Joshua, Chapter 10 - Sun Stands Still | Prophets of Israel

[music] >> Shalom friends, welcome to the Prophets of Israel daily. This is the book of Joshua chapter I'm Jeremy Kumpel here [music] with Ari Abramowitz and this series is brought to you by the Land of Israel Network [music] at the landofisrael.com. All right, so let's dive in. What happens when a moment arrives so big, so decisive, it doesn't just shape the battlefield, it shapes history? In chapter 10 of the book of Joshua, we encounter one of the most dramatic scenes, moments in all of Tanakh. It's the day the sun stood still and time stopped. This is the chapter where Israel really learns to partner with heaven in real time and it teaches us that in life sometimes you have to seize the moment because destiny is calling and sometimes there's not really a second chance. And so before we kick in, Ari, do you have something you want to say just to kick this off? >> I do. I do. Just like a little bit of perspective. You know what strikes me here? It seems like Israel hasn't even unpacked yet. Right? They just crossed the Jordan, they fought Jericho, they stumbled at Ai, that was a mistake, but they got tricked by the Gibeonites, right? The Givonim. And now suddenly they're being dragged into this regional world war. Like imagine like you're moving into a new house, the boxes are still sealed, you don't even know which cabinet the forks are in and suddenly someone is like knocking on the door. Welcome to the neighborhood. Five kings are invading. Can you help? Get your sword. I mean this is actually the the story of Israel historically. Right? The Jewish people never really get a calm onboarding period. It's always welcome home, history begins. You know, it it's like it's like the minute we start actually stepping into our destiny as a nation, the world reacts immediately. You know, that's so true. It feels undeniable in Israel. Every time we take a step closer to biblical destiny, the world responds with a wave of opposition. And that's why every time a Jew builds a home in Judea and Samaria, somehow that makes international headlines. And because the world's just watching it happen and every time we take a step closer to any Israel inheriting the land, God's promise is coming to pass and there's opposition. I mean when we first came out to the Our Goat Farm, three nation states paid lawyers in Israel to sue us in Israel's Supreme Court to destroy the farm, uproot our vineyards, destroy our homes, destroy our house of prayer. And it's hard to wrap your mind around it logically. Like four Jewish families are making a farm in the desert. It's like, "Quick, Norway, Denmark, and Germany, we must collect our resources and stop these four Jewish families making a farm in the desert." Like it doesn't make any sense politically, there's no logic to it. I mean doesn't Israel like Europe have enough problems of its own? It has to be bothered by four families making a farm in the desert. I mean the only way to make sense of it is that we are in the midst of a spiritual war and every time Israel gets a little bit closer, a little bit closer to inheriting the land, there are spiritual forces that are going to react and they're going to oppose us. And so in that way, chapter 10, it sends political shockwaves spreading throughout the land. The king of Jerusalem, Adonizedek, hears what Israel has done at Jericho, what it did at Ai, and even more importantly, it hears that Gibeon has made a peace treaty with Israel. He panics. He's afraid that Israel's like really building momentum. So the king of Jerusalem assembled together the king of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and the king of Eglon saying, verse four, "Come up to me and help me. The way That way we may attack Gibeon for it has made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel." So for the first time, five Amorite kings form a coalition and march against Gibeon. And suddenly Israel's called upon to defend the very people who tricked them to enter into an alliance to begin with. That was last chapter and it's like, "Wow." Like immediately Israel's integrity is being tested in geopolitics. It's a test of integrity and Israel passes. Joshua keeps to his word laying the foundation for future generations that if a people truly want to live in peace with Israel, Israel will put itself in harm's way to defend you. In verse eight, "And the Lord said to Joshua, do not fear them for I have delivered them into your hand. Not a man of them shall stand before you." And in some ways, this was the first war in the book of Joshua. Until now, there've been battles, Jericho and Ai, those were individual city-states, but this is a regional war with five kingdoms united against Israel. And just as Israel begins to inherit the land and assert its independence, five nations rise up against it. And I can't help but point out the first regional war of modern Israel when Israel declared its independence in 1948 was against five nation states as well, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon. And it's just another spice card. It's another sign for our times that we are entering into the land and it's a mirror of the book of Joshua, a prophecy given to us all the way back when thousands of years ago. And so now, in the book, Joshua marches his army all night from Gilgal. It's an uphill brutal trek and God throws the enemy into confusion. Then great hailstones fall from heaven and Israel begins to overwhelm the coalition. Verse 11, "There were more who died from the hailstones than from the children of Israel with the sword." But then something unprecedented happened. Joshua realized the moment is slipping away. The daylight is fading. Victory is within reach. The day is almost over and Joshua does something epic. He commands the sun to stand still. Verses 12 and 13, "Shemesh beGibeon dom veyareach be'emek Aijalon. Sun, stand still over Gibeon and moon in the Valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still and the moon stopped till the people had revenge upon their enemies. And this is one of the most marvelous scenes in all of scripture. A human being, Joshua, standing in the land of Israel and asks time itself to stop in order to complete the mission and the sun stands still. I'll tell you what I like the most about this moment and it's I think it's that Joshua isn't asking for a miracle. For once, the Israelites are not asking for a miracle because things are failing. He's asking for a miracle because things are working. They're succeeding. It's like he really learned the lesson from the complacency following the victory at Ai where he didn't turn to Hashem about whether to make the covenant with the Givonim. Right? He He learned that lesson. The battle is going well, the enemy is running, victory is already unfolding and now that's actually where the real test comes to determine if anything has been learned and it has been learned. You know, because most people pray the hardest when they're losing. But Joshua prays now even when he's winning. And so the answer is yes. He basically turns to Hashem and says, "God, don't let this momentum slip. You're the source of it all, we know that. We're finally in the flow. Let's finish this." And what a great lesson that is. You know, the most dangerous moment isn't defeat, it's when we're starting to really succeed. It's when things are almost there. When the sun is starting to set. When it would be so easy to say, "Good enough, we'll finish tomorrow." How many times have I done this? How many times has Israel done this just in modern history? There's so many examples, but Joshua clearly understands that there are moments in history and moments in life where if you push right now, the whole future opens. And if you hesitate, the window closes. Joshua seized that window and instead of accepting the sunset, he asks Hashem for more daylight. You know, I would say exactly that. If I had to sum up the chapter with a one-liner, it would be seize the moment. Seize the day. It's like literally the message of this chapter. And if we zoom out, the message of chapter 10 feels incredibly alive for Israel right now. Israel was in the middle of a war on multiple fronts, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and then a war broke out with Iran. Yemen was in the mix. The whole world watched in awe as our enemies were just falling before us and we had the opportunity to finish the job once and for all in Iran to cut off the head of the snake. We could have devastated Hezbollah to a point that they never would have returned. And in the end, we chose to bend to the request of the administration, turn our planes around, let the Ayatollah continue its reign, and we're only now seeing the repercussions of not seizing the moment when the moment arises. Chapter 10 teaches us something eternal. There are windows of opportunity in life, moments where growth, destiny, when it happens and it's right there, it's within reach. And but sometimes the day is setting and the question is, are we going to hesitate or are we going to like Joshua dare to ask the time we need to finish the mission? And so one of the great miracles of this chapter isn't that the sun stood still, it's that Joshua believed the moment was worth asking heaven to pause for. That's exactly what Israel needs now. It's like because when we move forward with strength and courage in Israel, sometimes heaven itself will help us toward our destiny. And that's the message of chapter 10. And so, we'll see you tomorrow with chapter 11. And you know, with all the noise and distractions in our world today, taking time to learn the prophets and plant absolute goodness into the garden of your mind is one of the best uses of your time. And as always, I want to invite you to take the next step on the journey and join our global community based in the land of Israel and spread all around the world, the Land of Israel Fellowship. So, talk about taking a part in prophecy [music] in the real world. So, if you're joining the series, you will love the Land of Israel Fellowship. Shalom from the mountains of Judea, and we'll see you tomorrow.