Joshua 10:12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
I have harped on my unfettered disgust with so-called “Daylight Savings” before. I love the poster I’ve seen showing an elder Native American responding to someone trying to explain the time change to him: “Only the government would believe you can make a blanket longer by cutting a foot off one end and sewing it to the other." Honestly, I don’t care what time they set our clocks to, just LEAVE IT THAT WAY! And those goofs who insist that it must be a good idea because Ben Franklin thought of it probably don’t understand why the chicken crossed the road or what you mean by “Knock knock”. It was a joke, people! Unlike what Joshua did.
He wasn’t kidding at all. Right out there in front of God and everybody (ha!), he put in his request for a little more daylight. I’ve heard a few arguments over what that meant, from the moronic - “The Sun doesn’t move, so this is bogus!" (If you’ve ever said “sunrise" or “sunset" you’ve used the same metaphor with the same level of scientific accuracy.) to the academic - “Do you have any idea what catastrophes would be caused by the earth stopping in its orbit?" (The God who can create the Universe can handle the Pause button without messing it up, and if you doubt that your “god” is too small.) to the sensational - “NASA Discovered A Missing Day!" (No, they didn’t. Stop reading those scandal sheets at the checkout line or believing and forwarding those cheesy emails. Please!)
Joshua 10:13 And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day.
I hold a high view of Scripture. I believe that it is the literal Word of God, Truth Without Mixture of Error. And I actually am able to recognize “figures of speech” when I see them.
What gets me in the debates over passages like this is what is missed in the sound and fury: Joshua believed. He had FAITH in a God Who Is Able. That’s where I stand, and where I recommend you stand. It’s the only solid foundation, after all. And what a hoot it’s going to be when our Faith becomes Sight and all our earnest, burning questions are revealed in the Light of Eternity! Daylight Savings? Pthththt.
Isaiah 60:20 Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not fade; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will be over.
