Light and the Luminaries
It is beautiful to note that God created light on day one of creation. And then, on day four, He created the sun, moon, and stars to harness the light He had created three days earlier. Everything God does is for a reason; this is no exception. The “skylights” were created for a purpose: to be signs. They were to be signs of seasons, days, and years. They were also designed to bring light upon the earth — so we could see and behold its beauty and purpose for mankind. The sun was created to govern the day, and the moon was created to govern the night. The stars were created, it seems, as a side note to His glorious creation (listen to Dr. Kenneth Gentry explain why). God placed all these lights in the sky for a purpose: to give light on the earth; to govern the day and night (with seasons, days, and years); and to separate the light from the darkness.
God saw that all this was good.
Seasons by Design
One main purpose for creating the light bearers (or luminaries) was to give seasons for mankind to live under and enjoy: spring with its new growth, summer with its heat, fall with its recycling, and winter with its harsh death so that spring may come again. Seasons are a gift from God and one of the major dividers of the year, which are ordinarily marked by periodic changes in weather.
In temperate and polar regions, the four seasons mentioned above (with all their subtleties) are distinct and obvious. In some tropical and subtropical regions, however, the weather remains temperate all year — without the ordinary seasons (again by God’s design). In these tropical climes, it is more common to speak of the rainy (or wet, or monsoon) season versus the dry season, as the amount of precipitation may vary more dramatically than the average temperature, and therefore never display a sharp contrast in seasons.
Regular seasons result from the earth’s axis being tilted to its orbital plane; it deviates by an angle of approximately 23.5 degrees. Thus, at any given time during the summer or winter, one part of the planet is more directly exposed to the rays of the sun. This exposure alternates as the earth revolves in its orbit. Thus, regardless of the season, the northern and southern hemispheres experience the opposite weather conditions. When it is summer in the northern hemisphere, it is winter in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa, and when it is spring in the northern hemisphere it is autumn in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa.
Other Fluctuations by Design
There are other factors influencing the cycles of nature. Seasonal weather fluctuations also depend on factors such as proximity to oceans or other large bodies of water, as well as currents in those oceans. Elevation and nearness to the equator or poles effects weather and seasons as well.
In the temperate and polar regions, seasons are marked by changes in the amount of sunlight, which in turn often cause cycles of dormancy in plants and hibernation in animals. These effects vary with latitude and with proximity to bodies of water as mentioned above. For example, the South Pole is in the middle of the continent of Antarctica, and therefore a considerable distance from the moderating influence of the southern oceans. The North Pole is in the Arctic Ocean, and thus its temperature extremes are buffered by the presence of all that water. The result is that the South Pole is consistently colder during the southern winter than the North Pole during the northern winter.
Embracing the Seasons
Due to God’s design, the seasons cause changes in temperature, light, and length of day. This results in soil changes, plant life changes, and changes in the hours of man’s labor, etc. It reasonably follows that man in seeking to live within God’s design would naturally eat the foods that are in season for the particular area he is living in — as well as work and rest according to the season. Plants, animals, humans, and the weather — by design — work synergistically together to produce the greatest benefit for all.
We should eat according to the season, labor according to the season, and rest according to the season, keeping in mind the variance of sunlight, temperature, length of day, and the geographical area we are living in.
Our next Biblical Study post in this series will give some specific and simple ways we might apply this in our daily lives.
Next: Practical Ways to Embrace the Seasons
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Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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© 2017 Mischelle Sandowich
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