Ask the Pastor 59

What about Joshua’s extended day?

In the book of Joshua Chapter Ten, Joshua asked the Lord to stop the sun and moon in their place. This has raised the objection that this would stop the rotation of the earth which would result in a great calamity even to the point of the destruction of the earth. The obvious answer to this is that the text does not state that the rotation of the earth stopped to facilitate the sun and moon remaining in one place, it simply states that they stayed in place and there was no major calamity reported in this text or anywhere else. The argument that such a miracle cannot occur because it breaks the law of nature is based upon at least two false presuppositions. The first is that mankind is more intelligent than the stated Word of God, that man knows the laws of nature and that those laws cannot be broken. Yet, man has to admit on numerous occasions how there is natural phenomenon that occur which are not ordinary to the laws of nature. Secondly, in order for man to be smarter than God, then there is no God but there is only the rationale of man. Inasmuch as there is a God who created all things, then, by definition, He is more than capable of making the sun and moon stand still without affecting the earth’s rotation. When our Lord was upon the earth, He commanded the winds and waves to be still and those who saw it marveled, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Mt. 8:26-27). Once we put into place that there is a God, then all things become possible including the sun and moon stay in their place until the battle is won. Let us keep before us, always, this is the God that we serve and who is to be obeyed.

Have questions about the Bible? Send them to Dr. Greg Koehn at gak4850@gmail.com and read the answer here in this article.