“...God does not do anything for no reason. The universe has the specific characteristics it has, and the specific laws that govern it for a reason....”
Interesting........
We must keep in mind that God’s ways and thoughts are “higher” than our ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). “How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out” (Romans 11:33).
The Bible, however, does give us a clue as to why God created the stars and planets throughout the Universe. In the book of Psalms, David praised God, and wrote about how “the moon and the stars” are the work of His fingers (8:1-4). He then wrote: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork” (19:1). The heavenly bodies show God’s glory and creative ability. They exist (at least partly) to serve as a proof of God’s existence and His power.
Another reason God created the many hosts of heaven may also have to do with the fact that He knew men would use the stars at night to help them know which direction they were going (Genesis 1:14).
-Doug
None of those would reveal the reason behind the specific choice of form: he could reveal himself as awesome in many ways, could have created lines in the sky instead of stars, and so on. I suspect that the metaphysics behind specific forms and laws of the universe were chosen because that particular expression of material was the one which would maximize God’s love.