The Bible speaks
We were at Mahajanga, a city on the north coast of Madagascar, and Francine and I had been admiring the sun slowly setting over the horizon. The colours were beautiful, constantly changing both in the sky and in the little waves.
Then suddenly, the night arrived, and the moon appeared.
God created the sun and the moon, as it is written in the first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 1, verse 16, “God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day. He made the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars.”
And what happened in Joshua’s time was really exceptional, as it is also written in the Bible in the book of Joshua, chapter 10.
Five kings met to attack the city of Gibeon which had negotiated a peace treaty with God’s people (the Israelites). Joshua had to come to the rescue to save the city and all its inhabitants. God spoke to Joshua and said, “Do not be afraid of them. I have handed them over to you. Not one of them will be able to fight against you and win.” Joshua 10:8.
The five armies were, of course, beaten, but that was not enough. As the soldiers were running away, God sent huge hailstones and many more of them were killed. But that still wasn’t enough. Joshua spoke to the Lord in full view of his army and said, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon. Moon, stand still over the Valley of Aijalon.” Joshua 10:12 .
The sun stool still and the moon stopped in its tracks, as it says, “…The sun stopped in the middle of the sky. It didn’t go down for about a full day.”“Joshua 10:13.
There was total victory for God’s people. The Lord fought for Israel.
That’s how easy it was. God created the sun, the moon and all the other stars in the sky
He alone can tell them what to do. That day, God changed the times that the sun and moon came up and when they went down. Isn’t that almost unbelievable? But it really is what happened!
Some years later, Hezekiah, the king of Israel, became very, very sick. And the word of the Lordcame to Isaiah the prophet, “Go and speak to Hezekiah. Tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of King David, says, “I have heard your prayer. I have seen your tears. I will add 15 years to your life…“Here is a miraculous sign from me. It will show you that I will heal you, just as I promised I would. The shadow that was made by the sun has gone down ten steps on the stairway of Ahaz. I will make it go back up those ten steps.” So the shadow went back up the ten steps it had gone down.” See Isaiah 38:1-9
Once again, God showed his authority over creation. He is God!
When you look at the stars, the moon, and the sun as it rises and sets, think about the fact that it is God who put them in the sky for you, to show his power and authority, and just whisper, “Thank-you, Lord.”
Think also about Jesus who came to earth to be the light for all nations (Isaiah 49:6).
