INTRODUCTION: The phrase, “he made the stars also,” almost seems to express an afterthought. Although that is not the case, it certainly expresses the ease with which God created the universe. As we consider the stars, we must exclaim with the psalmist: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
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1. THE STARS DEFINED
1. General Definition: any one of many celestial bodies appearing as fixed points of light in the night sky
2. Fixed Stars; the bodies in outer space similar to our sun usually referred to as stars today
3. Wandering Stars (Jude 1:13Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
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1. Stars that change position in the sky in a major way
2. Usually a reference to the planets
3. One example is the “morning star” (Revelation 22:16I Jesus have sent mine 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.
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4. Falling Stars; bodies like comets and asteroids (Matthew 24:29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
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2. THE STARS CREATED
1. God Made the Stars (Genesis 1:16And 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.
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2. Ordained by God to Rule in the Heavens (Psalm 8:3When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
   See All...; Psalm 136:9The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.
   See All...; Jeremiah 31:35Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
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3. God Put the Stars at Great Heights (Job 22:12Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
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1. Ancient astronomers thought that the stars were not all that high but were placed on a dome above the earth.
2. The builders of the Tower of Babel thought they could build a tower to reach heaven (Genesis 11:4And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
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3. Modern science has determined that the closest star (not counting planets) is 4.3 light years, or about 25 trillion miles, away from us.
4. God Made to Differ in Magnitude (1 Corinthians 15:41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
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5. God Will Seal Up the Stars (Job 9:7Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
   See All...; Ezekiel 32:7And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
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3. THE STARS NUMBERED
1. Human Reckoning
1. By the human eye; one account from the time before the invention of the telescope counted about 4,000 stars in the sky.
2. With the aid of telescopes; we now know stars to number into the countless millions.
2. Divine Account
1. A number so large that it cannot be numbered by man and is comparable to the number of the promised seed given to Abraham (Genesis 15:5And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.
   See All...; Genesis 26:4And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
   See All...; Nehemiah 9:23Their children also multipliedst thou as the stars of heaven, and broughtest them into the land, concerning which thou hadst promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it.
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2. The seven stars (Amos 5:8Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:
   See All...); probably refers to the constellation known as Pleiades since it is also known as the “seven stars.”
3. The eleven stars (Genesis 37:9-10 [9] And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. [10] And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
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1. As dreamed by Joseph
2. A reference to his eleven brothers
3. But perhaps also a reference to the wandering stars known as planets
1. The International Astronomical Union made a proposal at a meeting in Prague on August 22, 2006, to change the number of recognized planets from nine to twelve. The proposal was sent to committees for consideration but it looks as if some change will be made.
2. The twelve planets would, of course, include the earth. Since we are viewing them from the earth, it would not be one of the wandering stars considered by Joseph. Therefore, it may be that science is beginning to catch up with the Bible. If this ruling takes place, the scientific establishment will have recognized that, other than the earth, there are eleven planets. Perhaps these are “the eleven stars” of Genesis 37:9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
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4. THE STARS NAMED
1. As Numbered by God (Psalm 147:4He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
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2. By the Greatness of His Might (Isaiah 40:26Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
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5. THE STARS IN TYPE
1. The Angels
1. The morning stars at creation (Job 38:7When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
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2. The host of heaven
1. The stars (Deuteronomy 4:19And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
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2. The angels (1 Kings 22:19And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
   See All...; Luke 2:13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
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3. The stars in their courses (Judges 5:20They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
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4. The stars of heaven (Revelation 12:4And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
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2. False Gods
1. Star of their god Remphan (Acts 7:43Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.
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2. The target of Satan (Isaiah 14:13For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
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3. The “stars” of the movies are false gods. They seek worship and attempt to elevate themselves above the other stars.
3. The Lord Jesus Christ
1. A star out of Jacob (Numbers 24:17I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
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2. The star of His appearing (Matthew 2:2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
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3. The day star (2 Peter 1:19We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
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4. The morning star (Revelation 22:16I Jesus have sent mine 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.
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6. THE STARS WORSHIPPED
1. An Act of Idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:15-19 [15] Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: [16] Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, [17] The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, [18] The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: [19] And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
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2. Provoking the Lord to Anger (2 Kings 21:5-6 [5] And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. [6] And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
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3. Includes Astrology and the Following of Horoscopes (Deuteronomy 18:10There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
   See All...; Isaiah 47:13Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
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7. THE APPLICATION OF THE STARS
1. Not Pure in God’s Sight (Job 25:5Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight.
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2. No Refuge to be Found in the Stars (Obadiah 1:4Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the LORD.
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3. To be Darkened in the End Times (Isaiah 13:10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
   See All...; Joel 2:10The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
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4. Created to Praise the Lord (Psalm 148:3Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
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5. The Righteous to Shine as the Stars (Daniel 12:3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
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CONCLUSION: As an expression of God’s creative power, the stars cause us to praise the Lord. As an object of worship, the stars lead to destruction. But those who serve God in righteousness will shine as the stars forever. Let us all worship and serve our great Creator.