The sun stands still

This is a great story. At the tail end of our reading yesterday, we saw what happens when people make big decisions without consulting the Lord. The Israelites knew that they were not to make treaties with any of the nations nearby, but were taken in by the ruse of the Gibeonites. They did not consult the Lord and instead based their decision on what seemed right to them. They quickly learned that they had been swindled and were soon called upon to honor the ill-gotten treaty. It may seem odd that the Israelites would honor such an agreement, but our culture is pretty far removed from one that placed a premium on one's word. We break promises and contracts without thinking twice, but not having the legality of written documents, a person's word was binding. Furthermore, they had made the vow in the name of the Lord...whose name was not to be taken in vain. They had just finished stoning Achan for his sin against the Lord and were probably not willing to risk a similar incident.

Though the Israelites grumbled against their leaders for having obligated them to this fraudulent treaty, they dutifully marched all night, covering more than 30 miles of difficult, uphill terrain. Somewhere along the way, Joshua prayed that God would cause the sun to stand still and it did! It is apparently substantiated in the Book of Jasher (which was not preserved), and allegedly in several other cultures, though it is like urban legend...very difficult to substantiate. There are many opinions on what exactly happened that day. The word used for "stood still" is more commonly translated " silenced", so was Joshua asking for more or less sunlight? Did he want more daylight to run down the enemy and maintain the advantage or did he want relief from the heat for his weary soldiers? Either way, some supernatural astrological phenomenon occurred. It was either dark or light for an extra day. Under ordinary circumstances, this would be impossible without catastrophic consequences to the universe. But if God created the laws of the universe, He could certainly suspend them for a time to grant such a prayer request. When I think of the faith it must have taken for Joshua to publicly and boldly ask for something so outlandish, I can see why God would want to honor the request! My prayers are typically much more realistic and are padded with all kinds of escape clauses if God does not "come through". But Joshua asked without reservation and I know God loves that kind of assurance and confidence.

God gave them victory over this conglomerate army, demonstrating the way He takes our foibles and works them out for His own good purposes. Israel had involved themselves in an unwise alliance but God used that alliance to force a group attack from 5 of the kingdoms he needed to destroy. Essentially, Joshua was able to kill five birds with one stone! And for doing the right thing (even in response to doing the wrong thing!) God rewarded them by allowing their participation in one of the most fantastic miracles recorded in the Bible.

Tomorrow's reading; Joshua 12:7-15:19