The Longest Day Ever
Yesterday, Angie and I were driving and we noticed the sun and moon were both hanging brightly in the sky at the same time. It reminded me first that today (June 20) is summer solstice and the longest day of the year. It also reminded me that an incredible event took place over 3,000 years ago where the sun and moon stayed out much much longer than was natural.
After their Exodus from Egypt, Israel was conquering the land of Canaan, land promised to Abraham, Isaac & Jacob by God as their perpetual homeland. Led by Joshua, Moses’ successor, the people encountered five kings allied against Israel because of their treaty with a tribe of people called “Gibeon”. According to Joshua 10, the battle was in full swing at the end of the day, Israel had the advantage, with God literally bringing a miraculous hailstorm to slow down the retreating enemy armies.
Joshua must have been excited at the outcome, but then he looked at the sun and moon and realized the daylight would soon be gone. If the sun went down too quickly, Israel would lose the opportunity to fully defeat the alliance of the kings of the Amorites.
So Joshua did what he had seen work time and time again. He called out to God for help.
“At that time Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the LORD heeded the voice of a man, for the LORD fought for Israel.” Joshua 10:12-14
Imagine the disbelief on the faces of the five Amorite kings. Imagine the boost of confidence the armies of Israel got to finish the fight. God literally slowed down the rotation of the earth to turn a day into two, accounting for what many historians and astronomers continue to analyze as the “missing day”. So significant was this event, that even ancient civilizations on earth recorded extremely long days or nights at the same time in history. And so significant was this event, that agnostic and atheistic scientists still use the Biblical timeline to try to pinpoint the mysterious “missing day” in history.
As it usually happens, someone very smart came along and challenged whether this event in Joshua 10 actually accounted for what happened because (“scientifically”) there was only 23 hours and 20 minutes missing that could be explained away by other factors. Yes, 40 minutes was really a deal breaker for this guy, who just could not acknowledge that this event accounted for the “missing day” because he didn’t seem to want to admit divine intervention in nature.
But wait, there’s more.
In 2 Kings 20, a king of Israel named Hezekiah was leading Israel against another invading army (sound familiar?). But Hezekiah became sick and was on the brink of death. Isaiah the prophet came to see him, and Hezekiah pleaded for healing and a sign from God that Israel would be delivered. Not only did Isaiah affirm God’s plan for Israel’s victory, but he delivered a hopeful message about Hezekiah’s healing and length of life. He would get an extra 15 years of life.
Then Hezekiah asked an interesting question, “What sign will prove that these things will happen?” Isaiah said, “The sun can move forward or backward by 10 steps. You pick.” Hezekiah thought about it and said, “It seems easier to move it forward, so let’s see it move backward.” And the sun’s shadow went backwards by “10 steps”.
Well, a few smart science guys read the text, took into account what the “steps” meant (look it up) and calculated that this miraculous event was the equivalent to rolling the clock back…wait for it…drumroll…
40 minutes. BOOM!
Could you imagine eating lunch, then looking up at the clock, and it’s 40 minutes ago again? I tell you what, I’d be making another sandwich. And probably getting some ice cream, just in case the 40 minute time travel erased calories too.
In all seriousness though, the signs in the heavens, the seasons, the sun and the moon, are all given to us to point us to God’s power and glory over all His creation. There’s such an immaculate order and precision to the way everything works, that denying God’s role as creator is just denying what can be logically observed. And since He’s the one who put it all together, He also has no problem interfering with the natural processes to accomplish His purposes. Show off. Haha!
There’s a lot about the earth, space, planets, stars, and all of creation that we will continue to learn new things about and never quite understand. But we keep trying, don’t we?
How much more is there a lot about God that we will continue to learn new things about and never quite understand, and yet, we should keep trying?
You and I have got some extra daylight on this longest day of 2024. Let’s spend a few extra minutes digging into God’s Word and being amazed by how awesome He is. Start with Joshua 10 and 2 Kings 20 and see what you might discover.
Have a great day!
Grace & Peace,
Keith
*This blog post was originally written as an email update from River Community Church