“The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day” (Joshua 10.13 NIV). I suspect that for most readers, this serves as the highlight of the account of Joshua’s victory over the Amorite kings. And why not? The sun stood still! This is an extremely unusual and impressive occurrence. Surely the miracle is worthy of the readers’ attention.
Of course, the kind of attention the miracle gets will depend on the perspective with which one considers it. There are those who view it as untenable from a scientific point of view. And they end up rejecting (some even attacking) the account as nothing more than a fairy tale. It is to be expected that among believers there will be those who would attempt to provide an answer to arguments against the reliability of the account. There are books that deal with what has been called “Bible difficulties.”
I do not intend to join that discussion. Instead, I would like to direct attention to what, according to the writer of the book of Joshua, is the true significance of the event. It is not so much that the sun stood still, amazing as that may be, but that “there has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a human being” (Joshua 10.14 NIV). Did you catch that? It is the response of the Lord to human prayer that is truly worth celebrating. It is the truth that The Lord is a personal God who is involved in the life of his people. It is the truth that the Lord is at work around us to accomplish his purpose for the benefit of his people and, ultimately, the whole world.
Jesus himself made a similar point. When the missionaries he sent out returned rejoicing at the amazing works they were able to do (Luke 10.17). But Jesus redirects their attention and their rejoicing to their relationship with God and their partnership with God in his work. “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10.20 NIV). “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it” (Luke 10.23–24 NIV).
Sometimes we get too easily attracted to spectacular occurrences, or impressive accomplishments, or even the simple things that we enjoy. Maybe the proper word is “distracted.” If we are not careful, our focus could easily turn away from the Lord to the impressive gifts or blessings that we receive from him. We then fail to recognize and acknowledge the work of God in and through our accomplishments.
The challenge is to keep our eyes on the proper place—the Lord himself—and to give him the glory that is due him.
—Keith Y. Jainga