Have you ever looked at a full moon on a clear night and been awed by its beauty? Many a romantic moment has been enjoyed under the lights of the night sky.
On the first day of Creation God said, “Let there be light.” Then on the fourth day He said, “Let there be lights” (or light-givers).
In Genesis 1:14-19 we read, “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.” So we see that God created lights on the fourth day – the sun, the moon, and the stars.
The word “lights” is the Hebrew word for a luminous body. It is used to refer to light-givers…everything from a candle to a chandelier.
Well, the purpose of the light-givers was to govern the seasons, the days, and the years. The fall and spring equinox of the earth tilting on its axis in its orientation to the sun is the great indicator of winter and spring. A 24-hour rotation of the earth in relation to the sun and moon makes for one day; and one orbit of the earth around the sun is how we calculate one year. So, if you have been wondering why God made the lights – it is not simply to give us light, but also to help us keep time.
Now you know the real meaning of the word.
Hey – God does not need the sun to give us light – He IS the light (1 John 1:5).