WHEN SCRIPTURE SPEAKS OF THE STARS
In the quiet sweep of Scripture, where the Lord stoops to speak in the language of shepherds and kings, we find a startling truth—God’s Word is not a science book, yet whenever it brushes the fabric of the natural world, it does so with a kind of humble brilliance.
It speaks of the earth “hanging on nothing,” and of rivers returning again to the sea, not as a scientist with a chalkboard, but as a Father stooping to a child, giving truth in a tongue we can bear (Job 26:7; Ecclesiastes 1:7). And still, this same God wraps His revelation in the language of sunrise and sunset, of the “four corners” and the “ends of the earth,” not to mislead us, but because He delights to meet us where we stand, feet planted in dust, hearts aching for eternity.
This is the miracle—that the God who orders galaxies speaks in everyday words. Phenomenological language (everyday, common-sense language that describes things the way they appear to us, not the way they technically or scientifically are) reminds us that Scripture is not trying to satisfy the curiosities of telescopes; it is trying to awaken the dead heart.
When the psalmist says, “From the rising of the sun to its going down, the Lord’s name is to be praised,” he is not making an astronomical claim; he is pointing to the faithfulness of God’s daily mercies (Psalm 113:3). Indeed, the Bible does not tell us the mechanics of the universe; it tells us the meaning of the universe. And when it touches nature, it never touches error—because truth does not flow crookedly from the mouth of the One who spoke light into being.
We must resist the temptation to turn Scripture into something it never claimed to be. The Bible does not teach quantum physics, any more than it teaches algebra or chemistry. It teaches the mind of God, the story of redemption, the brokenness of sin, and the triumphant grace of Christ. Its purpose is salvation, not scientific explanation (2 Timothy 3:15). We dishonor Scripture when we ask it to win arguments it was never intended to fight.
This is why humility is holy. Some use the stars as weapons against faith; others use the stars as if Scripture had whispered to ancient ears the secrets of modern laboratories. But the Bible is far more majestic than that. It is not a textbook; it is the Voice that shakes wildernesses and calms sinners. We stand on solid ground when we simply confess: whenever the Bible speaks of nature, it speaks truly—and whenever we seek salvation, it speaks perfectly.
So let us take our stand here: the Scriptures are trustworthy, not because they satisfy the demands of science, but because they satisfy the demands of the soul. Christ Himself draws near in these pages, steadying the heart, cleansing the conscience, and lighting the path with a wisdom far brighter than the stars He flung into the dark.
Lord Jesus, teach me to love Your Word for what it is—the living breath of God, given not to make me a scientist, but to make me a saint. Keep me humble, faithful, and teachable. Let Your truth shape my mind and Your love shape my life. Amen.
BDD
