Here I am again with you, my family in Christ. It is a privilege for me to be allowed by God to present the word for today. As in each Sunday I hope to say something that will engage your hearts and minds to a fuller relationship with God the Father, Christ Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And I hope to do so by conveying to you the wonderous things God has done.
[Title: God’s Meticulous Designs]
The definition of meticulous is this: showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.
Today we are going to look at the God’s careful and precise designs in creating this world, so that you and I can inhabit it.
And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne,
and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”
Jeremiah 33:19-22
This passage, written some 2500 years ago first issues a challenge: Can you stop the cycles of day and night? If you can, then you can stop my plan for salvation. Then without worrying about the answer God goes on to tell us something of His design of the universes.
These verses claimed that there are billions of stars ("host of heaven" is the biblical term for the stars). When this statement was made, no one knew how vast the numbers of stars were, as only about 1,100 were observable. Now we know that there are billions of stars, and that they cannot be numbered, because we are still finding newer ones. Several other passages assert that the stars are innumerable (Gen 15:5, Gen 17:7, Heb 11:12). Now, this does not necessarily mean that we are incapable of mathematically expressing their number. It means that no human could count them individually to achieve their sum. It is claimed that there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy alone. If stars were counted around the clock at one star per second, then it would take over 3000 years just to count these. Add to this the fact that there are as many as 100 billion galaxies. However, there were many scholars prior to Galileo who believed that the stars could be counted, and several attempts were made to do so. Many of these counts arrived at around 1000 stars.
He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.
Job 26:7
This verse, written some 3,500 years ago, claimed that the earth freely floated in space. Science, in early times then thought that the earth sat on a large animal; which was a good working theory because they also thought that the earth was flat; more on the flat earth theory a little later. In Greek mythology, Atlas is a Titan condemned to hold up the heavens or earth for eternity after his war with other Greek Gods. We now know that the earth indeed free floats in space. The reason the earth free floats in its place aligned with the other planets science still has little understanding of, but God knows the why’s and how’s because it is His meticulous craftmanship and design.
Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, And its circuit to the other end; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19:4-6
Bible critics have scoffed at these verses, saying that they teach that the sun revolves around the earth. Science told them that the sun was stationary. Then they discovered that the sun is in fact moving through space at approximately 600,000 miles per hour. It is traveling through the heavens and has a "circuit" or a path, just as the Bible says. It is estimated that its circuit is so large, it would take 200 million years to complete one orbit. And in that circuit the earth and all the other planets follow along as God’s epic design demands.
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
Isaiah 40:22
The Bible informs us here that the earth is round. At a time when science believed that the earth was flat, it was the Scriptures that inspired Christopher Columbus to sail around the world. He wrote: "It was the Lord who put it into my mind. I could feel His hand upon me … there is no question the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit because He comforted me with rays of marvelous illumination from the Holy Scriptures."
Other statements in the Bible also indicate that God revealed this truth long ago. For example, David said that God has removed our transgression from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). On a round surface, east and west are infinitely separated in the sense that one can travel indefinitely in either direction without ever attaining the other. However, Solomon described the wind was blowing in circuits, first towards the south and then turning toward the north. North and south are not infinitely separated as east and west, because a southward traveler on a round surface will be heading north after crossing the South Pole. This would be impossible for a flat earth.
Now, if you didn’t catch this, we have used just a few scriptures, of many, that relate to only the earth, as it relates to its place in the universe in God’s epic design.
At this point, we are going to look at the physical science of the universe. This will take us from the vastness of the universe to the smaller particles that it is made of.
By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Hebrews 11:3
The Bible claims that all creation is made of invisible material. Science then was ignorant of the subject. We now know that the entire creation is made of invisible elements called "atoms." Atoms are then made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. To further try to understand the creation of God, science now believe that protons and neutrons are made up of another element called a quark. Quarks are at this point more of a theory to understand the invisible things God created everything with.
Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, And say to you, ‘Here we are!’?
Job 38:35
This verse, written 3,500 years ago is making a scientifically ludicrous statement -- that light can be sent, and then manifest itself in speech. Some of us may have cable and internet that uses fiber optics, which is modulated light. But did you know that radio waves move at the speed of light? This is why you can have instantaneous wireless communication with someone on the other side of the earth. Science didn’t discover this until 1864 when "the British scientist James Clerk Maxwell suggested that electricity and light waves were two forms of the same thing". Although we know that lightning can be used for communication, we also know that we cannot harness lightning as God can. Having a patent for a lightning generator, I understand the concept of not being able to control it all too well.
The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
Psalm 8:8
What does the Bible mean by "paths" of the seas? The sea is just a huge mass of water, how then could it have "paths?" Man discovered the existence of ocean currents in the 1850's, but the Bible declared the science of oceanography 2,800 years ago. Matthew Maury (1806- 1873) is the father of oceanography. He was bedridden during a serious illness and asked his son to read a portion of the Bible to him. While listening, he noticed the expression "paths of the sea." Upon his recovery, Maury took God at His word and went looking for these paths. His book on oceanography is still considered a basic text on the subject and is still used in universities. Rip currents are another form of path through the water that normally extends from the shore outward to sea.
“Have you entered the treasury of snow, Or have you seen the treasury of hail, Which I have reserved for the time of trouble, For the day of battle and war?
Job 38:22-23
It wasn't until the advent of the microscope that man discovered that each single snowflake is uniquely a symmetrical "treasure." Its crystal structure, though mostly in the form of delicate six-pointed "stars," is endlessly varied and always intricately symmetrical and incredibly beautiful.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, Measured heaven with a span And calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales And the hills in a balance?
Isaiah 40:12
We are told that God has measured the waters and set a proper amount of water on the earth. Modern science has proven that the quantity of water on earth is just enough for our needs. If the sea became 10 feet deeper, the water would absorb all the carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and no creature could live any longer, because to creature can breathe pure oxygen, as it destroys our lungs and can cause blindness. Likewise, if there were more dust on the earth it would constantly be swirling in the air, preventing us from breathing. All the items mentioned are put on earth in the proper measure to balance each other out. In God’s meticulous designs He has created checks and balances to ensure that we don’t destroy ourselves.
Let’s look at the human body.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’
Leviticus 17:11
The Scriptures declare that blood is the source of life. Up until 150 years ago, sick people were "bled", and many died because of the practice. We now know that blood is the source of life. If you lose your blood, you will lose your life.
Blood provides a coordinated environment by regulating acidity/alkalinity (pH), which keeps your body from eating itself up. Additionally providing oxygen (and removing carbon dioxide and other waste products) and carrying essential vitamins and minerals. Also, blood must be in the right places at the right times, at the right temperature and pressure, and it carries regulatory messages between organs via blood ‘messengers’ called hormones. All this is organized within very specific limits—straying outside these (through injury, disease, toxins, etc.) rapidly reduces functionality. How meticulous is that? A fluid that serves multiple functions so that we may live.
‘And when he who has a discharge is cleansed of his discharge, then he shall count for himself seven days for his cleansing, wash his clothes, and bathe his body in running water; then he shall be clean.
Leviticus 15:13
This verse, written some 3,000 years ago said that when dealing with disease, hands should be washed under running water. Up until 100 years ago doctors washed their hands in a basin of still water, resulting in the death of multitudes. We now know that doctors must wash their hands under running water. The Encyclopedia Britannica documents that in 1845, a young doctor in Vienna named Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis was horrified at the terrible death rate of women who were dying after giving birth in hospitals. As many as 30% of those giving birth died. The Doctor noted that doctors would examine the bodies of those who had died, then, without washing their hands, go straight to the next wards and examine expectant mothers. This was their normal practice, because the presence of microscopic diseases was unknown. Doctor Semmelweis insisted that doctors wash their hands before examinations, and the death rate immediately dropped down to 2%.
