The Sun Stands Still

The Gibeonites had made a treaty with Israel through deception, pretending to be from a far country. When the king of Jerusalem heard this, he was alarmed and formed an alliance with four other Amorite kings to attack Gibeon for making peace with Israel.

The Gibeonites sent urgent word to Joshua: '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.'

Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. 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.'

After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. As they fled, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more died from the hail than from the swords of the Israelites.

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.'

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 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!

The five kings fled and hid in a cave at Makkedah. When Joshua learned where they were hiding, he ordered large stones rolled against the cave's mouth and guards posted. After the battle, the kings were brought out and executed. Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.

This unprecedented miracle demonstrated that the Creator of the sun and moon is Lord over all creation, and that He fights for His people when they call upon Him in faith.