Thursday Devotional - Sun Stands Still

God created the sun, moon, earth and everything in the universe. He created it all, so He has the power to have things happen that don’t fit the natural laws. Did you know the sun stood still for an entire day?

Joshua 10:12-15      ¹² On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
¹³ So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. ¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

¹⁵ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Last week God helped by throwing the Amorites into confusion and raining down large hailstones that killed more than the Israelites killed. I’m encouraged by so many details:

First, our forgiving and compassionate God helped Joshua (who didn’t even inquire of Him before making the treaty) help the deceptive Gibeonites!

Second, Joshua could have asked God to do lots of things besides stopping the sun. That meant he and his men had to keep fighting with no sleep after already marching all night the night before (Joshua 10:9). However, they got the blessing for participating!   

Third, I think the Holy Spirit (knowing it would bring the most glory to God in the situation) prompted Joshua to pray for the sun to stand still. As crazy as it seemed, Joshua did confidently pray it for all Israel to hear! They then witnessed God’s answer!

Fourth, not only did this show the Israelites, Gibeonites and Amorites that God was all-powerful, but the rest of the world would have experienced the phenomenon, too!

The more I think about it all, the more I’m in awe of God, His love, grace, forgiveness, compassion, personal involvement, power, might, and creativity! I’m challenged to boldly pray for things that will bring Him glory and ways I can participate in the solution.

How are you encouraged and challenged by this?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God's Help Over Consequences

Last week we saw how Joshua upheld his oath, even though the Gibeonites deceived him into making a peace treaty. However, what do you think happens when the Gibeonites are attacked by the Amorites and ask Joshua for help?

Joshua 10:6-11        ⁶ The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

⁹ After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. ¹⁰ The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

Not only does Joshua willingly help the Gibeonites, but God confirms Joshua is to help them and then God does most of the work!!! If I was Joshua, I might have told the Gibeonites that they were on their own. I might have thought God was bringing judgment on them for their deception. I would uphold my oath of a peace treaty, but nothing extra.

God clearly helped Joshua and the Israelites not only uphold their oath, but love their neighbor (without holding a grudge) by sacrificially helping them in crisis. Even though Joshua and the Israelites had made a big mistake in making a treaty with the Gibeonites, they obediently did the next right thing and the next right thing. God rewarded their steps of obedience despite their previous disobedience. 

God can do the same for us today. Even after making a big mistake, God wants to help us make the next right move. God is willing to help us in a mighty way, just like He did for Joshua! Where will you and I seek His help to make the next right step?   

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Upholding Oaths

Making decisions based on bad information or wrong assumptions can lead to big mistakes. It certainly did for Joshua, as we saw last week. However, what are we to do when we realize it after the fact? We aren’t to go back on our word, or sin again to try to fix it. We may have to live with the consequences.

After Joshua made a mistake by making a treaty with the Gibeonites, as we saw last week, he didn’t try to undo the treaty after he realized his mistake.

Joshua 9:16-21        Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. ¹⁷ So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, ¹⁹ but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. ²⁰ This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” ²¹ They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.

Even though the Gibeonites had been deceptive, it didn’t negate God’s expectation that Joshua and the Israelite leaders uphold their oath (which God confirms in Joshua 10 and II Samuel 21).

What about your and my unconditional oaths and promises? Whether they seem little (like promising to take a kid to a park) or big (like a marriage vow) or a typical contract with a customer (that doesn’t have a conditional clause), we’re to keep our promises. How well are you and I keeping our word? Is there something we said with which we still need to follow through or uphold, even if the other party did wrong?

Next week we’ll see how God is ready and willing to help us uphold our unconditional oaths, move forward in the midst of consequences from previous mistakes, and make the next right step.

Alice