The Day the Sun Stood Still
Having trouble with the video? CLICK HERE!
“On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: ‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!” Joshua 10:12-14 (NIV)
Joshua had made a mistake in judging from appearance and leaning on his own understanding instead of consulting with the Lord about the Gibeonites in chapter 9. They successfully deceived him and the leaders of Israel claiming they lived in a far country when they were only 25 miles down the road. They saved themselves from being destroyed when Joshua made a peace treaty with them when they should have been destroyed along with the other Canaanite cities. But this wouldn’t be the end of the story. We learn an important lesson from Joshua about failure. Learn to fail forward. If you make a mistake, admit it, keep your word even when others don’t, and make your mistake work for you. Because of the Gibeonites’ deception, they would become the water carriers and wood carriers for the service of the tabernacle. Some scholars believe their service in the tabernacle, and later in the temple, influenced them to abandon their idols and worship the God of Israel. However, their alliance now with Israel created a rift in their relationship with the other Canaanite Kings. Five Kings in the South joined forces to attack Gibeon and destroy it for making a peace treaty with Israel. The Gibeonites immediately sought help from Joshua. This could have been an easy solution to Joshua’s problem with Gibeon. But Joshua was a man of integrity. Psalm 15:4 (NLT) says that men and women of integrity “… keep their promises even when it hurts.” Do you do that?
Rather than letting the Gibeonites be destroyed, Joshua prayed and rallied the Israelite troops to travel all night and rescue them. God told him in verse eight, “Do not be afraid of them, … for I have given you victory over them. Not a single one of them will be able to stand up to you.” Think of it - God overruled Joshua's mistake and used it to give him a signal victory over five kings at one time! This was the first time in the conquest of Canaan that Joshua and his army would face a confederation of armies. God was leading Joshua and all of Israel from faith to faith! Each step of faith they took led to another with an even greater challenge! When we walk from faith to faith, we experience God’s ever-increasing glory! This is the adventure of faith and the progressive nature of faith in the Spirit-filled life! 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NKJV) says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
The central campaign of Israel’s conquest in Canaan brought victory at Jericho and then Ai. After entering a peace treaty with Gibeon, Joshua and his army would now face an even greater challenge with five Canaanite Kings of the South. Instead of having to face them one at a time, God would give Joshua victory over them all at one time! God used Joshua’s mistake with the Gibeonites to accelerate his conquest of Canaan! God can even use our mistakes and turn our messes into miracles if we will give them all to Him! He brings beauty out of ashes! Don’t look inward at your mistakes and failures. Look up to God. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Somebody defined success as ‘the art of making your mistakes when nobody's looking’; but a better definition would be ‘the art of seeing victory where other people see only defeat.’"
Joshua’s success over the five Kings of the South was a miracle! God intervened in two supernatural ways.
1. A large hailstorm! Joshua 10:9-11 (NIV) says, “After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.” This was really a two-part miracle in itself. First the timely occurrence of the hailstorm and second, the fact that none of the hail hit the Israelite soldiers! God never misses His target!
2. God extended the day and made the sun stand still! Verses 12 to 14 say, “On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: ‘Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!” What an audacious request Joshua prayed! He was running out of daylight and needed more time to defeat the enemy and finish the job! This is the last miracle recorded in the book of Joshua and certainly the greatest of all!
Nothing is impossible with God! I think God must have smiled on Joshua’s faith! Faith pleases God. When we walk from faith to faith, we experience ever-increasing glory! Never let your mistakes stop you from trusting God. He can turn your mess into your life message. Every problem is an opportunity in disguise. Pray audaciously! Believe Him for the impossible. The great missionary to India, William Carey, once said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”