In this crazy busy life we live, with other-levied
time demands compounded by self-imposed expectations, the only possible way we
can imagine getting it all accomplished is for the sun to stand still and there
be twice as many hours in the day. If
only that could happen! It did!
On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel! Joshua 10:12-14
The Book of Jashar was an ancient collection of heroic
stories, poems and epic poetry. This is
one of those unforgettable events destined for such a collection. It is deemed memorable, not only because the sun stood still doubling the hours in that day, but why.
A quick retelling of the backstory recorded in Joshua 9 and 10
is: The conquest of Jericho, complete with its impenetrable walls miraculously falling
in (Joshua 6), and the defeat of the great city of Ai (Joshua 8) rapidly spread throughout the
entire region, which included a city/kingdom that was even larger than Ai and full
of mighty warriors. (Joshua 10:2) This city/kingdom,
named Gibeon, was not far from where Joshua was camping in Gilgal. They feared they were next on the hit list,
thus decided their best defense was a peace treaty with the Israelites. Their means of gaining this agreement
involved deception and manipulation rather than negotiation. The envoy dressed in rags, carried dried out
wine sacks and moldy bread, which they claimed was all due to having traveled
long and far. The story they told was based on Israel’s victories 40 years
earlier, not the recent ones. The
ruse worked because the Israelites made a big mistake:
The men of Israel sampled their
provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace
with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by
oath. Joshua 9:14,15 NIV
Three days later Joshua’s scouts discovered that they were
not from some far away country but actually one of the neighboring
city/kingdoms. Obviously Joshua was
furious, but also a man of integrity he kept his word. It wasn’t long before the other city/kingdoms
heard about this agreement. Five of them joined together to show Gibeon what
they thought of their colluding with the enemy.
Gibeon quickly played its “agreement” card and called Joshua and the
Israelites to their defense. It was in
this battle of five kings of the Amorites and their armies against Israel and
the Gibeonites that Joshua asked for, and God granted, extra time. The sun
stood still while they fought and defeated the Amorites.
This incredible miracle was all on the behalf of the
unworthy!
The Gibeonites were definitely unworthy. They had tricked Joshua and the Israelites into
this peace agreement/partnership and drawn them into their problem. The
Israelites were not exactly worthy either. You cannot read the account of this
event in Joshua, and not notice five wonderful words: “The Lord said to
Joshua.” God and Joshua had a wonderful
and intimate relationship that usually included discussing what was
happening and what God wanted them to do.
But if you remember, what got them into this agreement was their not
inquiring of the Lord. Now they are in a
battle against 5 to 2 odds and time.
Joshua asking for time to stand still and God granting it is simply
grace: God acting on behalf of the unworthy.
We cannot truly grasp grace until we come face to face
with our unworthiness.
Unworthiness does not mean worthless. Grace is all about
our worth. If we want to see just how
much we are worth, all we have to do is look at the cross.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty
might become rich. 2
Corinthians 8:9
Although He existed in the form of
God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, being made in the likeness of
men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Philippians
2:6-8
But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
He went to the extreme of taking on the limitations of
humanity and the excruciating pain of the cross, not because of our worthiness,
but because of our worth. He went to the
cross on behalf of the unworthy, us!
Grace begins at the cross, but it does not end there. It
is extended to us through the abundant life He came to make possible here and
now (John 10:10) and
His eternal kingdom to which we now belong. (2 Timothy 4:18)
All of this on behalf of the unworthy!
I’m thinking this might top the sun standing still.
[Make it Personal]
In Genesis 32:10, Jacob was overwhelmed by the grace of
God on his behalf. His response to God was:
“I am unworthy of all the
lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your
servant.” What is your response to the
grace of God in light of your own unworthiness?
Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain, but I labored even more than
all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God
with me.” This wasn’t about comparison, but being compelled by the magnitude of
grace to do everything he possibly could and more. How does (or should) grace motivate you?
In a very short parable (Luke 17:7-9), Jesus instructed His disciples, and us: “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say,
‘We are unworthy* slaves; we have done only
that which we ought to have done.’” (*acheios = unmeritorious - not deserving reward or praise.) Why
is it important for you to continually remember your unworthiness?
If Christ was willing to leave Heaven’s glory and go to the cross on
behalf of the unworthy, how can you personally follow His example and apply
this to your own life?