On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon." On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the IsraelitesThis phrase highlights a pivotal moment in Israel's conquest of Canaan, where divine intervention is evident. The Amorites were a coalition of Canaanite kings opposing Israel. This event underscores God's promise to give the land to Israel ( Genesis 15:18-21) and His faithfulness in fulfilling His covenant. The victory over the Amorites is a testament to God's sovereignty and His role as a divine warrior for Israel ( Exodus 15:3). Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel
Joshua's public prayer demonstrates his leadership and faith. By addressing God openly, Joshua reinforces the communal aspect of Israel's relationship with God, emphasizing that their victories are not by their own strength but by divine assistance. This act of speaking to God in front of the people also serves to strengthen their faith and reliance on God, similar to Moses' intercessions (Exodus 17:11-13). O sun, stand still over Gibeon
The request for the sun to stand still is a bold plea for a miraculous extension of daylight to ensure complete victory. Gibeon, a significant city in the central hill country, was strategically important. The miracle of the sun standing still is a unique event, illustrating God's control over creation (Psalm 74:16-17) and His willingness to intervene in extraordinary ways for His people. This event foreshadows the ultimate authority of Christ over nature (Mark 4:39). O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon
The Valley of Aijalon, located west of Gibeon, was a key battleground. The mention of both the sun and moon indicates a cosmic scale to the miracle, emphasizing the totality of God's power. The dual request for both celestial bodies to pause highlights the completeness of God's intervention. This event can be seen as a type of Christ's ultimate victory over darkness and chaos, as He is the light of the world (John 8:12). Persons / Places / Events 1. JoshuaThe leader of the Israelites, who succeeded Moses. He is known for his faithfulness and obedience to God. In this passage, he demonstrates bold faith by asking God for a miraculous intervention. 2. The LORDThe covenant God of Israel, who is sovereign over creation and history. He responds to Joshua's prayer by performing a miracle. 3. The AmoritesA coalition of Canaanite kings who opposed Israel. They represent the enemies of God's people in this account. 4. GibeonA significant city in Canaan that made a treaty with Israel. It becomes the focal point of the battle where Joshua asks for the sun to stand still. 5. Valley of AijalonA geographical location where the moon was asked to stand still. It is part of the battlefield in this miraculous event. Teaching Points Faith in God's SovereigntyJoshua's bold prayer reflects his deep faith in God's power over creation. Believers are encouraged to trust in God's sovereignty in their own lives. Prayer and ActionJoshua's prayer was accompanied by action. He was actively engaged in the battle. Christians are called to combine prayer with action in their spiritual and daily lives. God's Response to Bold PrayersThe passage encourages believers to pray boldly, trusting that God hears and can respond in miraculous ways according to His will. God's Faithfulness to His PromisesThe victory over the Amorites is a testament to God's faithfulness to His promises to Israel. Believers can trust in God's promises today. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Joshua's prayer in Joshua 10:12 demonstrate his faith in God's power and sovereignty? 2. In what ways can we apply the principle of combining prayer with action in our own lives? 3. How does the miracle of the sun standing still in Joshua 10:12 relate to God's control over creation as described in Genesis 1:14-19? 4. What can we learn from Joshua's example about praying boldly and specifically in our own prayer lives? 5. How does this passage encourage us to trust in God's faithfulness to His promises, and how can we see this reflected in other parts of Scripture? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 1:14-19This passage describes God's creation of the sun and moon to govern the day and night. Joshua's request for the sun and moon to stand still highlights God's control over His creation. Psalm 19:1-6The psalmist speaks of the heavens declaring the glory of God. Joshua's prayer and the subsequent miracle demonstrate God's glory and power over the natural world. Habakkuk 3:11This verse references the sun and moon standing still, echoing the miraculous event in Joshua 10, and emphasizing God's intervention in human history. People Adonizedec, Amorites, Debir, Eglon, Gibeon, Hoham, Horam, Israelites, Japhia, Jasher, Joshua, PiramPlaces Ai, Azekah, Beth-horon, Debir, Eglon, Gaza, Gezer, Gibeon, Gilgal, Hebron, Jarmuth, Jericho, Jerusalem, Kadesh-barnea, Lachish, Libnah, Makkedah, Negeb, Valley of AijalonTopics Aijalon, Ai'jalon, Ajalon, Amorites, Delivered, Gibeon, Giving, Hands, Joshua, Moon, O, Presence, Rest, Sight, Sons, Spake, Speaketh, Spoke, Stand, Stop, ValleyDictionary of Bible Themes Joshua 10:6-14 5608 warfare, strategies Joshua 10:12-13 4251 moon
4284 sun
4921 day
4960 noon Joshua 10:12-14 1416 miracles, nature of Library Five Kings in a Cave
TEXT: "And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight."--Joshua 10:24-25. The history of the …
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas IscariotPraying Saints of the Old Testaments
The Holy Spirit will give to the praying saint the brightness of an immortal hope, the music of a deathless song, in His baptism and communion with the heart, He will give sweeter and more enlarged visions of heaven until the taste for other things will pall, and other visions will grow dim and distant. He will put notes of other worlds in human hearts until all earth's music is discord and songless.--Rev. E. M. Bounds Old Testament history is filled with accounts of praying saints. The leaders of …
Edward M. Bounds—Prayer and Praying Men Gibeon. Josh 10:06
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John Newton—Olney Hymns The Northern Coast of Judea. Beth-Horon.
This coast is marked out Joshua 18:12; where, at verse 14, are very many versions to be corrected, which render the sea; such are, the Syriac, the Seventy, the Vulgar, the Italian, ours, &c.: whence ariseth a sense of insuperable difficulty to a chorographical eye: when it should, indeed, be rendered of the west, as the Chaldee, Arabic, R. Solomon, &c. rightly do. We read of a double Beth-horon in the Old Testament, but one only under the second Temple... At that place that great Canaanitish army …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Subterraneous Places. Mines. Caves.
Thus having taken some notice of the superficies of the land, let us a little search into its bowels. You may divide the subterraneous country into three parts: the metal mines, the caves, and the places of burial. This land was eminently noted for metal mines, so that "its stones," in very many places, "were iron, and out of its hills was digged brass," Deuteronomy 8:9. From these gain accrued to the Jews: but to the Christians, not seldom slavery and misery; being frequently condemned hither by …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Sign Seekers, and the Enthusiast Reproved.
(Galilee on the Same Day as the Last Section.) ^A Matt. XII. 38-45; ^C Luke XI. 24-36. ^c 29 And when the multitudes were gathering together unto him, ^a 38 Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. [Having been severely rebuked by Jesus, it is likely that the scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign that they might appear to the multitude more fair-minded and open to conviction than Jesus had represented them to be. Jesus had just wrought …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
THE ISRAELITES IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: THE JUDGES--THE PHILISTINES AND THE HEBREW KINGDOM--SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON, THE DEFECTION OF THE TEN TRIBES--THE XXIst EGYPTIAN DYNASTY--SHESHONQ OR SHISHAK DAMASCUS. The Hebrews in the desert: their families, clans, and tribes--The Amorites and the Hebrews on the left bank of the Jordan--The conquest of Canaan and the native reaction against the Hebrews--The judges, Ehud, Deborah, Jerubbaal or Gideon and the Manassite supremacy; Abimelech, Jephihdh. The Philistines, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6 Meditations of the True Manner of Practising Piety on the Sabbath-Day.
Almighty God will have himself worshipped, not only in a private manner by private persons and families, but also in a more public sort, of all the godly joined together in a visible church; that by this means he may be known not only to be the God and Lord of every Singular person, but also of the creatures of the whole universal world. Question--But why do not we Christians under the New, keep the Sabbath on the same seventh day on which it was kept under the Old Testament? I answer--Because our …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Divine Support and Protection
[What shall we say then to these things?] If God be for us, who can be against us? T he passions of joy or grief, of admiration or gratitude, are moderate when we are able to find words which fully describe their emotions. When they rise very high, language is too faint to express them; and the person is either lost in silence, or feels something which, after his most laboured efforts, is too big for utterance. We may often observe the Apostle Paul under this difficulty, when attempting to excite …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Joshua 10:12 NIVJoshua 10:12 NLTJoshua 10:12 ESVJoshua 10:12 NASBJoshua 10:12 KJV
Joshua 10:12 Commentaries
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