Sun

Created as a source of light and heat and an indicator of time and direction. The sun is also used as a metaphor for the splendour and light of God himself and the righteousness of his people.

Natural functions of the sun

A source of light

Genesis 1:16–18 See also Psalm 136:7–8

God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well. God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

A marker of time

Genesis 1:14 See also Genesis 29:7; Exodus 22:26; Judges 9:33; 1 Samuel 11:9

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.

An indicator of direction

Numbers 21:11 See also Exodus 27:13; Deuteronomy 11:30; Joshua 19:12; Psalm 113:3; Isaiah 45:6

They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east.

A blessing, necessary for life

Ecclesiastes 11:7 See also Deuteronomy 33:13–14; Job 8:16; Matthew 5:45

Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.

The scorching heat causing discomfort and harm

Jonah 4:8 See also Psalm 121:6; Isaiah 49:10; Matthew 13:6; James 1:11; Revelation 7:16

As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Worship of the sun

Forbidden to God's people

Deuteronomy 4:19 See also Deuteronomy 17:2–5; Job 31:26–28

When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars— all the host of heaven— do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

Practised in Israel and Egypt

Ezekiel 8:16 See also 2 Kings 23:5, 2 Kings 23:11; Jeremiah 8:1–2, Jeremiah 43:13

So He brought me to the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple of the LORD, between the portico and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east; and they were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.

Sunlight and God's judgment

Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29–30 parallels Mark 13:24, Luke 21:25–26 See also Exodus 10:21–23; Isaiah 13:9–10; Jeremiah 4:28; Ezekiel 32:7–8; Joel 3:14–15; Amos 5:20; Matthew 27:45 parallels Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44 the crucifixion; Acts 2:20; Revelation 6:12–17

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

God and the sun

God as creator and controller

Job 9:7; Psalm 74:16 See also Joshua 10:12–13; 2 Kings 20:8–11; Psalm 19:1–6, Psalm 148:3, Psalm 148:5; Isaiah 38:8; Jeremiah 31:35–36; Habakkuk 3:11

He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.

The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.

God likened to the sun

Luke 1:78–79 See also Psalm 84:11; Isaiah 9:2; Habakkuk 3:4; Malachi 4:2; Matthew 17:2; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Revelation 1:16

because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high, to shine on those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

God's glory outshines the sun

Revelation 21:23 See also Isaiah 24:23, Isaiah 60:19–20; Acts 26:13; Revelation 22:5

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.

Metaphorical allusions to the sun

In Paul's conversion experience

Acts 26:13

About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.

As righteousness

Psalm 37:6; Matthew 13:43 See also 2 Samuel 23:3–4; Proverbs 4:18; Isaiah 58:8, Isaiah 58:10, Isaiah 62:1; Daniel 12:3

He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

As constancy and dependability

Hosea 6:3 See also Psalm 72:5, Psalm 72:17, Psalm 89:36

So let us know — let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.

The setting sun signifying a premature end

Jeremiah 15:9; Amos 8:9; Micah 3:6

Miracles and signs concerning the sun

Darkening of the sun: Isaiah 5:30, Isaiah 24:23; Amos 8:9; Joshua 10:12–13; 2 Kings 20:11; Isaiah 38:8; Habakkuk 3:11