by Chris Steele

January 13, 2008

Several times over the past few months the earth has passed through the debris field of several comets. This resulted in some spectacular meteor showers. Our family went out to see some of these a few weeks back. How spectacular it is to view God’s starry skies!

Imagine Abraham as he stood gazing into the night sky as God said, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be” (Genesis 15:5). When Jeremiah emphasized this promise he plainly stated, “As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured” (33:22).

For hundreds of years, people actually thought that the stars could be counted. Some “scholarly” men dared to go on record to say the number of stars was anywhere from a few hundred to several thousands. Now in our time, we have modern telescopes and advanced scientific calculations. But even then, NASA says that they can only give an estimate on how many stars there may be. That number they say, is estimated at 10 to the 21st power, or 10 followed by 21 zeros. Some scientists say there are around 25 sextillion stars. That is 25 with 21 zeros after it!

There is someone who actually knows how many stars there are. His name is Jehovah; the Creator of the universe. God made all the stars in the beginning Genesis 1:16: Psalm 8:3). “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite” (Psalms 147:4-5).

The next time you get a chance to look up into the night sky, consider the words of the song “Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah” taken from Psalm 148:

“All ye host together praise Him,
Sun and moon and stars on high;
Praise Him, O ye heav’n of heavens,
And ye floods above the sky.
Let them praises give Jehovah,
For His name alone is high,
And His glory is exalted
Far above the earth and sky.”