Joshua 10:1-15

               The impact that Israel has been doing over their time in the Promised Land has been spreading throughout the land. And it causes kings to fear this army. In verse 3-4 it says, “Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ‘Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.”’

               This might seem to be a great army and will be a challenge for the Israelites. However, this is helping God with His plan in taking over the Promised Land. In the past, we have seen Israel go to each city one-by-one. But this will allow the Israelites to take over more cities with one battle.

               These kings attacked Gibeon to take down this city. Gibeon was a great city, an important city. So, the five kings wanted it back under their control. Joshua wanted to stay true to their treaty. He could have just left them to die, but he stayed true to their deal. As they were fighting, the armies of the five kings retreated and the Israelites continued their attack. Joshua asked God to have the sun stop so they can win this fight in the daylight. If it gets dark, then the armies of the five kings will escape. So, the sun stopped in the sky and took longer for it to set.

               How is this even possible? People start to think that the Bible could be inaccurate because of statements like this. Because it says that the sun stopped moving. You see, we know that the Sun doesn’t move, but the earth is the one that rotates around the Sun. However, this is were people can get into the problem of properly interpreting the Bible. Instead of viewing the Bible with the mindset of 2023, we need to think like Joshua and the Israelites during this time period.

From their perspective, the sun would move from the East to the West. So this would help Joshua’s case in his perspective.

Now, using what has been given to us, we can see that the sun did set at the end of the day. But it was just simply a longer day. So, most likely, the rotation of the earth just slowed down. It turned a 24 hour day into a 48 hour day. Time did not stand still, but the rotation was just lower.

               The impact that Israel has been doing over their time in the Promised Land has been spreading throughout the land. And it causes kings to fear this army. In verse 3-4 it says, “Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, to Piram king of Jarmuth, to Japhia king of Lachish, and to Debir king of Eglon, saying, ‘Come up to me and help me, and let us strike Gibeon. For it has made peace with Joshua and with the people of Israel.”’

               This might seem to be a great army and will be a challenge for the Israelites. However, this is helping God with His plan in taking over the Promised Land. In the past, we have seen Israel go to each city one-by-one. But this will allow the Israelites to take over more cities with one battle.

               These kings attacked Gibeon to take down this city. Gibeon was a great city, an important city. So, the five kings wanted it back under their control. Joshua wanted to stay true to their treaty. He could have just left them to die, but he stayed true to their deal. As they were fighting, the armies of the five kings retreated and the Israelites continued their attack. Joshua asked God to have the sun stop so they can win this fight in the daylight. If it gets dark, then the armies of the five kings will escape. So, the sun stopped in the sky and took longer for it to set.

               How is this even possible? People start to think that the Bible could be inaccurate because of statements like this. Because it says that the sun stopped moving. You see, we know that the Sun doesn’t move, but the earth is the one that rotates around the Sun. However, this is were people can get into the problem of properly interpreting the Bible. Instead of viewing the Bible with the mindset of 2023, we need to think like Joshua and the Israelites during this time period.

From their perspective, the sun would move from the East to the West. So this would help Joshua’s case in his perspective.

               Now, using what has been given to us, we can see that the sun did set at the end of the day. But it was just simply a longer day. So, most likely, the rotation of the earth just slowed down. It turned a 24 hour day into a 48 hour day. Time did not stand still, but the rotation was just lower.

               Also, we have seen the God control the weather in other accounts. Like Noah and the flood raining for 40 days and nights. Moses and the plagues. Some of the plagues were dealing with the weather, like the darkness. We also have seen when Jesus died on the cross, there was darkness and an earth quake. How about with the star that guided the Shepherds and wisemen to Jesus. Could have that been a miracle? Jesus calmed the storms of the Sea of Galilee. God is the one who created the world, so he was able to slow down the sun and help the Israelites claim the victory this day. Also, we have seen the God control the weather in other accounts. Like Noah and the flood raining for 40 days and nights. Moses and the plagues. Some of the plagues were dealing with the weather, like the darkness. We also have seen when Jesus died on the cross, there was darkness and an earth quake. How about with the star that guided the Shepards and wisemen to Jesus. Could have that been a miracle? Jesus calmed the storms of the Sea of Galilee. God is the one who created the world, so he was able to slow down the sun and help the Israelites claim the victory this day.