What did God create on the fourth day of Creation?

TL;DR:

On the fourth day of creation, God created the sun, moon, and stars, including the planets. God’s creation of these things reminds us that we are known and deeply cherished by the One who made the stars and knows them all by name.

what does the bible say?

On the fourth day of creation, God created the sun, moon, and stars to give light on the earth and to separate day from night. These celestial bodies also serve as markers for seasons, days, and years, highlighting God's intentional design for timekeeping and life support. God placed the sun to rule the day and the moon to rule the night. Despite the immense scale of these creations, they are described succinctly in Genesis, leading up to the pinnacle of God’s creation: humanity, which is made in His image. This reminds us that while the stars are magnificent and expansive, and while they glorify God, His greatest care and purposes are for us. This calls us to see our unique creation and value and to seek a deeper relationship with Him.

from the old testament

"And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens 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—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day" (Genesis 1:14–19).
On the fourth day of creation, God said, "Let there be lights…And it was so." On the fourth day of creation, God creates the sun, the moon, and the stars. On day one God created light, but it was not the light we are so familiar with—not the sun, or the moon, or the stars. God created all of those on day four.
The greater light (the sun) was created to rule the day. This is the same period of time which was called day from the beginning, but now, it is dominated by the sun. The lesser light (the moon) was created to rule the night. Of course, modern science has shown us that the moon itself does not give off light; rather it reflects the light of the sun, thereby reflecting enough light for us to move around at night. These are the same days as those which were established before the sun and moon were created.
God placed these two lights in the sky "to separate the light from the darkness" and to establish them for His creation as "signs and for seasons, and for days and years." The sun and moon, the marking of time, and the creation of the seasons were created for the benefit of other parts of creation that God had not created yet, including humanity.
Finally, as with each day of creation, it says, "And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day." All was perfect according to God's perfect standard, and here the fourth day is concluded. Four literal days, and we can't even count the number of stars that exist, represented in the text by three little words.

from the new testament

What God created on the fourth day of creation is recorded in the Old Testament.

implications for today

God gives a detailed narrative of the creation of mankind (Genesis 2), while for the vastness of the galaxy, the variety of the stars, the multitudes of planets, and the sheer unimaginable volume of space in between them, God only uses three little words: “and the stars.” In Hebrew, it's only two words. Why? Because while stars glorify His name, they are not the pinnacle of God's creation; that blessing is reserved for humanity. Humans alone are created in the image of God.

Understanding that we are the pinnacle of God's creation should profoundly shape how we view ourselves and others. Despite the vastness and amazingness of the universe and the beauty of the stars, God’s greatest care and attention were given to humanity, emphasizing our unique value and purpose. This truth calls us to embrace our identity as image-bearers of God, living with a sense of purpose, dignity, and responsibility. It calls us to point to the stars and recognize our Creator who not only created all the stars and knows them by name (Psalm 147:4), but who made each of us and knows us better than we know ourselves. Knowing that we were created for relationship with Him should encourage us to seek a deeper connection with God, trusting that we are not insignificant in the grand scope of creation but are deeply cherished by the One who made it all.

understand

On the fourth day of creation, God created the sun, moon, and stars to provide light, separate day from night, and mark time.
The sun was designated to rule the day, while the moon, reflecting the sun’s light, was created to rule the night.
Despite the vastness of these celestial bodies, the brief description highlights humanity as the pinnacle of creation, not space and its celestial bodies.

reflect

How does understanding that God created the sun, moon, and stars on the fourth day deepen your appreciation of His creative power and purpose?
Reflect on the vastness of the universe compared to the brief description in Genesis. How does this impact your sense of personal value and God's attention to your life?
How can the idea that humanity is the pinnacle of God's creation influence the way you view yourself and your purpose?

engage

It should never be casually overlooked that God speaks and things that we can barely fathom appear out of nothing. Our sun, for example, is a ball of hot hydrogen and helium burning at around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit, or 15 million degrees Celsius. Just imagine the power of God who simply said, "Let there be…And it was so." This is the God of creation. And He didn't just create the sun, He placed it exactly where it needs to be. At 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from Earth, the sun is precisely the right distance to support life on our little planet. Any further, we would freeze and die; any closer, we would burn. What does this truth reveal about God’s character?
Astronomers believe there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 billion stars in the galaxy. To put that in perspective, a U.S. penny is 1.52mm thick. If you stack just one billion of them on top of each other, the stack would be around 1,000 miles high. What an astounding number! And each star is different from the next, with varying colors, sizes, chemistry, and even burning at different temperatures. Other than our sun, the nearest star to us is over four lightyears away. What an amazing aspect of creation! The beauty is visible in the night sky and astounds the visual senses; the distance confuses the mind; the variety tickles the creativity of our hearts.
In what ways does the concept of the sun, moon, and stars serving as markers for time and seasons reflect God's intentionality in creation? How can this understanding strengthen arguments for a purposeful design behind the natural world?