Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place. – Job 38:12

Today's Scripture Reading (September 17, 2024): Job 38

Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical letter to the "Journal de Paris" editor in 1784. The letter explored possible ways of conserving energy and candle usage. In the Letter, Franklin suggested that if the Parisians would only wake up earlier in the summer, candles and oil usage could be drastically cut. It was a humorous suggestion, but a seed of truth was contained within it.

The idea didn't go away. Just over a century later, a New Zealand astronomer, George Hudson, proposed to set the clocks back two hours every spring. However, the astronomer's idea was never seriously considered.

The first implementation of Daylight Savings Time was in Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada, part of the contemporary city of Thunder Bay, in 1908. However, it was only a local regulation, not one to be followed nationally. But the idea has continued to spread until today when it is almost a universal regulation, especially in the extreme north and south of the world. Every spring, we adjust our clocks to make use of the extra hours of daylight that the seasons give to us. While we still argue about it, and many do not like this seasonal time change, the truth is that it makes more sense the farther north in the Northern Hemisphere and south in the Southern Hemisphere, the places where the differences between light available in the summer and winter is the greatest, that you go.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, the need for seasonal energy savings made Daylight Savings Time a matter of patriotic pride. Yet, it still had its detractors. A story is told of a woman who phoned in to a radio station to complain about the time change. Apparently, she was afraid that the extra daylight would burn her lawn. Of course, she is mistaken. Daylight savings time doesn't actually result in additional sunlight; we are just awake through more of it.

We don't possess the ability to change the length of a day. We cannot command that the sun rises or that it sets. That is something that only God can do. All we can do is change our clocks, one way in the spring and another in the fall. We understand the mechanics of the sun's daily cycle, which is a function of the earth's rotation, which is something that Job didn't understand. But the essential truth of this passage remains intact. We have control over many things when it comes to the passing and counting of time, but the rising of the sun isn't one of them. That remains the domain of our God.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 39

Note: The latest Sermon from VantagePoint Community Church (Edmonton) - The World of Jesus: New Expectations - can be found here. The full service can be found here.