Creation Moments

In the tenth chapter of the book of Joshua, we read how, as Israel fought for occupation of the Promised Land at Gibeon, Joshua asked the Lord to stop the sun so that Israel could finish its battle. According to Joshua 10:13, the sun stopped in mid‑sky and did not set for nearly an entire day. According to the most accurate dating, this was about 1400 BC.

Our modern scientific age knows that the earth, which weighs billions of tons, revolves around the sun while turning on its axis. In order for the sun to stand still in its apparent movement across the sky, the earth would have to stop spinning. The earth spins at a speed of about 1,000 miles per hour. If it were to suddenly stop, the force would rip the earth apart. All of this is what science tells us. And from these facts, science therefore concludes that the sun could not have stopped in its path across the sky. But this final conclusion is not scientific, even if all the other facts are true.

Joshua 10 tells us that God made the sun stop in its apparent path. Science admits that it cannot tell us what God can or cannot do. Science can only tell us that it would be very unlikely for the sun to stand still in the sky. But Joshua 10:14 tells us this and more—this had never happened before and had not happened again at the time Joshua was written.

It's not surprising, then, to learn that, according to Aztec lore from Mexico, virtually on the other side of the world, the sun failed to rise for an entire day in the City of the Gods around 1400 BC.

Joshua 10:13

"And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day."

Prayer: Dear Lord, our age is a materialistic age where we deny what we cannot understand. I confess that I cannot understand how the sun could appear to stop in the sky, but I know that Your Word says that You did this great miracle. Grant me your Holy Spirit so that I may not be infected with the doubt that so permeates the world. Amen.

REF.: Sitchin, Zecharia. How Jericho fell. The Christian News. Image: The Sun and the Moon Stand Still, Camden Press, CC0, Wikimedia Commons + Aztec calendar stone, Boston Public Library, PD, Wikimedia.