Did the sun really stand still in the Bible?
The Day The Sun Stood Still
Talk about an answered prayer, and a once in a lifetime miracle! One that God had never done before, and one he hasn’t done since, that we are aware of.
(Joshua 10:12-14) On the day the LORD gave the Israelites victory over the Amorites, Joshua prayed to the LORD in front of all the people of Israel. He said, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel had defeated its enemies. Is this event not recorded in The Book of Jashar? 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! NLT
No Explanations Needed
Many people try to come up with scientific explanations as to how God may have performed this miracle. Some say Joshua was describing an eclipse, while others say that the Bible was just speaking figuratively, that the meaning in the Scriptures was it just seemed as if the sun stood still, when in reality it didn’t. All of these explanations can make for interesting discussions, but in the end they are not necessary to be able to explain how God could have caused the sun to stand still.
If you believe in the God of the Bible, you believe in the Creator who spoke the world into existence. Why would the God who created the sun have a problem causing it to stand still. While it proved to be an amazing miracle for man, it was no big deal for God to cause the sun and moon to pause until the nation of Israel had defeated their enemies.
Joshua’s Great Faith
God honored the great faith of Joshua. When Joshua prayed the words, “Let the sun stand still over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Aijalon” he did not pray silently to himself. The Bible says he prayed to the Lord in front of all the people of Israel. This sounds like a man who had no problems believing God would answer his prayer!
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