“So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped … the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not go down for about a whole day.” – Joshua 10:13
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The sun stopped for a day! This is even more miraculous than raising Jesus from the dead. For Moses he stopped some water but here, the sun stopped! Did all the stars and planets stop rotating, too? What of the tides and gravity and all the implications of this complicated cosmic system suddenly grinding to a halt. How about folks on the other side of the planet who had two nights back to back. Absolutely amazing! Why would God do such an astounding thing? Why does it get so little press coverage in the rest of the Bible?
I don’t know but perhaps it has something to do with Jesus. (Most things God does have to do with Jesus.) Did you know that Joshua and Jesus have the same name? Joshua is the Hebrew form and Jesus is the Greek form. Also, physical elements in the OT refer to spiritual truths of the NT. In other words, David’s prayer to break the teeth of His enemies (Psalm 3:7 & 58:6) has its NT application in breaking the teeth of Satan, the roaring lion seeking to devour God’s children. It does not imply that you should break the teeth of that unjust boss or nasty neighbor nor pray God would. We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood … (1 Peter 5:8 & Ephesians 6:12)
So in Joshua 10, Jesus is striking down all the enemies of God. He is utterly destroying this spiritual ruler of wickedness, that principality of darkness and He asks God to push the pause button on the sun and moon. God does it! What does that mean for me, for my life, for my battle against the forces of evil that assail me?
The most obvious answer is that God is committed to our victory over the enemies of our soul – so committed He will “move heaven and earth” or, in this case, stop them from moving, to see us triumph over sin. Secondly, we see that no matter how much effort we put into the battle, it is still God that earns the ultimate credit for victory. ( Joshua 10:11 – More died from the hailstones than by the sword).
Finally, we see that we can show no mercy to sin or the devil. We cannot co-exist with him, compromise or make peace with him. The only way we win this war is through total annihilation of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).
What message do you see from this amazing miracle – possibly the most amazing one in the whole Bible (except for God’s love for us)? From your perspective, how does this miracle glorify God or magnify Jesus? What do you think?
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Jeremiah 32:17
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.
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