We Thought We “Hung the Moon”
My kids’ history and science lessons recently coincided to study the landing of the first man on the Moon on July 20, 1969. It was fascinating to again read about and then re-watch Neil Armstrong’s first “small step for man,” and “giant leap for mankind.”
Armstrong’s famous first footprint in the fine dust of the Moon’s surface is a visual representation of the amazing technology and scientific advancement that man has developed over the past two thousand years or so.
Wiktionary defines the idiomatic phrase to hang the moon as “To consider or think of someone to be extraordinary or exceptional.” I suppose we could (rightfully) say that man’s walking on the moon was pretty extraordinary and exceptional, as were the people who made it happen. But it didn’t come without a lot of time, effort, and money. According to history.com, “The Apollo program was a costly and labor-intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers, technicians and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion in today’s dollars).”
As I thought about all the money required and effort made to simply take a step on the Moon, I was struck by the contrast of what was necessary to actually “hang” the Moon—God’s spoken word.
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:14–18)
It was an amazing feat for a human to walk on the Moon, but it was a feat. God, by simply speaking, formed Earth’s only natural satellite to provide light indirectly and to guide the day/night cycles, seasons, and tides.
He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. (Psalm 104:19a)
Nature itself can sing God’s praise. The psalmist commands the sun, moon, and stars to praise Him.
Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. (Psalm 148:3–6)
If nature praises God, how much more should we praise Him when we see God’s works in the sky? It should amaze and humble us that the Creator of the heavens should care for us, His creation here on Earth, over 200,000 miles away from the Moon.
We should especially be grateful for God’s creation of the Moon and other heavenly lights, because they remind us that the steadfast love of the Lord endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who alone does great wonders, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who by understanding made the heavens, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who spread out the earth above the waters, for his steadfast love endures forever; to him who made the great lights, for his steadfast love endures forever; the sun to rule over the day, for his steadfast love endures forever; the moon and stars to rule over the night, for his steadfast love endures forever. (Psalm 136:3–9)
And when we see that Moon hanging in the sky—and the laws of gravity and physics that keep everything in its fixed order—we can be reminded that the God who created the Moon and that fixed order will keep His word.
Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” (Jeremiah 31:35–36)
NASA claims that “The Moon was likely formed after a Mars-sized body collided with Earth several billion years ago.” If such were the case, then man’s walking on this cosmic accident points simply to man’s ingenuity and capabilities to explore beyond our home planet.
But if we view the Moon as an intentional creation of an all-powerful Creator, then man’s first steps on the Moon (though amazing and scientifically incredible) should actually make mankind feel His powerlessness and vulnerability. We, along with the Moon, are created. We, along with the Moon, praise the Creator, the One who actually “Hung the Moon.”
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:3–4)
(If you would like some more fodder for praise, check out the Hubble Telescope’s Amazing Top 100 Images. God is amazing!)
Holly Huffstutler serves with her husband David, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockford, IL. She blogs with him here. Holly is a homemaker, raising and schooling her four children.
Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay