Creation speaks! Psalm 19: 1-4 states:
The heavens declare the glory of God.
The expanse shows his handiwork.
2 Day after day they pour out speech,
and night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor language,
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
their words to the end of the world. (WEB)
What Does That Look Like?
Many verses talk about God’s creation. For example, in Genesis, God declared that time is marked by creation:
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;” (Gen 1:14 WEB)
There have been dozens calendars over the course of history, most of which follow the sun’s cycles. For example, ancient civilizations watched the sun’s position to determine planting times. However, the biblical calendar is a lunar calendar that follows the moon’s cycles (Gen 1: 3-5).
The Magi
After the birth of Jesus, the Magi come on the scene because creation has spoken:
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matt 2:1-2 WEB)
Rabbit Trail #1: Most believe these men came from Persia, about 400 miles from Jerusalem. While the trip likely took two to three weeks, they did not visit baby Jesus. Matthew 1:10 says the Magi follow the star to the house where Jesus was. He was born in a manger, not a home, and judging by Herod’s reaction to killing all the boys two years old and under, Jesus was probably not a newborn.
No one is exactly sure what the star was. It may have been a planetary alignment or some heavenly phenomenon that rarely happens. In any event, the Magi knew creation would lead them to Jesus.
Rabbit Trail #2: Many will ask the next question, “How did they know about Jesus and the star?” There are a lot of theories, but I think the most plausible explanation goes back to Daniel, who was part of the exile to Babylon (modern-day Iraq). He was a member of the king’s company of “magicians.” Daniel heard God, and the others heard something else. Daniel may have taught the other magi about the coming of the king of the Jews.
The Plagues of Exodus
God used creation throughout the deliverance of the Jews in Egypt. The purpose of the plagues was to judge the gods of Egypt, as they had many gods that served many purposes. The worship of those gods was detestable to God.
I will not go through all ten plagues, but I will discuss a couple. The second plague was that of frogs. Why frogs? The Egyptians worshiped Heqet, a goddess of birth with the head of a frog and a woman’s body. God’s release of the frogs showed who owned the frogs and who commanded them; it was not Heqet.
The ninth judgment on Egypt was the plague of darkness.
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. 23 No one could see anyone else or move about for three days. Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived. (Exo 10:21-23 WEB)
Again, God was showing the Egyptians that their sun god Ra had no control over the sun.
Real-Life Stories of Creation Speaking
I was sitting in my backyard watching the night sky. I was praying, although I don’t remember what about, and just as I finished, I saw a shooting star go over my house. If you’ve seen shooting stars, you know they are usually a quick flash, but in this case, it seemed long – relatively speaking, of course. Not only that, the meteorite made an arc (kind of like a rainbow) that went over my entire house. I definitely took that as a sign from God through creation!
Last one – Years ago, we had a severe storm in our city. It was so bad that an estimated 10,000 trees were lost. Most of them were very large and old. Our friend was involved in a decent-sized church at the time, but he kept feeling that something was off. He was looking around at the damage when he came across a giant old tree that had fallen. He stopped, looked at the broken portion, and noticed the tree was hollow inside. He said that was his “a-ha” moment and realized that although the tree looked healthy, it had rotted on the inside, leaving a hole. It could not withstand the storm. He knew that was what God was saying about his church. He left, and the church went through some difficult times shortly after.
I hope this helps you understand how God uses creation to speak and give signs.
Until next time under the palm, be blessed!
