Joshua 10:7 - Meaning and Application

Here, Joshua decides to help the Gibeonites, and God encourages him in that decision. Joshua went up from Gilgal (Joshua 10:7), which means he planned, prepared for, and then set out on this rescue mission. It is likely that God spoke to him before he took a step, giving him confidence for the work. It was both generous and right for Joshua to help his new allies, even though the king of Jerusalem probably did not expect him to come. He likely thought Joshua would leave them alone, especially since they had won the treaty by tricking Israel.

Joshua knew, however, that his promise to spare them meant more than simply not killing them himself. It also meant he should not stand by and watch them be destroyed when he could stop it (Proverbs 24:11-12). He also knew that when they turned to the faith and worship of the God of Israel, they came under his care, like a bird under the shelter of a wing (Ruth 2:12). So, as people who now served God, they were under Joshua’s protection too.

God then strengthened Joshua for the task (Joshua 10:8): “Do not be afraid.” That meant, first, do not doubt that your cause is good and your calling is clear. Even though you are helping the Gibeonites, you are walking in obedience, and God is truly with you. It also meant, do not fear the enemy’s strength. Many kings had joined against Joshua and were determined to rescue Gibeon, and they might fight fiercely in a desperate cause. But God had already given them into Joshua’s hand, and those whom God has marked for judgment cannot finally resist or escape.

Joshua then moved quickly to carry out this rescue, and God helped him succeed. Joshua showed his zeal by hurrying to Gibeon for their relief (Joshua 10:9). The situation was urgent and would not allow delay. If any tribe of Israel had been in danger, Joshua could hardly have shown more care than he did for Gibeon, since the same law must apply to the foreigner who had joined Israel as to the native-born. The allied kings had only just gathered their forces and set themselves against Gibeon when Joshua was already upon them, and that surprise would throw them into confusion.

Once the enemy had gathered into one body, speed mattered even more. What had been wise delay before became wise haste now, because the time for action had arrived. Joshua had once seemed slow, but now he would not put off until tomorrow what he could do today. When he saw that he could not reach Gibeon in a single day, he marched all night so that he would not lose any advantage or seem careless toward his new allies. His soldiers were mighty men of valor, strong in body and courage, or they could not have borne such a burden. They also understood that present hardship was leading to a better future, and that helped them endure it.

Christian soldiers can learn from this to bear hardship in following the Lamb wherever he goes. They should not think their faith has failed if obedience sometimes costs them a night’s sleep. There will be plenty of rest when they reach heaven. Still, why did Joshua stretch himself and his men so far? Had not God promised to give him the enemy? Yes, but God’s promises are meant to stir up our efforts, not replace them. The person who believes does not rush ahead of God’s providence, but he does move quickly to follow it with faithful diligence.

God also showed his power by overthrowing the enemy Joshua attacked so boldly (Joshua 10:10-11). Joshua had a large and strong army, enough to finish off a shaken enemy in ordinary war. But God himself would act in this great battle, bringing the power of heaven against the Canaanites. This showed Israel that they did not get the land by their own sword or save themselves by their own strength, but by God’s hand and power (Psalm 44:3). The Lord threw the enemy into confusion before Israel. Israel did what they could, but God did the greater work.

It must have been a terrible fear for the enemy to see that heaven itself was fighting against them. Who can stand against the powers of heaven, run from them, or defend himself from them? These people had insulted the true God and stolen his glory by worshiping the host of heaven, giving to the creature the honor that belongs only to the Creator. Now the host of heaven fought against them, and the part of creation they had worshiped turned against them and helped bring them down (Jeremiah 8:2). No sacrifice or offering can make any creature favorable to us. Only peace with God and walking in his love can do that.

Even this was enough to leave them helpless before Israel, but God did more. He struck them with hailstones, and the hail was so large and came down with such force that more died from the hailstones than from Israel’s sword, though Israel no doubt fought hard. God speaks in Job of his stored-up snow and hail, kept for the day of battle and war (Job 38:22-23), and here they are used against the Canaanites. It was like hail fired from God’s own weapons, certain to hit wherever he aimed it and certain to kill where it struck. This shows how miserable those are who have God as their enemy, and how sure their ruin is. It is a fearful thing to fall into his hands, because no one can escape them.

Some have noted that Beth-horon was north of Gibeon, while Azekah and Makkedah were to the south. So the enemy fled in every direction, but the hailstones followed them and found them wherever they went.

The hailstones came no higher than the clouds, but this miracle showed that Israel’s help came from above the clouds. Even the sun, which by its steady course serves the whole earth, stopped when needed and did Israel a kindness. As Habakkuk says, “The sun and moon stood still in their place, at the light of your arrows” (Habakkuk 3:11).

Here we have Joshua’s prayer that the sun would stand still. I call it a prayer because Joshua “spoke to the Lord” (Joshua 10:12). In the same way, Elijah is said to have prayed for drought, though in one place he is described as prophesying it (1 Kings 17:1; James 5:17). This shows Joshua’s tireless service for God and Israel. Though he had marched all night and fought all day, he did not ask for rest. Instead, he wanted the day to last longer. Those who wait on the Lord and serve him will renew their strength, and they will not grow weary or faint (Isaiah 40:31).

This also shows Joshua’s strong faith in God’s almighty power, which is greater than nature and can govern it. Joshua must have had a special prompt from God’s Spirit, or he would not have asked for such a miracle. God gives the faith first, and then he answers the prayer that faith offers. It is hard to imagine Joshua thinking of this on his own. He would have had many other plans for finishing the battle before he ever thought to ask the sun to stand still. But even in the Old Testament, God’s Spirit led his saints to pray according to God’s will. God inclines his praying people to ask for what he means to give, and he tells us that he will be asked for what he plans to do (Ezekiel 36:37).

Joshua’s words were bold: “Sun, stand still.” His ancestor Joseph had dreamed that the sun and moon would honor him, and now that image was fulfilled in a real way for one of Joseph’s descendants. Joshua spoke with authority because this was no ordinary prayer. He was a prophet, specially guided by God for this moment. Still, the prayer also teaches us how powerful prayer can be when it stays within God’s word. It reminds us of the honor God gives to prayer: “Concerning the work of my hands, command me” (Isaiah 45:11). Joshua told the sun to stand still over Gibeon, the place where the battle was taking place, showing that his request was for Israel’s victory. He likely made this request when he saw the sun beginning to set. He also spoke of the moon and the valley of Ajalon, which was near Gibeon and where he was then standing.

It was very bold to say this in front of all Israel, and it shows how strong his faith was. If the miracle had not happened, he would have been made a fool of. The people would have thought he had lost his mind. But Joshua knew God would honor a request that God himself had put into his heart. So he did not fear to say before all Israel, “Sun, stand still,” because he was sure in the one he trusted. He believed in God’s almighty power, or he could not have expected the sun, which runs its course with strength like a strong man, to stop at once. He believed in God’s rule over nature, or he could not have expected the fixed order of the heavens to be changed. He also believed in God’s special favor toward Israel, or he could not have expected that, for Israel’s sake, God would give them extra daylight and leave much of the world in darkness at the same time. God makes his sun shine on both the righteous and the unrighteous, but in this one case the unrighteous had to wait while the sun stood still for righteous Israel.

The answer came at once. “The sun stood still, and the moon stayed” (Joshua 10:13). Even with the great distance between earth and sun, the sun stopped immediately at Joshua’s word. The same God who rules in heaven above rules here on earth too, and when he wills, even the heavens obey the earth. This miracle lasted a whole day, meaning the sun stayed above the horizon as long again as it normally would have. It is usually thought to have happened in midsummer, when there were about fourteen hours between sunrise and sunset in that land, making that day about twenty-eight hours long. If it happened in the shortest days of the year, then Joshua’s request to lengthen the day makes even more sense.

This gave the people enough time to finish defeating their enemies completely. In many battles, night has ended the fighting and helped the defeated escape. Here God prevented that advantage, so Israel could keep pursuing them. The hand of Israel could reach all their enemies, while the eye and hand of God could find them even without sunlight, because night is as bright as day to him (Psalm 139:12). Sometimes God brings a great salvation in very little time, and he makes it a single day’s work.

Perhaps this miracle is hinted at in (Zechariah 14:6, 14:7), where the day of God’s fight against the nations is said to be one day, and evening comes with light, just as here. There was never another day like it, before or since, when God gave such honor to faith and prayer, and to Israel’s cause. He never answered a man’s request so wonderfully, or fought so clearly for his people.

This event is said to be written in the book of Jasher, a collection of national poems, where the poem made on this occasion was kept with the others. It was probably the same as the book of the wars of the Lord (Numbers 21:14), later continued by a man named Jasher. The words, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the valley of Ajalon,” sound like poetic lines taken from that account.

This does not mean that the divine truth of Joshua needed support from a human book. But for those who had that book, it would help them compare this history with it. In that way, it supports the wise practice of appealing to outside history to confirm the truth of Scripture history.

Still, this great miracle of the sun standing still was meant for more than giving Israel extra time to defeat their enemies, something they might otherwise have done the next day. First, God meant to honor Joshua (Joshua 3:7), showing special favor to him, one whom he delighted to honor. Joshua pointed forward to the One who has all power in heaven and on earth, and whom even wind and sea obey.

Second, God meant to make known to the whole world what he was doing for his people Israel in Canaan. The sun, the world’s eye, had to stand fixed for hours over Gibeon and the valley of Ajalon, as if to look at God’s great work for Israel. This would draw people’s attention and lead them to ask about this wonder done in the land (2 Chronicles 32:31). It was a public announcement to the surrounding nations, “Come and see the works of the Lord” (Psalm 46:8), and say, “What nation is so great as Israel, with God so near to them?” One might have expected this to move the Gibeonites, who had pretended to come from a far country, to seek friendship with Israel because of the name of the Lord their God.

Third, God meant to convict and shame the idolaters who worshiped the sun and moon and gave them divine honor. He showed that they were under the command of the God of Israel, and that however high they seemed, he was above them. In this way, he also warned his people against this sin, since he knew they would be tempted toward it (Deuteronomy 4:19), and they later did corrupt themselves with it.

Fourth, this miracle, as learned Bishop Pierson suggested, signified that in later days, when the world was moving toward growing darkness, the Sun of righteousness, our Joshua, would rise (Malachi 4:2), hold back the coming night, and be the true light. I would also add that when Christ defeated our spiritual enemies on the cross, the sign in the sun was the reverse of this. The sun was darkened as if it had gone down at noon, for Christ needed no sunlight to carry out his victory. He then made darkness his shelter.

Finally, the stopping of the sun and moon on that day of battle pointed ahead to the sun being turned to darkness and the moon to blood, in the last great and terrible day of the Lord.