars in their courses

And sun in its orbit obediently shine.

The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,

The deeps of the ocean proclaim the Divine.

We, too, should be voicing our love and rejoicing,

With glad adoration a song let us raise.

Till all things now living unite in Thanksgiving:

To God in the highest hosanna and praise!

The Faith We Sing, No. 2008