The Planets: "Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity," Part 5 (of 10)

Maureen's Musings - Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Named after the king of the Roman gods, Jupiter is considered as a king of planets. Its enormous size, entourage of 63 moons, and gravitational power all befit a regal planet.

A planet like Jupiter requires delicate precision of mass and location in order to be beneficial, rather than detrimental, to life on Earth. Jupiter’s mass and distance from our own planet are listed in Hugh Ross’s book, The Creator and the Cosmos, as part of the evidence for fine-tuning of the galaxy and its various features to support life. Any variation to these characteristics in Jupiter would either cause catastrophic gravitational disturbance to Earth’s orbit or expose it to too many comets and asteroids.

While Jupiter the planet highlights the careful engineering efforts of the Creator, both Jupiter of Rome, and Zeus, his Greek equivalent, provide acute contrasts to the God of the Bible. In addition to ruling over the gods of Mount Olympus, Zeus is known for his infamous sexual trysts with immortals and mortals of all kinds. In fact, planet Jupiter’s four largest moons, Ganymede, Callisto, Io, and Europa, are all named after mythical mortals raped by Zeus in disguise.

As for Rome’s Jupiter, one website describes the ancient deity as “one of the most important of the Roman gods, continuously evolving with Roman needs.” Jupiter began as an agricultural deity, but as Rome grew more powerful, Jupiter transformed into the designated protector of the military-oriented empire's capital city. Romans believed “he could be invoked through a variety of titles, each dependent on the responsibilities being requested of him.”

The Bible tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The God of the Bible does not evolve to meet the demands and whims of his creatures. Neither can we invoke him, as though he were a genie. Rather, he is completely capable of tending to human needs without compromise to his identity and does so on his own perfect time. YHWH is less like Jupiter and more like Aslan, of whom Mr. Beaver says, “Course he isn’t safe, but he’s good.” The God of the Bible is not a tame idol, shaped in the image of man.

Fortunately, the God of the Bible is not like Zeus either, characterized by lust and deceitfulness. Scripture declares that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Jesus is described as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

Though an impressive planet like Jupiter has excited awe befitting a deity, the God of the Bible is the real King. Thankfully, he is not the whimsical, flawed product of human invention, but perfect in all his attributes, including his love for his creatures. Now that's something to inspire jollity.

Listen to "Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity" here.