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God Hath Spoken
ASTRONOMY
Let us now look into the book of Job. We do not know if the book of Genesis or the book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. They were written about the same time.
The Earth Hangs Upon Nothing
In chapter 26, note verse 7. "He [i.e. God] stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing." How could Job know the earth hangs on nothing when hundreds of years later, the Romans thought that the earth was held up by Hercules standing on the back of a turtle? Job said, God "hangs the earth upon nothing." Such knowledge had to be revealed by God.
The Weight of The Winds
Consider chapter 28, verses 24-25. "For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; to make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure." Reader, did you know the wind has weight? That was supposedly discovered by Galileo. Aristotle did not know air had weight, and neither did Bacon; but God revealed that fact to Job thousands of years before either had been born.
The Darkness of Space
Consider Job chapter 38: "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it" (vs. 8-9). If we stand and look into the afternoon sky on a clear day, the heavens appear to be blue. Yet, approximately 1400 years before the birth of Christ, Job declared that darkness lay beyond the clouds. Who taught Job such knowledge? God must have revealed such things to him.
The Refraction of Sunlight
Note verses 12-14. "Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place; that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment."
The word "dayspring" simply means "light," or "the spring of the day." It is the dawn. Consider first that Job is here addressing the refraction of sunlight. When the sun-light hits the earth, it does not hit it broadside. Instead, the gravitation at the north and south poles actually bends the rays of sunlight. Who taught Job that the sunlight takes hold of the ends of the earth?
The Rotation of The Earth
Second, notice how Job speaks of the rotation of the earth. He says it is "turned as clay to the seal." If we lived in ancient times and we were trying to describe how the earth turns on its axis, how could we better describe it? The turning of clay to the seal was familiar to all Babylonians. An etching was first made. This was the "seal." Then clay was rolled to the seal. But, could Job write that the earth is turned on its axis unless the Bible is of divine origin? God inspired those words.
"The Sun Do Move"
Note Psalm 19, verses 5-6. The psalmist speaks of the sun when he says it "is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." In the latter 19th century, John Jasper preached, "The sun do move," and all the brilliant scientists called him crazy: they knew the sun was stationary. But today we know the sun moves in an orbit traveling 720,000 miles each year. God first revealed this fact in Scripture about one thousand years before the birth of Christ. Scientists conceded the fact 2900 years later.
The Moon, and The Seasons
In Psalm 104, consider verse 19. "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down." The book of Psalms is the second of the 5 books of Poetry. The psalmist therefore speaks poetically. The sun does not "rise and set." This is poetic language. Instead, what he reveals here is the purpose of the moon: it is for the seasons. The Egyptians planted by the moon and they practiced enchantments and other kinds of witchcraft according to the moon. But how did Job know that God had created it for seasons? The Scripture Job wrote had to be the Word of God.
The "Going Down" of The Sun
Look at chapter one in the book of Ecclesiastes. Note verse 5: "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose." We have already seen that the Bible was the first source to teach man about the rotation of the earth, and that the sun has its own orbit.