“Let the sun stand still over Gibeon….”(1)
Though Joshua is the one who voiced that prayer, it did not begin in his heart. It was birthed in the heart of God! The sun standing still was not a part of a battle strategy that Joshua and the other leaders had devised. Even though it was highly effective that day, they never included that particular strategy in any of their future battle plans. They never again used that prayer in some type of last-ditch effort when the tide of battle was not going in their direction – kind of like a “Hail, Mary” pass in the final seconds of a football game.
That prayer was divinely inspired for that specific moment in time by God. He not only chose the request; He chose the time at which it would be uttered. And though it was birthed from His heart, He required that it be expressed through the voice of a man (Joshua) before He answered it. That prayer was not expressed to change the heart of God and beseech Him to do something He did not want to do. Rather, that prayer was communicated from God’s heart to Joshua’s heart, so that Joshua and the people could join with Him in His activity.
God could have very easily caused the sun to stand still without Joshua voicing the prayer. He could have told Joshua that this was what He was going to do, and then the Israelites could watch and see His mighty work – just like they had the day they crossed the Jordan River. On that day, God had not told Joshua to stand at the edge of the water and pray in front of the people for Him to stop the flow of the river. Rather, He had simply told Joshua to have the priests step into the river. And as they took that step of faith, God had supernaturally intervened.
But this time the step of faith was to pray a prayer that was completely out of this world. As a matter of fact, it was “93 million miles out of this world”! And Joshua prayed it boldly in front of all the people. He didn’t retreat to his private prayer closet so he could voice this quietly as a prayer that was just between he and God. He didn’t share this with just his small group with the caveat – “LORD, if it is Your will….” No, he prayed it boldly – and if God did not answer this prayer by causing the sun to stand still, someone was going to come off looking very bad – either Joshua or God.
In order to pray that prayer, Joshua not only had to have the confidence that the prayer was according to God’s will, he had to be confident that God had the absolute power to be able to fulfill it. It was. He did. And God chose to do just that.
… The sun stayed in the middle of the sky, and it did not set as on a normal day. There has never been a day like this one before or since, when the LORD answered such a prayer. Surely the LORD fought for Israel that day!(2)
i believe that God intended to do much more through that prayer than simply defeat the Amorite armies that day:
1. Through it, God affirmed His servant. By that i don’t mean that Joshua was to be put on a pedestal as a person. Joshua didn’t cause the sun to stand still. It wasn’t his idea; and it sure wasn’t his power. But God had placed Joshua in his position of leadership, and God uniquely anointed and equipped him to lead God’s people. He had an accountability and responsibility before God for the people and for his actions unlike any other. And the LORD used this prayer and His answer to affirm that Joshua was His servant and the people were to follow him.
2. Through it, God affirmed His people. Repeatedly throughout the exodus, the wilderness journey and the occupation of the Promised Land, God affirmed His promise dating back to Abraham that the Israelites were His people, called by His Name, set aside for His purpose to bring glory to His Name. His Name was known far and wide. The kings of the armies the Israelites were chasing on that day had attacked the Gibeonites out of a motivation of fear of the LORD. His Name and His mighty acts were known, and the Israelites were known to be His people. Our God is still on mission to make His Name known and His plan is still to do so through His people. And if we name the name of Christ, we are His people. He still desires to affirm His people through His mighty works.
3. Through it, God affirmed His rule over all creation. He caused the sun to stand still. He stopped the flow of the Jordan River during flood stage. He caused hail to fall and destroy the retreating Amorite armies. He caused manna to appear daily, and then no longer appear. He caused impregnable walls to miraculously collapse. He caused the blind to see and the lame to walk. He calmed the storm and stilled the waves. He caused the dead to rise again. He is still the Ruler of all things. He is still the Creator of all things.
4. Through it, God affirmed that He – and He alone – is able to turn back the darkness. Just as He was able to keep it at bay for hours, He is able to eradicate it forever. “Light shines in the darkness for the godly.”(3) “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”(4) “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all.”(5)
The Israelites advanced to victory that day because God was fighting for His people. And He still “fights” for His people. He is still able to cause the sun to stand still. Just as He had Joshua join with Him in a great miracle that brought glory to His Name that day, He desires each of His children to join with Him today in a way that will bring glory to His Name. The miracle might look different, but He’s the same God with the same ability and the same purpose.
So, it begs the question: what sun is He wanting to stand still in and through our lives today?
* * * * *
(1) Joshua 10:12 (NLT)
(2) Joshua 10:13-14 (NLT)
(3) Psalm 112:4 (NLT)
(4) John 1:5 (NLT)
(5) 1 John 1:5 (NLT)
Adapted from Possessing The Promise, ch.25
Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash