In the Bible, the sun is a significant celestial body created by God to govern the day and serve as a sign for seasons, days, and years. The sun is mentioned numerous times throughout Scripture, symbolizing God's provision, power, and the natural order He established.

Creation and Purpose

The sun was created by God on the fourth day of creation. Genesis 1:16-18 states, "God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good." Here, the sun is described as the "greater light," emphasizing its role in illuminating the earth and marking the passage of time.

Symbol of God's Faithfulness and Righteousness

The sun is often used metaphorically to represent God's faithfulness and righteousness. In Psalm 84:11 , it is written, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity." This verse highlights the sun as a symbol of God's protective and sustaining nature.

Similarly, Malachi 4:2 speaks of the "sun of righteousness": "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall." This imagery conveys the idea of divine justice and healing, portraying the sun as a harbinger of God's restorative power.

Judgment and Sovereignty

The sun also plays a role in demonstrating God's sovereignty and judgment. In Joshua 10:12-13 , during the battle against the Amorites, Joshua commands the sun to stand still: "On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: 'O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.' So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies." This miraculous event underscores God's control over creation and His ability to intervene in human affairs.

Furthermore, the sun is associated with the end times and divine judgment. In Revelation 6:12 , the opening of the sixth seal brings cosmic disturbances: "And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red." This apocalyptic imagery signifies the upheaval of the natural order as part of God's final judgment.

Daily Life and Worship

In the daily life of ancient Israel, the sun was a constant presence, marking the rhythm of work and rest. Ecclesiastes 1:5 observes, "The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises." This cyclical pattern reflects the constancy and reliability of God's creation.

The sun also played a role in worship practices, though the Bible warns against idolatry associated with sun worship. In Deuteronomy 4:19 , the Israelites are cautioned, "When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven." This admonition underscores the importance of worshiping the Creator rather than the created.

Conclusion

Throughout Scripture, the sun serves as a powerful symbol of God's creative authority, faithfulness, and judgment. It is a reminder of the divine order established by God and His ongoing involvement in the world.

Love Makes Suns
... THE BOOK OF JUDGES LOVE MAKES SUNS. 'Let them that love Him be as the sun
when he goeth forth in his might.' Judges 5:51. These are ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/love makes suns.htm

Were There Two Suns
... THE SECOND CENTURY 10 Were there two suns. Were there two suns, that day
might be alike in both places, standing still, there would ...
/.../traherne/centuries of meditations/10 were there two suns.htm

Natural Science and Theological Science.
... "Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone: Thou hast made Heaven, the Heaven of Heavens,
with all their host [273] ." Suns, the centres of systems, many of them so ...
/.../burgon/inspiration and interpretation/sermon ii natural science and.htm

Pantheists.
... Mr. Kneeland says, "I believe in the existence of a universe of suns and planets,
among which there is one sun belonging to our planetary system, and that ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/pantheists.htm

Man's Difficulty Concerning Prayer.
... education? Does God care for suns and planets and satellites, for divine
mathematics and ordered harmonies, more than for his children? ...
/.../macdonald/unspoken sermons/mans difficulty concerning prayer.htm

From Dawn to Noon
... For, sadder than the setting of the suns, which rise again to-morrow, is the sinking
into darkness of death, from which there seems to be no emerging. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/from dawn to noon.htm

The Central Sun
... We know this, too; that all the countless stars which spangle the sky are really
suns likewise, perhaps, with worlds which we cannot see, moving round them, as ...
/.../kingsley/town and country sermons/sermon xxx the central sun.htm

All Sufficiency
... And yet it may be the very smallest of all the countless suns that GOD has made!
What of the glorious MAKER of them all! "The LORD GOD is a Sun." Ah! ...
//christianbookshelf.org/taylor/a ribband of blue/all sufficiency.htm

Psalm.
... Planets round their sun,. All the hosts of suns revolve. ... Thee we adore, who hath
the central Sun. Compassed with suns and planets and their moons; ...
//christianbookshelf.org/winkworth/christian singers of germany/psalm.htm

Your Theologians, Then, and Authors on Unknown Antiquity, Say that ...
... They speak of five Suns and five Mercuries,"of whom, as they relate, the first Sun
is called the son of Jupiter, and is regarded as grandson of ??ther; the ...
/.../14 your theologians then and.htm

Suns (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Suns (1 Occurrence). Isaiah 3:18 In that day the Lord
will take away the ornament of anklets, and the little suns and crescents, (DBY) ...
/s/suns.htm - 6k

Sun-rising (14 Occurrences)
Sun-rising. Sunrising, Sun-rising. Suns . Multi-Version Concordance Sun-rising
(14 Occurrences). ... (YLT). Sunrising, Sun-rising. Suns . Reference Bible.
/s/sun-rising.htm - 10k

Window (24 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 54:12 ought rather to be rendered "battlements" (LXX., "bulwarks;" RV,
"pinnacles"), or as Gesenius renders it, "notched battlements, ie, suns or rays ...
/w/window.htm - 16k

Trachonitis (1 Occurrence)
... It was well known to the ancients; but there was nothing to attract even a sparse
population to its dark and forbidding rocks, burning under the suns of the ...
/t/trachonitis.htm - 13k

Sun's (3 Occurrences)

/s/sun's.htm - 7k

Light (2869 Occurrences)
... The ultimate focusing of light (on the 4th day of creation, Genesis 1:14) in suns,
stars, and solar systems brought the initial creative process to completion ...
/l/light.htm - 31k

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