Today's Scripture Reading (October 25, 2025): Psalm 148
The worship of the heavenly
bodies might have been one of the earliest forms of worship. The sun, sometimes
referred to by its Latin name "Sol" or by its Greek name "Helios,"
seems like an obvious object of worship. After all, the sun is a source of life;
it provides essential heat to the earth and supports the growth of crops
planted by farmers to feed society. The sun is the brightest light in the sky,
serving as an obvious comparison to the lesser lights: the moon, the stars,
nearby planets, and other stellar phenomena. Generally, but not exclusively,
the sun has been seen as male while the moon is female.
In Ancient Egypt, Ra became
associated with this worship of the sun. Eventually, Ra was identified
primarily with the intense noon-day sun that was so powerful that no place was
safe from its reach. Ra was the god of the sun, sky, earth, and even the
underworld. When the god Amun began to gain popularity in Egypt, he was colored
blue due to his association with air, or the sky. Eventually, the gods of Amun
and Ra merged into one powerful God named Amun-Ra.
The Psalmist acknowledges
this belief in a sun god. Amun-Ra was likely very well known in Israel, which
had emerged out of Egypt. But the author of this Psalm reminds the people that
even the sun, moon, and sky worship the God of Israel. Worship them if you
will, but the Psalmist has chosen to worship the one that he believes the gods,
even the powerful ones like Amun-Ra, worship: Yahweh of Israel.
We no longer worship the sun
as a deity, but we recognize its tremendous power and the effect it can have on
our lives. We still acknowledge that we need the sun; its presence allows our
crops to grow and brings the required light and heat to the earth. We have
harnessed the power of the sun in our solar farms. We recognize the damage that
solar storms from the sun can have on our lives, which seems to increase as our
technology advances. But we no longer worship it. Instead, we hear the message
of the Psalmist and worship the creator of the sun, moon, and stars.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Psalm 149 & 150
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