Joshua’s ‘Long Day’

Joshua 10:12-13

Remember last month we spoke about the Gibeonites who were threatened by the King of Jerusalem and his five Amorite allies. We discussed the relationship between Israel and the Gibeonites and the prior treaty or covenant between both groups - the Israelites being the masters and the Gibeonites pledging their servitude to them. On the basis of this treaty they appealed to Israel for protection against the attacking Amorite kings.

After the Lord specifically assures them of victory, Joshua and the men of Israel take up arms with the intention of honoring their duty to protect the Gibeonites. Note in verse 8 the Lord says, “Do not fear them (the King of Jerusalem and his buddies), for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand before you.” And then as the sons of Israel attack, the Lord himself “threw large stones from heaven,” and “more died from the hailstones” than were killed by the Israelites! (verse 8) Again, we see the major emphasis of the book of Joshua – that the Lord fights the battle to preserve his covenant people and His people have to act in obedience.

Application 1: Notice that the Lord takes preeminence in this battle – the people are responsible to go forth to battle but the Lord gives the victory. We do well to remember that the same is true in the church today. We are certainly responsible to be obedient to the Lord’s commands; however, when we have done our best, it is still the Lord that accomplishes His ends. His purposes may be inscrutable and may even seem to be a retreat from what we might expect: Our duty is not to fear what men may do or think, but to trust in an all-powerful, all knowing, and good God!

“Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,

“O sun, stand still at Gibeon,

And O moon in the valley of Aijalon.”

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,

Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies.

Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. There was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:12-14

As I see it there are two possibilities: The first being that the author intended this as a poetic expression. Similar to our saying something like, ‘we have been so busy it seems like this day would never end!’ Some commentators say that the Hebrew language has no punctuation or other marks to distinguish between poetry and prose – Bible translators make distinctions based on context. According to this theory, verse 13 of this passage should also be indented in the same way as verse 12. The original hearers of this book knew that this was a poetic expression and besides, the point of the passage is not the miracle of the sun standing still but rather that the Lord is faithful and will fight to preserve His people. The main purpose of this book is clearly to encourage God’s people in persecution. When we fail to distinguish literary genre and the intent of the author we may end up trying to fruitlessly wring scientific explanations when none were intended.

The second possibility is that this was a literal event where the day was unnaturally long, ’about a whole day,’ giving the Israelites an extra time to fight the battle. This quote from AnswersinGenesis.org sums up my thoughts on this particular miracle and, for that matter all miracles:

“The Bible does not tell us how any of these things happen, other than God wills them to happen and they do. He may use some existing natural law (as in Noah’s Flood), or all participation of nature may be excluded (as in the Resurrection). Often the miraculous effect lies in the providential timing of natural events. Miracles rest on testimony, not on scientific analyses. While it is interesting to speculate on how God might have performed any particular Biblical miracle, including Joshua’s long day, ultimately those claiming to be disciples of Jesus Christ must accept them, by faith. There is not one logical, scientific reason to claim that, given a God powerful enough to create a universe in six days, Joshua’s long day ‘could not have happened’. Those who balk at this account are almost invariably those who have already rejected six day creation through compromise with evolution’s fictitious long ages, and have thus rejected the authority of the Bible.”

Application 2: If we want to take this as a poetic passage with symbolic meaning we must be careful not to base our conclusion on our own desire to fit in with worldly wisdom or fear of ridicule. If we make a thorough word study of the passage; if we do a proper study of types of biblical literature; if we examine the original authors intent; if we research to whom the author was writing; if we look to see what eminent scholars have said about the passage; and if we have done all this prayerfully – then we may come to an honest opinion. Doing proper Bible study is the remedy for the reality that our hearts are deceitful and prone to mis-interpret the Bible according to our own sinful desires. Granted, taking the meaning of this particular passage as either symbolic or literal will not likely cause major error in doctrine or practice, but the principles of Bible interpretation are important. A faulty view of many other passages may cause great error. For example, a symbolic interpretation of Genesis’ six day creation account in order to accommodate evolution will diminish, if not destroy, the gospel.

Application 3: Whether we conclude that this is symbolic poetry or a literal event, we must admit the wonder of verse 14 –“was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel.” Joshua was a man just like us with all the struggles and failures common to mankind, yet when he prayed the Lord listened. When we pray, as his covenant people, He listens! Prayer is therapeutic and the Lord uses our prayers to conform us to the mind of Christ, but prayer is more than that! Prayer actually accomplishes things! Is it possible that we do not see great things because we do not pray for great things?

To summarize, the narrative here in Joshua was meant to encourage the covenant people of God. It is a marvelous reminder that even when the situation appears hopeless and all is lost, God is sovereign and able to deliver! Even when our prayers seem to go unanswered, He is faithful and His purpose is to preserve and prosper His people. We may live in a land of plenty with freedom to worship without fear, but we must always remember that God is no less active in leading, protecting, preserving, and saving His covenant people—the church.

Robin