Joshua

March 28

Joshua 10:7-15

The day the sun stood still

When the other kings in the land heard that the people of Gibeon had made peace with the Israelites, they joined forces to attack them. So the people of Gibeon sent a message to Joshua, “Please don’t abandon us; come help us at once!”

So Joshua and his army made a surprise attack on the Amorite army, and while they were running away, the Lord made large hailstones fall on them. While all the fighting was going on, Joshua spoke to the Lord so that others could hear: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon,” he said.

Then the Lord made the sun stand still in the middle of the sky and it did not go down for a whole day. Never before, and never since, has there been a day like that, when God listened to the command of a person.

Does the sun go around the earth?

You have probably heard about our Solar System and the path the planets take around the sun. The planet closest to the sun is very hot, while the one farthest away is very, very cold! God has put the earth at just the right distance from the sun so that we can enjoy the outdoors without frying or freezing.

If the planets are going around the sun, how could God have made the sun stand still? As far as Joshua was concerned, the sun stopped moving across the sky—and that is all that mattered on the day God gave him victory.

Yet the thought of God stopping the earth from spinning for a day is just as awesome! Exactly how God did what He did doesn’t matter. The fact that He actually stopped the sun from moving across the sky is so amazing that no one is able to explain how it happened. Isn’t that great!

Verse for today

The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets. Psalm 50:1