“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide 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 firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.’”
“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
Genesis 1:14-19
The light created the first day of creation divided the darkness that covered the whole earth. On Day 2, God placed the firmament between the waters and now, on Day 4, God placed the sun, moon and stars in the firmament. He spoke them into place but, more importantly, he told us about this creation and the fact he spoke them into place. God doesn’t tell us every conversation, or every act, just the ones he wants us to take note of and remember. His love for us assures security and draws attention to his presence. He doesn’t want us to forget we’re the inspiration for his incredible, creative design.
- “Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20
THE FOURTH DAY
The Fourth Day God created the sun, moon and stars. These lights in the firmament were to provide direction for our way; light for a dark world. During the fourth thousand years, God put kings and prophets into place for his people, to provide leadership, structure, physical and financial protection, peace, and the presence of one who would solve problems. Some of these kings did a great job; some disobeyed God and followed the gods of other nations. Toward the end of the thousand-year reign of these kings, God presented his son to be king, the king of kings; the visible image of the invisible God. He was brought forth and laid in a manger.
God has rules. This is really important for us to grasp. There are rules of nature. God gave rules to the sun, moon and stars.
- “The Lord gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, he divides the sea when the waves roar. The Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, said the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.” Jeremiah 31:35-36
- I [Wisdom] was there “when he gave to the sea its decree that the waters should not pass his commandment; when he appointed the foundations of the earth.” Proverbs 8:29
- “He has compassed the waters with a boundary until the day and night come to an end.” Job 28:10
- “He binds up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not torn under them.” Job 26:8
- “Do you not fear me? said the Lord. Will you not tremble at my presence, who has placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it, and though its waves toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail; even though they roar, can they pass over it?” Jeremiah 5:22-23
- The Lord answered Job, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Who laid the measures of it, if you know? Who stretched the line on it? Whereupon are its foundations fastened? Who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea with doors when it broke forth as if it had issued out of the womb when I made the cloud its garment and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and broke it up for my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, ‘thus far shall you come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stay?’ Have you commanded the morning since your days, and caused the dayspring to know its place? Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depth?” Job 38: 4-12,16
- “Seek him that makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night: that calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord [YHVH] is his name.” Amos 5:8
- “The Lord takes pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. He sends forth his commandment upon earth: his word runs very swiftly. He gives snow like wool: he scatters the frost like ashes. He casts forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word and melts them: he causes his wind to blow, and the waters flow. He shows his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judgments to Israel. He has not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 147:11,15-20
God has warnings signs. While God gave us the sun, moon and stars for signs, seasons, days and years, he made it clear we are not to worship them. We are not to look to them for answers. God is very protective of his children and is not willing that any would become prisoners of Satan through their ‘study’ of astrology.
- “And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.” Deuteronomy 4:19
- “You have trusted in your wickedness; you said, No one sees me. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from these things that shall come upon you. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; none shall save you.” From Isaiah 47:8-15
- “When you come into the land which the Lord your God gave you, you shall not learn to do the abominations of those [other] nations. There shall not be found among you anyone that makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord your God drove them out from before you.” Deuteronomy 18:9-12
- “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would. But if you are led of the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like of the which I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” From Galatians 5:16-21
- The multitude of the harlotries of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, sells nations through her harlotries and families through her witchcrafts. From Nahum 3:4
God’s dynamic emphasis on words should be taken as a lesson, instruction, and perhaps a bit of self-prophecy. They exponentially expand our image of God, his power and majesty. During creation, God “spoke” physical things into being. We’re created in his image and should pay close attention.
- “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. For he spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.” Psalm 33:6
- “He appoints the number of the stars; he calls them all by their names.” Psalm 147:4
- “Who makes Arcturus, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the chambers of the south; who does great things past finding out; yes, and wonders without number.” Job 9:9
- “Can you bind the sweet influences of the Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?”
Job 38:31 - “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” Isaiah 40:26
- “The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.” Psalm 33:6
- You alone are the Lord. You made the skies and the heavens and all the stars. You made the earth and the seas and everything in them. You preserve them all, and the angels of heaven worship you.” Nehemiah 9:6
- “Seek him who makes the seven stars and Orion, and turns the shadow of death into the morning, and makes the day dark with night; who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.” Amos 5:8
THE FOURTH WORD
The English translation of Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” However, the same verse in the original Hebrew says, “Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’arets.” There are 7 words in the first verse of Genesis in Hebrew. The fourth word (middle word) is “et” – Aleph (e) and Tav (t). We know him as the Alpha and Omega, Jesus the Christ.
- “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is thirsty of the fountain of the water of life freely.” Revelation 21:6
This word, et, (Jesus, the Christ) is found exactly in the middle of the first sentence of the original Hebrew Bible with three words before it and three words after. The 6th word is ve’et. The first part of the 6th word is ve, which in Paleo Hebrew is a picture of a hook or connector or a nail with the last part of the 6th word, et referring to Christ. The combination of the two with an apostrophe ties them together as one action between the words ‘heaven’ and ‘earth,’ signifying Christ would be the connector between heaven and earth, which was completed when he died on the cross.
FOURTH THOUSAND YEARS
Samuel
At the beginning of the 4th thousand-year period, Samuel appointed his oldest sons to be judges over Israel. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. Finally, the leaders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. ‘Look’ they told him, ‘you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king like all the other nations have.’ Samuel was very upset with their request and went to the Lord for advice. ‘Do as they say,’ the Lord replied, ‘for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about how a king will treat them.” From 1 Samuel 8.
The fourth thousand years was the time of kings and kingdoms, priests and mighty men of God. The Israelites had been through the wilderness experience and were settling in the Promised Land as a United Kingdom of the 12 Tribes of Israel. God called Samuel to guide the Israelites. Samuel loved the Lord and walked in his ways. When he was old, he appointed his sons, to judge Israel. But they didn’t walk with God and the elders of Israel came to Samuel and asked for a king like all the other nations. 1 Samuel 8:1-5. So, God gave them a king, Saul, who proved to be unacceptable.
- “And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly: you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you: for the Lord would have established your kingdom upon Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue: the Lord has sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be captain over his people, because you have not kept that which the Lord commanded you.’” 1 Samuel 13:13-14
David
Then God called David, a shepherd, to be king. David had a heart for God and became the people’s king. Of course, Saul did not take it well; he was very jealous of David and kept trying to kill him. David would not harm God’s anointed. David reigned as King of Israel for 40 years. Then his son, Solomon, became king. After Solomon’s reign, the kingdom became divided with two Kings, a King of Israel for the Northern Kingdom and a King of Judah for the Southern Kingdom.
Elijah
Throughout the fourth thousand years, there were good kings and bad kings. There were also many prophets of God during the reign of these kings, of whom Elijah was one. In 874 BC, Ahab became King of Israel when his father, the wicked King Omri, died. King Ahab was wicked like his father. He had no compassion for the people of Israel. He built idols to worship other gods and did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 1 Kings 16:30-33.
God sent his prophet, Elijah, to warn King Ahab that due to his wickedness, there would be no rain for three years. Even though Ahab was very wicked, God loved him and wanted to give him one more chance to choose good over evil. One more chance to change the direction of his future. Would he listen?
King Ahab was very angry and wanted to kill Elijah, so God told Elijah to go to Cherith, a brook by the Jordan, where God would tuck him under his wing and protect him from King Ahab. God commanded ravens to bring bread and meat to Elijah every morning and every evening and he drank from the brook until it began to dry up from the drought.
When the brook dried up, God told Elijah to go to Zarephath and stay there, where a widow would take care of him. When Elijah got to the gate of the city, he found a woman gathering sticks and asked her for a drink of water. She got him a drink of water and the he asked her for some bread. The widow didn’t have any bread. All she had was a handful of meal and a little oil in a jar and she was gathering sticks for a fire to bake one final meal for her son and herself before they were to die. Elijah told her to fix him a little cake first; God would provide for them, and she did. God was faithful. As the widow baked cakes, no matter how many cakes she baked, there was still plenty of meal and oil left to make more. They ate plentifully from a barrel of meal and a jar of oil that miraculously never became empty.
But then the widow’s son became sick and died and her heart was torn with sorrow. She could not understand how God could so carefully provide food to keep them alive and then allow her son to get sick and die. She asked Elijah why he had come. She had been prepared to die of starvation, but after being saved by of God, she didn’t understand why he would have allowed her son to die. Elijah went to the room where the boy was laying and asked God to restore his life and the boy began breathing again. When her son came running to her, the widow knew that Elijah truly was a man of God and, once again, she was comforted and protected by the hand of God.
In the third year of the drought, the Lord told Elijah to show himself to Ahab and tell him that God would send rain. Three years is a long time to go without rain, and things were getting tough for everyone. The crops had turned into dust, food was scarce, and water was very hard, if not impossible, to find. People were starving; animals were dying. There had been plenty of opportunity for King Ahab to think about his disobedience and the connection between his wickedness and the drought, but he didn’t repent. He wasn’t on his knees before God. Instead, King Ahab had been on a search and destroy mission for that “evil Elijah” that had caused so much trouble. While King Ahab didn’t care anything about the condition of his people during this drought, he and his servant, Obadiah, had divided the land between themselves and set out to find some grass and water to save the king’s animals. Shortly after Obadiah left on his journey, he met Elijah.
Elijah asked Obadiah to tell King Ahab that he wanted to see him. So, reluctantly, Obadiah left and gave King Ahab the message, and the King came to Elijah, this man who was causing so much trouble for him. Elijah reminded King Ahab that he was the one causing trouble due to his disobedience of the Lord’s commandments and his blatant idol worship. Elijah told King Ahab to bring his people and his prophets to Mt. Carmel, including all 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of idols, for a showdown of power between the gods of Ahab and the God of Elijah.
On Mt. Carmel, Elijah stood before all the people of Israel and asked how long they would stand between two opinions. If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. Then Elijah asked for two bulls, one to be sacrificed to Baal and one to the Lord God. They were both cut in pieces and laid on dry wood without any fire. Then those following King Ahab would call upon Baal, and Elijah would call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answered by fire, let him be God. They said, “It is well spoken.”
The prophets of Baal circled their sacrifice and called on Baal to light their sacrifice with fire. They called from morning until noon. Elijah prodded them a little. He suggested they shout a little louder. Maybe Baal was talking and didn’t hear them, or maybe he was away on a journey, or maybe he was asleep. The prophets went wild! They were dancing, leaping, shouting at the tops of their lungs. They even cut themselves with knives and swords to draw attention from their god until the evening, but no fire.
Then Elijah gathered twelve stones and built an altar in the name of the Lord. He dug a trench around the altar, stacked the wood on the stones and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he asked for four barrels of water and drenched the sacrifice three times. It was time for the evening sacrifice when Elijah said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your direction. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that your people may know that you are the Lord God, and that you have turned their heart back again.”
Then fire from the Lord fell on the sacrifice and not only burned the sacrifice, but also consumed the wood, the stones, the dust and the water. All the people fell on their faces, proclaiming the Lord is God. Then Elijah ordered all 450 prophets of Baal to be killed.
Elijah went to King Ahab and told him to get something to eat and drink because there is a sound of abundant rain. While King Ahab went to eat, Elijah began earnestly seeking God and praying for rain. He sent his servant to go look toward the sea for rain clouds. There were no clouds. He sent his servant again seven times. Finally, a very small cloud appeared over the sea, and Elijah sent his servant to tell King Ahab to get on his chariot and get out of there because a mighty storm was coming. And it came to pass in the meantime, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. So, Ahab jumped on his chariot and headed for Jezreel, about 15 miles down the road. The hand of the Lord was on Elijah and he ran before King Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. 1 Kings 17 and 18.
Hezekiah
In 722 BC, Israel fell to Assyria and ceased to exist. The children of Israel walked in all the sins Jeroboam did, and they did not depart from them, so the Lord removed Israel out of his sight. They did not obey the voice of the Lord their God but repeatedly sinned against his covenant and refused to repent. Israel was carried away to Assyria out of their own land.
- “I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.” Isaiah 48:3
About that time, Hezekiah became King of Judah. Hezekiah was a good king and he trusted in the Lord. A few years later Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent threatening letters to King Hezekiah stating he was going to capture Jerusalem. When Hezekiah received the letter, he went to the Lord’s Temple and laid it out before the Lord. God responded through the prophet, Isaiah:
- “Therefore, thus said the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, said the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for my own sake, and for my servant David’s sake. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand (185,000): and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.” 2 Kings 19:32-35
God Sets Up Kings and Kingdoms
Kings and kingdoms increased and were thrown down by God’s word, giving his people one example after another of the pitfalls that disobedience would bring.
“Then was this secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his, and he changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells with him.” Daniel 2:19-22
Today, as then, God’s miracles are closely connected to our obedience to his commandments. We now see clearly that there is no one like our God. Basically, all kings failed the power and money test. How God’s heart must have ached with disappointment!
“Behold the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.” Isaiah 59:1
“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.” 1 Samuel 15:23
Throughout the fourth thousand years God’s people continued to disobey. Of course, there were good kings, but there were more rebellious kings. In 608 BC, Judah fell to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Many of the inhabitants were deported to Babylon. In 539 BC, Babylon fell to the Meds and Persians. In 538 BC, King Cyrus of Persia issued a proclamation allowing the Jewish people to return to Palestine and the Temple was rebuilt in 516 BC, 70 years after its destruction. In 129 BC the Jews regained rule of their land and had their own kings once again. This lasted until the Romans conquered the land in 63 BC.
- “Behold, the days come, said the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord…” Amos 8:11.
- “And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read, “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, so that many people could read it. Then the leading priests objected and said to Pilate, “Change it from ‘The King of the Jews’ to ‘He said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate replied, “No, what I have written, I have written.” John 19:19-22
- “I Jesus have sent my angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” Revelation 22:16
Jesus, The King of the Jews, was born appropriately in the fourth thousand-year period, paralleled with the Fourth Day when the sun, moon and stars were created. He was the bright and morning star. He was born, appropriately, in the fourth thousand-year period when the great lights were created to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. He is the Light of the World.
There were 446 years without a prophetic word from the Lord from the last Old Testament prophet until the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, at the end of the fourth thousand-year period.
Next Up: Day 5
See Also:
Prior to Day 1
Blood
And Image of God for a fuller understanding of the image in which you were created.