Science in the Bible – The Sun

Posted by: BibleScienceGuy | July 26, 2017

Science in the Bible – The Sun

(2 Minute Read)

Six thousand years ago Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, made the Earth. Three days later He created the Sun to provide an abundant source of energy in the form of light and heat for the Earth.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate 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 expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also. God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. (Genesis 1:14-19 NASB)

Less than half a billionth of the sun’s daily energy output actually reaches the earth, but that still amounts to around 240 trillion horsepower. This is well over 30,000 horsepower of energy per person per day! It amounts to over 1,000 watts per square meter of surface area on a clear day at noon.

The Creator’s provision of free energy is abundant beyond belief! God created the sun for man’s benefit. All forms of energy ultimately derive from the sun.

The sun’s energy heats the earth and its inhabitants, suspended in the supremely cold temperatures of space. The sun’s energy powers winds; the differential heating between the equator and the poles generates global wind currents.

Believe it or not, but the sun provides rain! Its energy evaporates water from oceans and lakes. It powers the winds that move the water vapor to land where it cools and falls as rain.

The sun’s energy provides food to eat and oxygen to breathe. Through photosynthesis, plants use sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and build starches, sugars, and fats. This provides renewed air and food production for man and animals.

Three thousand years ago, King David of Israel wrote about the Sun by divine inspiration:
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
. . .
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
Its rising is from one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat. (Psalm 19:1, 4b-6)

Scientists used to scoff at these verses, because they “knew” the sun was stationary.

Bible critics pointed to this passage as an “error in the Bible,” because they said it taught that the sun revolved around the earth. Of course the passage says no such thing.

Today astronomers know that the sun is racing through the heavens orbiting the center of the Milky Way galaxy. It moves through space in a huge circuit, 25,000-28,000 light-years from the galactic center of the Milky Way, speeding along at about 600,000 miles per hour relative to that center. Its orbital circuit around the Milky Way is so enormous that it will take 225–250 million years to complete one orbit around the Milky Way.

This does not even take into account that the Milky Way itself is hurtling through space, carrying the sun with it on an even longer journey. The Milky Way moves relative to the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) at about 1,235,000 miles per hour. Currently, the resulting velocity for the sun relative to the CMB radiation is about 830,000 miles per hour.

Science Catches Up to the Bible

Thousands of years before scientists discovered that the Sun traverses a circuit through the heavens, the Bible alluded to this. The sun is hurtling through space on a ginormous circuit, just as the Bible indicated more than 3,000 years ago.

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. Have you ever heard someone scoff at something the Bible teaches? Who is likely to be proved correct eventually?
2. What does a tent for the sun mean in Psalm 19:4?

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

Soli Deo Gloria.

Read the sequel:
21. Science in the Bible – Atomic Fission

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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 July 26, 2017 A.D.

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