And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs (H226), and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. (Gen 1:14-18 ASV)
To him that made great lights; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever: The sun to rule by day; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever; The moon and stars to rule by night; For his lovingkindness endureth for ever: (Psa 136:7-9 ASV)
In my sundial project this year, which I started late February, I started noticing a pattern when tracking the shadow of the sun from one day to the next. There were arcs of shadow that were flattening over time.
Then, on March 20, 2014 the shadow cast by the sun was a perfectly straight line. I considered this to be a “sign to mark” something…it indicated a change was taking place, a crossing of a threshold. This, in my understanding, was the “marker day” to end winter and begin spring.
The next day, I meticulously watched throughout the day, and I saw that the line began to bow again but in the opposite direction. Over the next few days it seemed that the line was just bending in the middle, not necessarily arcing…like a “V” was going to form but many days later, they became more prominent arcs…like a “U” was going to form.
All the while the centers of these arcs/lines of shadow have slowly moved southward.
My expectation at this point (at least 30 days after the straight line) is that the arcs will continue to bend and appear more U shaped (with the ends coming closer together in the southern region) as the centers continue to move southward at a steady pace. In time, these shadows are going to reach a pinnacle and then reverse direction. When it reaches its pinnacle, I will consider that to be a “sign to mark” something, since it is indicating a change in the pattern. In my understanding, this would be the “marker day” to end spring and begin summer.
Then, it seems logical to me that the daily paths of the sun going forward will match the ones that were cast in the previous “season” until the shadow becomes perfectly straight once again. That will be the next “sign to mark”, as the pattern will change again. This would be the “marker day” to end summer and begin fall.
I’m not exactly sure if the arcs of shadow going forward will mirror the previous two seasons, because if my memory serves me correctly it seems that the shadows in fall/winter are typically longer than in the spring/summer. I will just have to wait and see to verify that portion of the year. But I do expect there will be another pinnacle reached in the northern region. At that point, I will consider that to be a “sign to mark” something…a “marker day” to end fall and begin winter.
And then in the fourth season of time, I assume the arcs of shadow cast in that season will match those cast in the previous one, until the shadow results in a perfectly straight line, bringing us back to the beginning again. That straight line will be a “sign to mark” the end of winter and the start of the next year’s spring.
What stands out to me in all of this is that this is clearly identifiable if we just watch. There’s no calculation of hours, minutes and seconds necessary to know the changing of the seasons. Just like the time of day. When we are outside on a regular basis, we can observe whether it’s morning, noon or evening…there’s no man-made watch/clock required.
Genesis 1:14-15 says that Elohim intended for the lights in the expanse of the heavens to be “for signs to mark, for seasons, for days and years”, and I can clearly see how the sun easily fits that bill. It is neither a mystery, nor a stretch of the imagination. It is visible to the naked eye all around the world and so simple that a child could understand it. Praise Yah for this understanding!
What an awesome hands on study!
You have observed the path reflecting the vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox and winter solstice and the changing reflection of the circuit of the Earth (Ps. 19:6) around the sun. There is nothing new under the sun. (Eccles. 1) The Creator designed the ordinances of heaven to put His plan into effect on Earth (Job 38:33). Gen. 1:14, as you so aptly point out, shows the sign posts of time for cycles upon parallel cycles of days, festival seasons and years (Shemitah or 7th years of release, 50th year Jubilees and 7000th year Millenium of His Kingdom restoring all things on Earth ….reflecting the weekly 7th Sabbath). It’s a beautifully woven tapestry of time crafted out of a piece of eternity. New moons mark signposts to count the festival seasons. And the lunar and solar year are synchronized in a dance of time, woven into His decrees for moedim (appointed times) for our observance to learn and rehearse His master plan of restorations. So much science and history…. Biblical research. He is a Master of complex simplicity, which He hides and reveals to us as we ask, seek, knock to find.
RE: “new moons mark signposts to count the festival seasons”
I’m wondering how this is done. I don’t believe each of the 12 chodesh of the year are determined by the moon (because there are only 12 chodesh in a year), but I do believe the moon’s activity presents some kind of pattern that marks something, I just don’t know how or what exactly.
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