Number the Stars; Count the Sand

My 8-year-old son and I have been talking lately about God’s creation.  We know that, according to Genesis 1, He spoke the world into existence, over a period of six days, and on the seventh day, He rested.  Not because He was tired, of course—He IS God, after all.  Power and energy and strength are kind of a limitless commodity when you’re the God of the Universe.  I tend to think that, beside setting an example for us of the importance of setting aside time to rest, He was just taking in all that He had created—and as He so aptly observed, it was ALL GOOD.

When I look at nature, there are times I must simply stop to marvel at the incredible complexity of everything He created.  According to Wikipedia, there are estimated to be between 60,000-100,000 species of tree worldwide.  (That’s a pretty wide margin of error.  Scientists are “sure” of the relative age of Planet Earth, but can’t number exactly the species of tree, down to a 40,000 species span?  But I digress.)  Another site, phys.org, answers the question, “How many species (of animal) are on planet Earth?” as 8.7 MILLION.  It then qualifies this number as “give or take 1.3 million.”

To me, if this proves anything, it proves the limitless, ‘exceeding abundant’ nature of Almighty God.  In Hebrew, one of the many names for God is Elohim, and some have thought this represents a multi-headed Godhead.  Of course, to One-God, monotheistic Jews, this very idea is an affront.  Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  The Hebrew word here translated as God is Elohim.  The very word includes the idea of plurality, which has confused some for generations.  When you consider, however, the thought that in Isaiah alone, He insists upon His own singularity, we have to consider another idea.

Isaiah 41:4

Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he.

Isaiah 44:6

Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, and his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

Isaiah 48:12

Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

Any questions?  He’s first, He’s last, and He’s everything in between.  He stands alone in creation. It was not accomplished by committee.

Isaiah 42:5

Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:

Isaiah 44:24

Thus saith the Lord, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens ALONE; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

Isaiah 45:12

I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.

Isaiah 51:13

And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

Jeremiah 10:12

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

Now, ironically, we could go on in this vein almost as long as God is limitless.  But the real point that got me thinking about this over the last few days is that God is not bound by our human limitations.  Profound, I know.  But let me try to explain, though I’ll never do it justice.  He says one word, that to us is one-dimensional—but HIS ONE WORD to us is FULL of limitless possibility!  Think about it!  God said, “ And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”  In this English translation of Hebrew, there are 27 words ascribed to what God said here.  Out of 27 words (and I’m sure in Hebrew, it’s far, far less) God produces somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.7 million different species of trees—give or take 1.3 million.  That doesn’t even include the herbs (over 28,000), or the grass (around 12,000 species).  Honestly, we don’t even have any idea, because God is INFINITE.  It’s like trying to number the stars.  It’s all based on estimates of people who really have no idea, because it’s not like they’re out there flying around in spaceships, enumerating every heavenly being.  But according to Psalm 147:4, God already KNOWS: “He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.”

Man is obsessed with counting, but for God, it simply illustrates the limitless potential of even one single WORD.  We say ‘tree’, but what kind of tree?  We say, grass, but what kind?  What kind of fish is your favorite?  The Global Ethics Network says that scientists believe that the oceans contain more than 20,000 species of fish—but that they’re adding 150-200 new species every year.  How in the world can you contain a God that has no limit?  How can you count the possibilities when you are dealing with the infinite?

Consider God’s promise to Abraham.

Genesis 22:15-18 KJV

¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Hoshizuna-no-hama (Star Sand Beach), Iriomote Island, Japan
Photo Credit: Geomr

I’ve already mentioned the stars, but consider the sand!  On one beach alone, the idea of counting grains of sand is preposterous.  You could make it your life’s work, and never, ever live long enough to accomplish such an impossible task.  But did you know that there are almost as many varieties of sand?  There is green sand, found only on two beaches in the world; one is in Hawaii (Papakolea), and the other in Galapagos.  There are at least two black sand beaches, one in Hawaii, and another in Vik, Iceland.  Also in Galapagos, there is a red sand beach on Rabida Island, and there is another red sand beach on Prince Edward Island, in Canada.  Harbor Island, in the Bahamas, boasts a pink sand beach! In Croatia, there is a beach made up of white pebbles.  In Japan, Hoshizuna-no-hama (Star Sand Beach), Iriomote Island, some of the ‘sand’ is star shaped! It consists of the dried skeletons of marine protozoa. There is a 37-mile long beach in Shark Bay, Australia covered with nothing but shells.  These are just a few examples.  “…I will multiply thy seed…as the sand which is upon the sea shore….” (Gen. 22:17) This leads me to believe that God’s beautiful, limitless power and incredible variety extends not just to heaven and earth, but also to His people.  When He opened salvation up beyond the nation of Israel, to ‘every nation, tribe, and tongue,’ to ‘whosoever will’, He was confirming His belief in variety!  Abraham’s obedience made it possible that all the nations of the Earth would be blessed—and God’s boundless, exponential, creative multiplication in the lives of His people was released.  As He accomplished in creating the heavens and the earth, so will He do in a life that is submitted to Him, and obedient to His Word.  Why do we worry? Release the power of the Creator in your life!  Only BELIEVE!  The starry sky is the LIMIT!