Sun, stand thou still!

In the recent weeks and months, I have had the privilege of reading God's word from the beginning. Two of my most recent readings are the books of Joshua and Judges. Both books are an amazing historical record of God's hand in the life of His chosen people, Israel. Similar to a romance novel (not that I ever read one...), these two books are capable of drawing both tears of happiness and despair from the reader. And although many will claim that Biblical language is difficult to read and comprehend, I found it to be perfect for the context. For instance:

"Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel." Joshua 10:12-14

Isn't that just beautiful? In this short passage, the reader feels the intensity of the situation and the magnificence of God's hand - directly impacting man. With my minuscule understanding of astronomy, upon reading that passage, I imagined the entire solar system, in all of its massiveness, just come to a halt. Earth, traveling around the sun at approximately 67,000 mph and rotating around 1,000 mph, just stopped. All of this - a result of one man's earnest plea to the Lord. These three verses take up just a few lines, yet they're capable of brewing-up a multitude of topics and discussions amongst both the Christian and non-Christian circles. Christian's can take away a mound of encouragement, while non-Christian's can witness yet another magnificent account of God's mighty hand in man's life.

Next time you pick up the Bible, don't try to just read it - experience it.

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12