“And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth.”
“Et posuit eas in firmamento cæli, ut lucerent super terram,”
“And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,”
“God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth,”
“God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,”
“And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth,”
i.e. produced out of most unfit matter, as if a man should out of a stone make bread, which requires as great a power as that which is properly called creation. those vast sea monsters known by that name, though elsewhere this word be applied to great dragons of the earth. in such manner as is declared in the first note upon Gen 1:20. See Poole on "Gen 1:20".
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
1. Observe, The lights of heaven are the sun, moon, and stars; and all these are the work of God's hands. (1.) The sun is the greatest light of all, more than a million times greater than the earth, and the most glorious and useful of all the lamps of heaven, a noble instance of the Creator's wisdom, power, and goodness, and an invaluable blessing to the creatures of this lower world. Let us learn from Ps 19 1-6 how to give unto God the glory due unto his name, as the Maker of the sun. (2.) The moon is a less light, and yet is here reckoned one of the greater lights, because though, in regard to its magnitude and borrowed light, it is inferior to many of the stars, yet, by virtue of its office, as ruler of the night, and in respect of its usefulness to the earth, it is more excellent than they. Those are most valuable that are most serviceable; and those are the greater lights, not that have the best gifts, but that humbly and faithfully do the most good with them. Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister, Matt 20 26. (3.) He made the stars also, which are here spoken of as they appear to vulgar eyes, without distinguishing between the planets and the fixed stars, or accounting for their number, nature, place, magnitude, motions, or influences; for the scriptures were written, not to gratify our curiosity and make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints. Now these lights are said to rule (v. 16, 18); not that they have a supreme dominion, as God has, but they are deputy-governors, rulers under him. Here the less light, the moon, is said to rule the night; but in Ps 136 9 the stars are mentioned as sharers in that government; The moon and stars to rule by night. No more is meant than that they give light, Jer 31 35. The best and most honourable way of ruling is by giving light and doing good: those command respect that live a useful life, and so shine as lights.
Verses 14-19 In the fourth day's work, the creation of the sun, moon, and stars is accounted for. All these are the works of God. The stars are spoken of as they appear to our eyes, without telling their number, nature, place, size, or motions; for the Scriptures were written, not to gratify curiosity, or make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints. The lights of heaven are made to serve him; they do it faithfully, and shine in their season without fail. We are set as lights in this world to serve God; but do we in like manner answer the end of our creation? We do not: our light does not shine before God, as his lights shine before us. We burn our Master's candles, but do not mind our Master's work.
“I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me and between the earth.”