Joshua and The Day the Sun Stood Still

Joshua and The Day the Sun Stood Still
Joshua 10:1-14

In another story we learned how Joshua made peace with the Gibeonites. And so it came to pass that when Adonizedec, the king of Jerusalem heard that the Gibeonites had made peace with Joshua, he sent to the other kings and asked for help to kill the Gibeonites, because Gibeon was a great city, and the men were mighty men.

So they all gathered together, and camped before Gibeon, and made war against Gibeon. But the men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua saying "Come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us, for all the kings that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us"; and so Joshua brought all the mighty men with him from Gilgal, and the LORD said to Joshua, "Fear them not, for I have delivered them into your hand." And so Joshua came upon them suddenly.

And the LORD intervened, and Israel was victorious, and the children of Israel killed many of them, and chased them away, and as they ran from Israel, the LORD threw down great hailstones from heaven upon them, and they died. There were more people killed with hailstones, then were killed by the children of Israel.

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD and he said in the sight of Israel "Sun, you stand still upon Gibeon, you Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people of Gibeon had avenged themselves upon their enemies. So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not go down for a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD listened to the voice of a man: for the LORD fought for Israel.

And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

Memory Verse: Joshua 10:8 "And the LORD said to Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into your hand....."

Questions:
1 Why did the king of Jerusalem bring the armies to fight against Gibeon?
2 Why do you think Joshua came to help?
3 What did the Lord tell Joshua? and what did the Lord do as the people ran away?
4 What is a miracle in this story?
5 Why did the LORD listen to Joshua when he commanded the sun to stand still?

Answers:
1 Because they had made peace with Joshua, and they were mighty men.
2 Because he had made a peace agreement with the Gibeonites
3 The LORD told Joshua not to fear. And the LORD threw down hailstones from heaven onto the people as they ran away.
4 The sun stood still in the sky for a while day.
5 Because the LORD fought for Israel.

Vicki C. Gross/June'03

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