Prayers that Stop the Sun and the
Moon
There are many spiritual lessons in
the Book of Joshua. From it, Christians can understand the character of God and
His principles of work, learn to rely on Jesus Christ, the commander of the
grace of salvation, on earth, and live a triumphant life.
Chapter 10 of Joshua records an
unprecedented, unique event in human history. That is, God listened to the
prayers of Joshua and actually made the sun and the moon stand still so that
the Israelites had more time to defeat the allied army of the five Amorite
kings (v.1-5). This monumental piece of history brings to us at least the
following four spiritual lessons:
1.
God
likes people to seek after him: After the battle of
2.
God
listens to prayers of faith: Joshua asked God to perform a great miracle that
totally defies the fundamental order of nature and the universe, and that is to
stop time. This was an extremely bold petition possessed of great faith,
because he knew that the will of God was for them to kill the enemy. “…Joshua
said to the Lord in the presence of
3.
God
is willing to work together with man: On the surface, Joshua was telling the
people to take revenge on their enemies when he asked God to stop time (v.13),
but in fact, he was allowing the people to have more opportunity (time) to
witness the deeds of God with their own eyes, and learn to work together with
God to defeat the enemy. At that time, God had already hurled large hailstones
down onto the enemy from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones
than were killed by the swords of the Israelites (v.11). So it was plain that
God had the power to work alone to totally destroy the enemy. But God wanted
the Israelites to complement His plan and His time, and work with Him to
capture
4.
God
has promised us victory: Before Joshua went into battle with the enemy, God had
already promised him victory - “I have given them into your hand.” (v. 8).
Therefore, the Israelites were able to gain immediate triumph. God had sworn to
their forefathers rest on every side, so not one of their enemies were able to
withstand them (Joshua 21:44). Now God is promising us triumph through Jesus
Christ – “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to
overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19) – in
order that we will not be frightened because of difficult circumstances or the
attacks of Satan.
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