Joshua 10:1-15
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, 2 that 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. 3 Therefore 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.” 5 Therefore 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.
6 And 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.”
7 So Joshua ascended from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty men of valor. 8 And 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.” 9 Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly, having marched all night from Gilgal. 10 So 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. 11 And 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.
12 Then 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.”
13 So 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. 14 And 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.
15 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.
This day of battle was like no other ever seen before. When Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, heard how Joshua had had utterly defeated and destroyed Ai and Jericho and how Gibeon made a deceptive peace treaty to survive, he feared the LORD and His people so much that in his panic he made quick alliances with four other kings to attempt fighting back against the predictable onslaught heading their way. They feared Israel so much that they did not attack them but instead turned the aggression against Gibeon in retaliation for making the peace with God’s people that they could not and would not do. When under siege, Gibeon sent for help from Joshua to uphold their covenant of protection and they marched all night at the command and assurance of the LORD that the victory was already assured and the battle won by His infinitely able might and absolutely trustworthy word of promise. Joshua was told not to fear what lay ahead but to enter the fray and see the defeat of the enemy and victory in the battle by the deliverance of God on their behalf. They routed and slaughtered the enemy forces and drove the survivors away from Gibeon. To demonstrate and prove the battle was the LORD’s, He rained down huge hailstones from heaven on them and killed more of the enemy armies than Joshua and his army did with the sword! To demonstrate His sovereign power even more, God stopped the sun from setting and the moon from continuing its course across the sky for and entire day so that the army of the LORD could have enough daylight to finish off the enemy properly and completely in vengeance for attacking the city under their covenant protection. This miraculous event was recorded in the scripture here as well as in a lost writing of the Book of Jasher that the people of that time would have been familiar with as a historical account of the seemingly impossible work of God to stop the universe for a day in answer to God’s people needing help to achieve victory. How God showed His sovereign power even more in the incarnation (John 1:1, 14) of His Son and the resurrection out of the tomb (John 5:28, Acts 2:31, 4:2, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 2 Corinthians 4:14) and His ascent into heaven (Luke 24:51, Acts 1:9, Ephesians 4:8, Mark 16:19) to reign sovereignly even now until He returns to defeat the enemy and death itself (2 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 15:26, 55, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 20:14) once and forever for His covenant people! We who are under the New Covenant of saving grace will be delivered as promised from the final judgment on sin and our enemy the devil who attacks us now (Revelation 12:17) will be defeated by God’s sovereign omnipotent hand of final judgment to win the war against us now for the gospel’s sake. That will be the ultimate day like no other when the sun and moon will not just stand still, but drop from the sky (Matthew 24:29, Isaiah 13:10, Revelation 21:23, 22:5) and be replaced by the Lord of lords and King of kings Himself (1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14, 19:16) as our eternal light of glory. As we read in 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” We anticipate this day like no other by faith in patience to possess (Luke 21:17-19) our souls as we bear witness to the covenant victory we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. We live in anticipation of the final Day to come when all we now know and see comes to an end and a new beginning in eternity comes.
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