Joshua 10:12-14

The sun and moon stayed.

Whatever opinions we may entertain relative to the exact nature of the incident celebrated in the poem of the Book of Jasher, there are certain general principles and religious truths which that poem brings distinctly before us.

I. GOD IS ACTIVELY CONCERNED WITH THE EVENTS OF HUMAN HISTORY . Divine powers aided Joshua in resisting the onslaught of the Canaanites. God is present, when He is not clearly so recognised, in all crises of life.

II. NATURE IS SUBSERVIENT TO THE WILL OF GOD . Miracles are not rare and occasional instances of the way in which God makes His will felt in nature. They are rather abnormal manifestations of the Divine power which is equally present in the regular course of nature. God is as much working in the natural as in the miraculous event, though the miraculous serves to impress us with the consciousness of His power. If we believe in God at all, it is unreasonable to suppose that He would create the universe in some age of dim antiquity, and then leave it to itself like a self-acting machine, which being once wound up only needs adjusting by miracle now and again to suit special emergencies. It is much more reasonable to regard the universe as an organism of which God is at once the creating, the inspiring, the energising, and the controlling spirit. Thus the sun and moon and stars and the earth always move by His power, and at every moment express His will ( Psalms 104:2-4 , Psalms 104:16 , Psalms 104:21 , etc.; Romans 1:20 ).

III. NATURAL EVENTS ARE LINKED WITH HUMAN DESTINIES . Like all great delusions which have exercised wide influence over men, astrology was the perversion of a deep truth. Our lives are connected with the stars. All nature is one, and we—in our earthly life—are part of nature. The processes of nature affect us; e.g; possibly sun spots acting through atmospheric phenomena have some influence over human calamities, and even over moral relations. Therefore note:

IV. NATURE FIGHTS AGAINST THOSE WHO RESIST THE WILL OF GOD . The Canaanites were resisting God's will concerning the settlement of the land, and thus they made themselves enemies to God's servant, nature. So the stars out of their courses fought against Sisera ( 5:20 ). It is objected that it is unworthy of the character of God to suppose that He would intervene by means of natural agencies to assist in a work of destruction. But it should be remembered that God is always employing destructive agencies in nature, as earthquakes, storms, etc; and that physical destruction is a less evil than moral corruption.—W.F.A.

HOMILIES BY J. WAITE