Have you ever wondered why God says in Scripture that He counts the stars and calls them all by name (Ps 147:4)? What does He mean by that? Why would He want to name them, and are the names significant to us? When Abba Father took Abraham out and showed him the stars, He said “look towards heaven, and TELL the stars, if you will be able to list them; and He said unto him, ‘So shall your seed be’” (Gen 15:5). The word that is translated TELL is actually the same word used for taking a census, and means to not only count the stars but to call each of them by their names! Could it be that God told His people the names of the stars and was actually telling a story to them through those names? Read Ps 19:1-4 and see how this passage tells about the witness given by the stars, which Paul quoted as an irrefutable testimony in Rom 10:18 (also see Ps 89:37: “…Even like the faithful witness in the sky.”).

God created everything for a purpose. He created the heavenly bodies to give light, to separate the day from the night and to be for signs and seasons, and for days and years (Gen 1:14). We know that the sun and moon separate the day from the night, and the sun’s daily cycle allows us to keep a count of the passing days. The moon was God’s original light to help us keep track of the months of the year. However, it is much more difficult to keep track of the seasons and years strictly based on observing the daily movements of the sun and the monthly cycles of the moon. Ancient astronomers knew how to use the movements of the sun and moon through the various constellations of the zodiac (called mazzerot in scripture) to keep track of the seasons and years.

The sun travels through all twelve of the constellations throughout the course of the year. At any one point in time, this would make it possible for our ancestors (without the benefit of modern scientific calendars) to track the progress of the year and to know the current “season”. The passage in Ps 19:5-6 describes the movement of the sun through the constellations of the mazzerot during the course of the year. However, when you meditate on this passage at a deeper spiritual level, you can see the allusion to Messiah (Ps 19:4 “In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run His race.”). “Them” refers to the stars in this passage. Remember that Yeshua (Jesus) is the “Sun of righteousness” from Mal 4:2. Also, from the original Hebrew names of the stars, we know that Messiah is represented by the “strongman” in a number of the constellations (e.g. Orion, Hercules, Leo, etc.). One clear example of this strongman type pointing to Yeshua comes from the original Hebrew name of Hercules – El Gibbor, which means “The Mighty One”, a designation for both Abba and Messiah (Father and Son) in Isa 9:6.

Going back to the original Hebrew meaning behind Gen 1:14, we see that the “seasons” Elohim (God) wanted His people to keep track of were actually not the four seasons of the year we recognize, but rather His moedim (Hebrew for “God’s appointed times”) which correspond to His Feast days that occur at specific times of the year. These moedim (feasts) are associated with significant acts of Yeshua in both His first and second coming. Job 38:32 confirms the importance of the stars in keeping track of God’s seasons: “Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?” (Hebrew meaning of the “Bear and her cubs” refers to Yeshua’s sheepfold as His flock).

One of the strongest confirmations that Elohim has given us the Gospel message in the stars can be seen within the constellation Taurus. The Hebrew name for Taurus (bull) is shur, which means “the One who comes to rule”. This “Bull” is definitely a picture of Messiah, who is coming to rule on the earth. The Pleiades, a cluster of stars, is close to the head of the Bull, and is seen “Riding on the neck of Taurus”. Pleiades is sometimes called the 7 Sisters, but its Hebrew name is kimah, which means “congregation of the judge or ruler”. This agrees with Jude 14-15, which says: “Behold the LORD comes with 10,000’s of His saints (righteous ones) to execute judgment on all and to convict all who are ungodly.” Thus, through these and the other constellations, we have a very strong testimony that Elohim put them there to teach all of His children His Gospel story (see Rom 10:18, Ps 19:4).