The Longest Day
Joshua 10
The Sun Stands Still
1 Now it came to pass when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai and had utterly destroyed it--as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he had done to Ai and its king--and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were among them, 2that they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty.
3Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4"Come up to me and help me, that we may attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel." 5Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they and all their armies, and camped before Gibeon and made war against it.
6And the men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites who dwell in the mountains have gathered together against us."
7So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8And the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear them, for I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you." 9Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal.
10So the LORD routed them before Israel, killed them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, chased them along the road that goes to Beth Horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. 11And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.
12Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:
"Sun, stand still over Gibeon;
And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."
13So the sun stood still,
And the moon stopped,
Till the people had revenge
Upon their enemies.
Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. 14And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the LORD heeded the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.
15Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
(New King James Version)
There are four lessons we can gather from this text:
1. Expect opposition when you serve the Lord
2. Honor your obligations
3. Do not fear adversity
4. God will triumph in the end
1. Expect Opposition When You Serve the Lord (Joshua 10:1-6)
First thing we see in this text is that Israel faced opposition
The nation of Israel was advancing into the Promised Land. They had just made a treaty with a powerful Canaanite city state—Gibeon. Though Israel had been tricked by the Gibeonites, this alliance unsettled five of the neighboring city states. With Israel beginning to take the Promised Land, these states recognized the need to try to take out Gibeon. What happened to the Israelites often happens to us as believers. Whenever we begin to make advances for the Kingdom of God we are often opposed by the enemy. Many believers have experienced such opposition in their lives.
Illustration: John Wesley was certainly no stranger to opposition. The Wesley brothers and George Whitefield pioneered open air preaching in England in 18th century England. If people were not going to come to the churches, they were going to bring the church to them. Though their efforts ignited a great revival throughout England, in the beginning they were not often received well.
On many occasions, they were attacked by drunken mobs with clubs, bricks, stones, stink bombs, rotten eggs, and other projectiles. Sometimes a mob would even drive a bull into the midst of an open air meeting. Opposing crowds would also seek to drown out the preaching with bells, horns, drums and pans.
Sometimes their fury was aimed at Methodist followers. Sometimes their houses would be burned or destroyed. Furniture and other possessions of Methodist followers would sometimes be stolen. In addition to being attacked by opposing mobs, John Wesley was verbally attacked by many in the Anglican Church. Even the name “Methodists” started out as a derogatory label given by opponents.
The life of John Wesley was in profound danger while preaching in Staffordshire and Cornwall. Charles Wesley barely escaped with his life on several occasions. At one point Charles, “covered with blood and on the point of falling,” was rescued from an Irish mob in Dublin. Later, it became apparent that some of the violent activity against the Wesleys was being encouraged by the magistrates and squires.
Wesley writes of one instant when he was ministering at St. Ives:
"In the evening, as I was preaching at St. Ives, Satan began to fight for his kingdom," he wrote. "The mob of the town burst into the room and created much disturbance; roaring and striking those that stood in the way, as though Legion himself possessed them."
As the fury of the mob intensified Wesley walked into the midst of them to try to calm them. "I went into the midst and brought the head of the mob up with me to the desk," he writes "I received but one blow on the side of the head; after which we reasoned the case, till he grew milder and milder, and at length undertook to quiet his companions."
John Wesley’s efforts, however, paid off. God used Wesley to send a great revival to England. He went throughout England preaching in open air to the unchurched masses. Wesley rose every morning at five and often rode horseback up to fifteen to twenty miles a day. Wesley ended up traveling up to 250,000 miles and preached over 42,000 sermons, and left about 140,000 Methodist members and 1,500 traveling preachers. He preached up to the month before he died at the age of 88.
Wesley did not retreat in the face of opposition and advanced the Kingdom of God greatly in England. The Israelites did not retreat in the face of opposition and won the Promised Land.
2. Honor Your Obligations (Joshua 10:6-7)
The second thing we see in this text is that the Israelites honored their obligations.
We read in this text that the Gibeonites were threatened by the five kings. Though the Israelites had been tricked into forming a treaty with Gibeon, they were determined to meet their obligations and take on the five armies. It is often in a fiery trial that we learn the true mettle of our obligations. What are some of our obligations as believers? We certainly have obligations to our nation—to pay our taxes and vote, for example.
We have obligations to our families and our local churches. Jesus also reminded us that we have an obligation to “love our neighbors.” In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, Jesus reminds us that anyone in need is our neighbor.
Illustration: There is a story about a participant in the Special Olympics. There was a very fast runner named Andrew who was competing in the 220 track race. He was 50 yards ahead of the other runners when he looked back and saw his best friend fall. The crowd was fervently cheering for him to finish the race.
Andrew, however, stopped and checked on his friend. He took his friend’s hand, and the two finished the race together.
Craig Sauders, who witnessed the event, said: "It was an amazing sight because that’s what the Special Olympics are about. People don’t consider being ’Number One.’ The most important thing is that people finish the race."
Andrew may not have won first place in the race, but he did win the Sportsman Award. He was more concerned with being first place with his friend than being first place in the race. (Source: www.sermonillustrator.org)
3. Do not fear adversity (Joshua 10:8)
The third thing we see in this text is that the Israelites are exhorted not to fear the battle they were about to face. Previously, they battled single city states, now they were up against five armies at once. We see, however, that God encourages them not to fear.
We see in Scripture that David was often someone who faced adversity. David wrote Psalm 56 when he was captured by the Philistines.
Psalm 56
3Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
9When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because God is for me.
10In God (I will praise His word),
In the LORD (I will praise His word),
11In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
(New King James Version)
Regarding adversity, Andrew Murray wrote: “God is willing to assume full responsibility for the life that is totally yielded to Him.”
Adversity is the tool that God often uses to strengthen our faith. There is an old English proverb:
“A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner.”
Indeed, it is in times of adversity that God performs His greatest miracles. One of the greatest miracles we read in Scripture is when God parted the Red Sea. The Israelites had the Egyptian army on their heels. The situation looked desperate, however, it was that situation that necessitated God to perform one of the greatest miracles performed in Scripture—the parting of the Red Sea.
There is a story I heard about a Nigerian pastor who had a church in a predominantly Muslim part of his country. His church received numerous threats from militant Muslims in his area. One night during a service, an angry mob surrounded his church. The pastor dismissed his congregation and faced the mob’s fury alone.
They grabbed him and poured gasoline over him. When they tried to ignite the pastor, nothing happened. Thinking that something was wrong with the gasoline, they poured more over the pastor. They were still unable to set the pastor on fire. They weren’t able to set the pastor on fire because you can’t set something on fire that already is on fire!
God may not always miraculously rescue someone as He did that evening with the Nigerian pastor, but we know from the promise of Scripture that He will be glorified through whatever happens to His people. Paul wrote in Romans 8:28:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”—Romans 8:28 (New King James Version)
This is the confidence that we can have when we face adversity, and this what happened for the people of Israel in their hour of need. This brings us to our fourth point.
4. God will triumph in the end
The fourth thing we see in this passage is that God triumphs over the five armies. We see in this text that God enables the Israelites to rout the five armies and then he begins to send hailstones down upon them as they retreated from the armies of Israel. Then we see that God does one of the greatest miracles in Scripture.
Did the sun stand still? Did the earth stand still in its orbit? There are liberal theologians who would like to discount the miraculous--who would like to say that it really didn’t happen. They will tell you that this is not historical, but allegorical. It is poetic language meant to make a spiritual point. I think they miss the point!
It is interesting that many cultures speak of an extended day in their legends. According to Greek mythology, Apollo’s son, Phaethon, who disrupted the movement of the sun for a day. Cultures on the other side of the world have legends of an extended night.
The Maori people of New Zealand have a legend of how their hero Maui impeded the sun before it rose. According to the Annals of Cuauhtitlan, the ancient history of Mexico, night continued for extended period of time. In addition, according to ancient Chinese annals, King Yao testified that at one point during his reign the sun remained in the sky so long that many feared the world would be set on fire. The reign of Yao is said to correspond with the time of Joshua.
(Sources: http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/243.asp (http://www.grmi.org/renewal/Richard_Riss/evidences/7longday.html)
What happened in Joshua 10? Did the earth stand still? Did the solar system stand still? Did God refract the light of the sun to create the long day in Joshua 10? I am not sure. What I am sure of is that a great miracle occurred. What I am encouraged about in this text is that God will not let anything hinder Him from accomplishing His purposes. Not even the laws of science can stop my God from doing what He desires. If God wants to stop the Universe to accomplish His purposes, He can do it! It is His planet. It is His universe.
God is not subject to the laws of science. He is over the laws of science. Some would like to explain away the miracles of the Bible by science and reason. If we had a scientific explanation for all the miracles of the Bible, they wouldn’t be miracles anymore. A miracle is a divine act that cannot be explained by science.
The lesson we learn from Joshua 10 is that we serve a God who can transform the most adverse situations we face into opportunities to display His glory. Like the people of Israel, you may be facing an adverse situation. I cannot promise that God will stop the sun for you, but I am confident that he can work a miracle in your life. He can transform whatever you are facing into something that will reflect His glory in your life.
