In Joshua 10:12-13 we read of a battle against the Amorites….a battle where Joshua prayed (with nothing short of audacity verging on the completely mental!) and the sun stood still for a day until the battle was completed.
The ancients believed that the sun revolved around the earth….obviously we know now that day and night is a product of the rotation of the earth. The implications of knowing this are immense….
The rotation of the earth is caused by ‘radial momentum’….the tendency of a spinning body to continue spinning. The amount of energy required to stop….and then restart the spinning of the earth are calculable but mind boggling! If the earth stopped spinning:
· We would have day for half a year and night for the other half
· One half of the earth would overheat while the other half alternately froze
· The world wind patterns would change
· Tidal patterns would change….the sea level at the equator would drop and rise closer towards the polar ice caps
· The earth’s rotation generates a magnetic field that is responsible for protecting us from radiation and particles from space
· The earth’s atmosphere would continue to spin at over 1600km/hour – the resulting winds would strip everything from every piece of exposed land
The scribble in my margin notes that the enemies of Israel would have worshiped the sun and the moon. The Israelites would have been all too familiar with sun worship – they had recently left Egypt where Ra – the sun god – was revered above all other gods.
The ancients believed that the sun revolved around the earth….obviously we know now that day and night is a product of the rotation of the earth. The implications of knowing this are immense….
The rotation of the earth is caused by ‘radial momentum’….the tendency of a spinning body to continue spinning. The amount of energy required to stop….and then restart the spinning of the earth are calculable but mind boggling! If the earth stopped spinning:
· We would have day for half a year and night for the other half
· One half of the earth would overheat while the other half alternately froze
· The world wind patterns would change
· Tidal patterns would change….the sea level at the equator would drop and rise closer towards the polar ice caps
· The earth’s rotation generates a magnetic field that is responsible for protecting us from radiation and particles from space
· The earth’s atmosphere would continue to spin at over 1600km/hour – the resulting winds would strip everything from every piece of exposed land
The scribble in my margin notes that the enemies of Israel would have worshiped the sun and the moon. The Israelites would have been all too familiar with sun worship – they had recently left Egypt where Ra – the sun god – was revered above all other gods.
Perhaps God answered Joshua’s prayer as an object lesson to the enemies of Israel – a demonstration of His total domination – infinitely more powerful than their god. Perhaps it was an unsubtle reminder to Israel of His Omnipotence.
The Bible concludes this account thus……”There's never been a day like that before or since—God took orders from a human voice!” (Joshua 10:14 – The Message)
I am not going to attempt to answer the ‘how’….I don’t even fully understand the ‘why.’ It just reminds us that nothing is impossible for God….if He created it then he can changes the rules for a day too!
