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The symbolic meaning of the sun setting, and the sun rising may be gathered from
such a passage as the following:--
"Thy sun shall no more go down. . . . for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light"
(Isa. 60: 20).
"But unto you that fear My name, shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in
His wings" (Mal. 4: 2).
When the Lord spoke to Job, He spoke of the "ordinances of heaven". Dr. Bullinger's
metrical version of Job 38: 31-33 reads:--
"Canst thou bind fast the cluster Pleiades (seven stars)?
Or, canst thou loosen (great) Orion's bands?
Canst thou lead forth the Zodiac's monthly Signs (twelve)?
Or, canst thou guide Arcturus and his sons (The Bear)?
The statutes of the heavens: Know'st thou these?
Didst thou set their dominion o'er the earth?"
The certainty of the "ordinances of the heavens" forms a basis for proclaiming the
equal certainty of God's promises (see Jer. 31: 35-37, and 32: 20-26 which
should be read).
The ordinary seasons of the year "seedtime and harvest", "summer and winter", are
not the only seasons that are indicated in Gen. 1: The word moed (seasons) means "an
appointed time", and that there are such appointments in the purpose of the ages the
Scripture abundantly prove.
Take Daniel's prophecy as an example. "At the time appointed the end shall be,"
(8: 19; 11: 27, 29, 35). "A time" (12: 7).
Gen. 1: 14 says also, "let them be for signs." "The signs of heaven" according to
Jer. 10: 2 caused dismay among the heathen, and there are many indications that the signs
of the heavens were originally understood by men. To set out the witness of the sun and
the stars to prophetic truth would necessitate a volume. Such a volume is Dr. Bullinger's
Witness of the Stars, of which a most useful abridgement may be found in the
Companion Bible, Part 1:, Appendix 12. Psa. 19: is the great Scripture classic on
this subject. It is divided into two main sections, the first dealing with the witness of the
sun in the heavens, the name El (God) being used; in the second section the witness of the
Word is the theme, and the name Jehovah (Lord) is used. There we read that the heavens
are telling the glory of God without audible speech, and that their witness extends to the
ends of the world. In these heavens the sun goes through his revolutions. Psa. 147: 4
(R.V.) says:--
"He telleth the number of the stars, He giveth them all their names."
Here is an inspired statement to the truth that God both numbered and named the stars.
Some of these names are given in the Bible, others have come down from antiquity;
many have been corrupted or lost. Ash, Cesil and Cimah (Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades)