Science in the Bible – Starry Host

Posted by: BibleScienceGuy | June 7, 2017

Science in the Bible – Starry Host

(2 Minute Read)

It was only in the 17th century with the invention of the telescope that Galileo (1564-1642) first glimpsed the vastness of the universe.

Prior to that time, man had no idea how many stars existed, as only about 4,000 are visible to the naked eye.

Yet thousands of years ago the Bible said the stars could not be counted.

Around 2,000 BC, Yahweh implied to Abraham that the number of stars was innumerably large:
And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” (Genesis 15:5)

Abraham would only have been able to see around 4,000 stars with his naked eye. A promise of 4,000 descendants is not much of a promise. The implication is that the number of stars is huge, and Abraham’s descendants would be essentially innumerable.

How many stars are there? Even a kindergartner can understand this simple question, but no man alive can answer it. But Yahweh knows exactly how many stars He made on Creation Day Four about 6,000 years ago. And He calls each individually by name.
Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name. Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite. (Psalms 147:4-5)

The galaxies God made in a single day 6,000 years ago range from dwarf galaxies with “only” ten million (10,000,000) stars to giant galaxies with 100 trillion (100,000,000,000,000) stars. Our own Milky Way galaxy contains over 100 billion (100,000,000,000) stars and is about 100,000 light-years across. And there are well over 100 billion galaxies in the observable universe.

Sombrero Galaxy
Sombrero’s bulging glow of light comes from 800 Billion stars. Sombrero is 31 million
light-years away in the constellation Virgo and is 50,000 light-years across. The dots
of light are not stars but thousands of other galaxies, including a pair of twin galaxies
at the bottom at 7 O’clock. (Click image to enlarge.)

How many stars did God make on Creation Day Four? A 2010 estimate reported
300 sextillion = 3 × 10²³ = 300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the observable universe. Only God knows how many stars are in the unobservable universe — very possibly there are even more stars in the unobservable universe than in the portion we can observe. God made all these innumerable stars in just one day around 6,000 years ago and placed them in the heavens.

Around 600 BC, at a time when man could have counted 4,000 or so visible stars, Yahweh told Jeremiah that the stars could not be counted, there were so many of them.
As the host of heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me. (Jeremiah 33:22)

Even now man cannot count the stars, just as the Bible says. But Yahweh knows the exact number of stars in His universe.

Scripture says that “star differs from star in glory.” (1 Corinthians 15:41) No two stars are the same; every star and galaxy is different. Astronomers have observed many different types of stars and a variety of completely unexplained astral and galactic phenomena. The Bible declared the uniqueness of stars centuries before the invention of the telescope made such observations possible.

The total energy of all these stars and galaxies is incomprehensible to humans. The power of the Creator is beyond man’s imagination. A Creator whose marvelous works include these stupendous feats of creating, numbering, and naming an unfathomable quantity of gigantic fiery unique stars merits our continual awe, worship, and enthusiastic praise! Yet man daily dares to insult and profane his Maker. Go figure.

How many stars are there? It’s a very simple question, yet man cannot answer it. God alone has numbered and named the stars.

Science Catches Up to the Bible

Thousands of years before man discovered the immensity of stars, the Bible reported man could not count them. Yet Yahweh has numbered and named the stars.

Although the Bible is not primarily a science textbook, it does hint at many scientific truths like this one and like those mentioned in this Science in the Bible series, truths that long pre-date their discovery by today’s scientists. This is strong evidence of divine authorship of the Bible.

Questions to Ponder

1. What aspect of God’s creative work in making, numbering, and naming the stars is most awe-inspiring to you?
2. How can the vastness of the starry host enrich your worship of Yahweh the Creator?
3. What amazing information about the Creator can you tell someone today?

Share your thoughts on these questions in the comments below. It could encourage or help another reader.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Read the sequel:
14. Science in the Bible – Turning Earth

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©William T. Pelletier, Ph.D.
“contending earnestly for the faith”
“destroying speculations against the knowledge of God”
“for the defense of the gospel”
(Jude 1:3; 2 Cor 10:5; Phil 1:16)
Wednesday June 7, 2017 A.D.

Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)