The Sun Stands Still

00:00:00 Speaker 1: Previously on the Chosen People. 00:00:03 Speaker 2: Tell me, Nicomody, where are you from and why have you sought out our camp. We are your servants. We have traveled here to make a treaty and swear an oath before your God. Would we go through all that trouble if. 00:00:18 Speaker 3: We were your enemies? Please, Joshua, allow us to be your servants. We ask for no land or wealth, just to be in your midst and under your protection. In exchange for service. 00:00:31 Speaker 2: I will honor your request. I will take you to the tabernacle, where we will establish our peace and swear the oath you seek. Once it is done, you can rest here to regain your strength before you return to your elders and tell them of our treaty. 00:00:45 Speaker 4: Those men, the ones we just made a treaty with. Their far away country is not so far away as it turns out. They are, Heaptes. The men you met are from the city of Gibbeon. They live only twenty miles from here. 00:01:00 Speaker 2: You're sure, how did you learn this? 00:01:03 Speaker 4: I overheard them speaking to one another, and if that wasn't enough, when I drew closer to confirm my guess, I heard them congratulating themselves over a lie well spun. We have been deceived. General Joshua. Those men were not who they claimed to be. 00:01:20 Speaker 2: We have sworn an oath to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot harm you. This is how it will be. You will live, so no wrath will fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to you. But why did you deceive us, claiming you live far away when you were actually on neighbors. Because of this, you are cursed and will always be slaves, woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God. 00:01:48 Speaker 5: He feared for our lives. That's why we deceived you. Now we are in your hands God to us. Whatever you think, He's right. 00:02:11 Speaker 6: It's not the miracles that bring us close to God. It's our closeness to God that makes space for his miracles. Shelloh, my friends, from here in the holy Land of Israel. I'm l Extein with International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and welcome to the Chosen People. What kind of God commands the sun to stop? A God who wields the stars like a quill, signing his name in the skies. What kind of faith prays for a miracle beyond reason, a faith that he's passed the veil of this world. The Israelites are caught in a battle, facing an allegiance of kings, a coalition forged out of fear. Five armies pressing, and gibbeon their new ally, is in peril. Joshua is no stranger to conflict. He has faced armies before, he has conquered walls with the sound of a trumpet. But this is a different kind of war, a test not of strength but of faith. 00:03:16 Speaker 1: The horns rang out in warning and pierced the stillness of the tranquil evening, causing the hairs on Nikole's arms to stand on end. Gibeon was under attack. A moment ago, there was music and a cool breeze drifting over the hill country of Canaan, But now there was only sobering panic. Nikole flung himself from his seat and limped to the stone window of his bedchamber. He peered down at the countryside of rolling hills. What Nikoll saw knotted his stomach in fear, and sweat poured from his brow. Even in the darkness, Their black forms dotted the landscape, stretching back and back like a ravenue disease intent on destroying its host. Nikole gulped audibly as he gaateed down at the force marching toward his home. The horns pierced the night again, and Nikole's door swung wide. His associated Tadoo Hebber's form illuminated in the doorway. 00:04:18 Speaker 7: They're here. 00:04:19 Speaker 3: They need to take this city. 00:04:21 Speaker 7: You put gibbon to the sword. 00:04:23 Speaker 3: We had to get out now. 00:04:26 Speaker 1: Nikhal noted Tadoo's traveling cloak and what appeared to be a hurriedly packed saddle bag slung over his shoulder. 00:04:34 Speaker 3: If the king ordered us to ride. 00:04:37 Speaker 1: Tadoo gave a sharp nod, and Nikole hobbled about the room, throwing supplies and clothes into his saddle bag. 00:04:44 Speaker 5: Leave it. 00:04:45 Speaker 2: We have to go now. 00:04:48 Speaker 1: Frantic whales from the city streets below drifted to Nikole's tower home in the royal city of Gibeon. The walls would not be easily breached, and he was safe, and arrows shop the fields below. But if he and Taddoo were being sent as messengers to raise the alarm to their neighbors and allies, they didn't have much time. They had to leave the city before the siege began. Judging by the enemy's numbers and the speed at which they were moving, it might already be too late. The two men hurried as fast as Nikole's bent and twisted back would allow him. They moved down the stone steps carved into the sloping hills towards the city's smallest gate, which wound past Gibeon's famed cylindrical pool that gave the gate its name. It was eerily quiet as they rounded the pool's outer edge, and the inky depths rippled in response to the din of a city raising her defenses. Perhaps it was too quiet, and where were the guards? The pool gate was the smallest, but it had never been unmanned. Nikoles shot out an arm to stop Tadoo as his shrewd eyes spotted the slump bodies in the shadows. A cruel laugh cut through the darkness, and two men emerged, dripping daggers in their hands, wet from the blood of the downed guards. 00:06:11 Speaker 2: Going somewhere you Backstad and high by dogs, off to fetch your hebrew masters and bark for help. 00:06:18 Speaker 1: The two adversaries circled them like wolves. Nikole fumbled to find his blade, not that it would do him much good with his mangled back and hobbled limp. 00:06:30 Speaker 2: Now, now can have you two? Raising the alarm? 00:06:34 Speaker 1: Without warning, Tadoo shouted at the top of his. 00:06:37 Speaker 2: Lungs intruders at the boy gate. 00:06:40 Speaker 1: That the circling soldier lunged at Tadoo, but Tadoo was ready. He threw the soldier back with his blade and thrust Nikol down to get him out of the way. The first soldier lunged forward and kicked Nikohl in the jaw, causing Nikol to bite his tongue and his mouth to fill with blood. The soldier raised his blade above his head and struck Nicklu. He flew back, grabbing the side of his face. Tadoo tackling a man to the ground. With his face drenched in blood and mouth throbbing, Nikol crawled toward the now unguarded gate. He didn't look back as he seized his opportunity to escape. He had to make it to the Israelite camp. It was time for Joshua to make good on their treaty and come to his people's rescue. Joshua frowned at the bruised and battered man before him. His council in an uproar if Amar led the charge against the weary refugee from Gibeon. 00:07:41 Speaker 8: Why should we risk God next for Gibeon? Does a treaty of peace between our countries mean we are their bannerman, obligated to ride out at their beckon call? 00:07:52 Speaker 3: And how can we be sure this isn't another deception to draw our army out and attack our civilians on the river bank while we're out on a wild quail chase. 00:08:02 Speaker 8: Yes, exactly. And even if for five kingdom alliance surrounds Gibeon, why not let them squabble and fight amongst themselves. Let them weaken themselves fighting one another. 00:08:15 Speaker 3: H That would certainly make our conquest easier. 00:08:19 Speaker 1: Caleb had taken the deception of Gibeon particularly hard as Joshua's second in command and leader of his armies. Though Joshua would never blame him, Caleb felt tremendous guilt for not having thoroughly vetted the three Gibeon nights before they were brought before Joshua. 00:08:37 Speaker 8: Not to mention it would rid us of the embarrassing evidence of our deception. 00:08:42 Speaker 7: No more Gibeon, no more treaty? 00:08:45 Speaker 8: Did they not swear to be our servants, and they wanted peace from us, not war. Not going to war wouldn't be breaking our treaty with them. But anyway, it doesn't matter what we all think. 00:08:57 Speaker 3: What do you think? 00:08:57 Speaker 7: Joshua? 00:08:59 Speaker 1: Joshua had been keenly observing Nikol, the Gibeonite ambassador, all the while looking for further signs of deception or subterfuge. His swollen and bloodied lips and jaw certainly looked convincing, and it was evident he made the journey to their camp on foot. His feet were cracked and bleeding, and he had only the clothes on his back and a wild, desperate look in his eyes. Nikol had seen something in Gibeon that haunted him. Joshua was inclined to believe the tale he spun about an Amorite five king alliance uniting against Gibeon in retaliation for aligning themselves with the Israelites. He believed Nikol's stories about a force of thousands now laying siege to his kingdom. But perhaps this predicament presented an opportunity for israel I. 00:09:52 Speaker 2: Think it would be unwise to treat our oath so casually and bearing their interpretations to our whims. But I also think this seize under cost kingdom, maybe presenting us the strategic break we need. 00:10:05 Speaker 1: Eyebrows shot up around the table at that. 00:10:09 Speaker 7: Think of it. 00:10:10 Speaker 2: Five Amorite kings whose cities are key strongholds the South, all in one place, lured out into the open, no longer hiding behind their high walls and defenses, and their haste to destroy Gibeon. We could continue to conquer can in one stronghold at a time. Our conquest would take years. But if we were to crush multiple enemies at once and further drive our wedge into the heart of the Southern kingdom, you ask what I think? Why I think this is too good an opportunity to dismiss. 00:10:42 Speaker 1: Eager, curling smiles replace skeptical, raised eyebrows. As the cleverness of Joshua's plan washed over them, Caleb clapped Joshua on the back, a gleam of admiration in his eye. 00:10:55 Speaker 3: Ha, to war for Gibeon, Then to war. 00:11:02 Speaker 2: Do not be afraid of them, for I have handed them over to you. 00:11:07 Speaker 7: Not one of them would be able to stand against you. 00:11:11 Speaker 1: The Lord's words were still ringing in Joshua's ears from when he spoke the words to Joshua as their army flew up the steep terrain to Canaan's hill country under the cover of darkness, and they still rang in Joshua's ears as Joshua repeated them to his men over the sounds of war and dying in the distance as the sun rose, the assault on their unlikely allies in full swing. Upon their arrival, the Israelite men were exhausted from their twenty five mile march and ascending the nearly four thousand foot climb to Gibeon. The lord would need to hand their enemies over to them in order for them to triumph over these hordes. Currently throwing themselves against the walls of Gibeon, the kings of Jerusalem, hebron Yarmult, Lakish, and Egglon whirled around to find Gibeon's reluctant protectors suddenly at their back. Joshua could feel their livid stairs from over a mile away as they barked at their armies to turn and form up around them to face the oncoming threat from the east. 00:12:19 Speaker 3: Turn around, face your enemy, these Zeromaders, if come to take your lands, kill them all at. 00:12:28 Speaker 1: Zach, Joshua drew his sword from its sheath, relishing the sound of irons sliding against smooth leather, and brandished the long javelin over his head. 00:12:39 Speaker 3: With the other hand, Israel remember the promise. 00:12:43 Speaker 2: Together forward Lakshasat's amats. 00:12:47 Speaker 1: With war cries, barred teeth and pumping arms. The Amorite kings and Israel's armies ran at one another yards before a collision, though, as if we're from a dream, the amorhide slowed to a walk and then stopped. They stood confounded and puzzled, assessing their surroundings and looking around. But when they saw the Israelites barreling toward them, spears down and shields up, they panicked and scattered. As the interlocking wall of iron tipped. 00:13:21 Speaker 7: Spears bore down on them. 00:13:23 Speaker 1: Joshua stood amazed at the back of the army. Joshua had commanded Nikol to be patched up by their headers, but then stationed at his side for the battle for safekeeping. Joshua wanted him close to the need for a Gibbeanit hostage arise, and the Gibbeanites pulled false once more. 00:13:43 Speaker 7: What strange Sasha is this. 00:13:46 Speaker 1: Joshua grinned at the bent back Gibbeonite. 00:13:49 Speaker 2: Oh this is nothing for our god overviewle he's just getting started, does not make any gross. 00:13:56 Speaker 1: As if on queue. Churning white frost, vertical columns of clouds rolled from staring in a vengeance, covering the world in an opaque darkness and shielding the morning sun in its shadow. Lightning spilled the sky and illuminated the faces of the terrified Amorite soldiers below, while Israel continued their brutal attack, and then, without warning, hailstones the size of clenched fists rained down, fierce and unrelenting, each one landing with a horse that felt like judgment. The logs scattered shields and dented arms, striking the soldiers down dead where they stood. The crackling metallic town of the sudden electric storm charged the air with a searing fiscal fear. More Amorites fell dead, impaled by the hailstones than by the Israelite source. The survivors fled in earnest that this supernatural reckoning that unleashed itself from their heavans. Their lines broke well and truly then, and they turned tail and fled to the west before the Israelites. 00:15:07 Speaker 2: After them is real. Pursue your enemy. 00:15:11 Speaker 1: The enemy fled for cover from the harrowing hailstorm, through the narrow pass and down the valley Ygelon. Joshua swore under his breath it would take them hours and hours to pursue and vanquish their prey. In the past, his men were spurred on by the adrenaline of war and witnessing the supernatural might of the Lord, but they were only human. They would tire eventually, and the narrow valley was not suitable for camp. They could not let their enemy have the chance to escape and scatter across the land. He had to fulfill the Lord's promise and end this today. Joshua craned his neck at the already clearing sky. The sun was still climbing towards zenith, but even with over ten hours of sunlight, Joshua wanted more, needed more time. A wild, audacious idea flashed across Joshua's mind as he lowered his gaze to track the enemy disappearing into the rocky valley. The iridescent moon hung low in the sky, barely visible in the daytime, and peeking over the ridges of the valley, as if drawn by curiosity to these strange events. The mythic sight of the sun and moon together in the sky before him sparked a radical idea drawn from the poetic legends of Hebrew heroes and the ancient law recorded in the Book of Yashah, a favorite of Joshua's, one of the first scrolls his beloved mental Moses had taught him to read all those years. 00:16:45 Speaker 2: Ago, Sun sand still over gimmeon and moon over the valley of Ajalan. 00:16:52 Speaker 1: Joshua could feel a palpable pulse of pressure in the atmosphere. As the Lord acquiesced Joshua's unorthodox request. It was as if the earth spinning undetected beneath them. The forces holding them bound to its presence slowed in response. The Sun and moon hung suspended and still. Nikol gaped at Joshua as if he sensed it as well. 00:17:22 Speaker 7: God, what is this boor of your god? Duke commn Chapash the torch of the gods, and you are at the lamp of the godss tour ordered the Sun and the moon the subjects. The god you obledged to is the Elohim, creator of the Sun and moon. They are indeed his subjects. He is the l eleon God most high. There is no god like him. Look, Nicole of Gibeon, servant of the God Israel, see the wonders of our God for himself. 00:18:03 Speaker 1: Nikar trembled, stumbled to his knees, and bowed low before the wonders of his God. The sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day. 00:18:28 Speaker 2: Open the mouth of the cave and bring out those five kings to me. 00:18:32 Speaker 1: Joshua's faithful guards set to work in lodging the great stun. It had been almost two weeks since the day the sun stood still. Joshua had glimpsed the cowardly kings sneaking away from their panicking men and into the mountains to hide. Joshua had not bothered hunting his enemies to stop and deal with them. He instead sent a small detachment of gods to trap them. Here they could contemplate how they could leave their men in the field and run to the protection of walls, even walls of a desolate dripping cave. Israel had safely made camp at Makedah. No one dared to threaten the Israelites after this stunning victory, But now to complete the defeat, Joshua called forward Caleb Samu and the other officers of his army to stand beside him as they surveyed the sniveling Amorite kings bound before them. 00:19:32 Speaker 2: Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings. 00:19:36 Speaker 1: The guards holding the kings shoved them down to their sides, and the officers marched forward obediently and did as Joshua bid. 00:19:44 Speaker 2: Do not be afraid or discouraged, be strong and courageous, that the Lord will do this to all the enemies you fight. 00:19:52 Speaker 1: Joshua motioned for the officers to back away. He drew his sword from its sheath again, and in quick successive blows, he struck down the Five king Alliance, sealing the doom of the Southern Canaanite kingdoms. After the decisive battle in the Valley of Aigelon, Israel advanced relentlessly, capturing Makedah, Libna, Lakish, and Eglon, securing control of the southern highlands. From there, they drove deeper into the south, taking the fortified cities of Hebron and Debia critical victories, leaving the region largely subdued. Yet Jerusalem remained impenetrable and defiant, an isolated pagan stronghold of Jebusites amidst a conquered land. That campaign would have to wait for another day, but its presence was a thorn, a reminder that Israel's work in the land was far from Finnish. 00:21:07 Speaker 6: How could I even begin to describe what we just heard. This wasn't just another story of swords and blood. No, this was a moment where the veil between Heaven and Earth grew thin, where time itself seemed to hold its breath. An army, weary and bruised, fighting beneath the desert, Sun and Joshua with a boldness that only comes from knowing God's voice, stands and speaks to the sky, as if the Sun were a mere servant at his beck and call. And you know what the Sun obeys. It's almost unbelievable, and yet I don't doubt for a second that it happened. The great tension in the story lies not just in the battle on the ground, but in the audacity of Joshua's prayer, it forces a question, what kind of faith does it take to speak to the sun. Faith isn't just a belief in miracles, but a trust in the God who authors them. The Jewish Age just say it's not the miracles that bring us close to God, but our closeness to God that makes space for miracles. The Bible often speaks of God's control over his creation, from the dividing of the Red Sea to the Mana and the desert. The narrative of the Chosen People is tied to the idea of a creator who is intimately involved in our world. Joshua's command to the Sun is more than his boldness. It's an expression of trust in a God who holds the entire cosmos in his hands, a trust that the God who parted sees and brought down walls still walks with his people. And there, in the midst of battle, with his people weary and his enemies numerous Joshua speaks to the sun, and the sun stands still. But this story is promoted a question in the thousands of you years since. When Joshua prayed for God to stop the sun from setting, it was already clear that the Israelites were winning the battle, So why did the sun need to stop? Well, our sage Is suggests that the reason was to demonstrate once again to the Israelites and to everyone, that it wasn't just military might and bravery that was winning these battles. It was God fulfilling his promise of the Holy Land for the Chosen People. And you know what, the same thing is true today, isn't it Israelwan's battles, not just because of the brave men and women of the israel Defense Forces, but because God is helping us at all times, just as he did for the Israelites back then. Well, there's another aspect to this story that strikes me as particularly relevant for us today. Those who wish to destroy the Chosen People in Joshua's time and still today, also want to stop anyone who wants to establish friendship with Israel. The Five Amorit Kings attacked Gibbeon only because they had made a peace treaty with Israelites, and the Chosen People face this very same challenge today, Don't we Not only must we defend ourselves from those who wish to destroy us, but we must support those great friends of Israel that our enemies also oppose. You have to let them know we are sending them love as the enemies of Israel send them hate. This story, it's not just about God showing off his almighty power. It's about a God who fights on behalf of his people, who hears and responds when the chosen people call out to him in faith. Joshua's prayer is an invitation to deeper trust, to a partnership with the divine. Joshua's prayer and God's response isn't just a cosmic flexing of divine muscles. 00:24:58 Speaker 4: Rather, it's about. 00:24:59 Speaker 6: Shaping the pe people of Israel into a people who believe that God is with them in every single battle. And so what does this Bible story mean for us today? Well, we live in a world of deadlines and filled schedules. The idea of the sun standing still actually feels very far removed from our hurried modern lives, doesn't it. But maybe this story is not about God pausing the universe as much as it is about our willingness to pause and to trust in God. How often do we face insurmountable odds and pray for escape when what God offers us is courage. Joshua's bold prayer reminds us that we can ask for the impossible, not because we command God, but because God commands all things. My encouragement for you today, my friends, is this, don't be afraid to pray audacious prayers, not because God is there to grant your every wish, but because you're in a relationship with a God who listens. And if we live like this, then maybe we too might witness the miraculous, not just in the skies, but in our hearts. 00:26:18 Speaker 1: You can listen to The Chosen People with y Isle Eckstein ad free by downloading and subscribing to the Prey dot Com app today. This Prey dog comproduction is only made possible by our dedicated team of creative talents. Steve Gattina, Max Bard, Zach Shellabarger, and Ben Gammon are the executive producers of The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, Edited by Alberto Avilla, narrated by Paul Coltefianu. Characters are voiced by Jonathan Cotton, Aaron Salvado, Sarah Seltz, Mike Reagan, Stephen Ringwoald, Sylvia Zaradoc, Thomas Copeland Junior Rosanna Pilcher, and the opening prayer is voiced by John Moore. Music by Andrew Morgan Smith, written by Aaron Salvato, Bree Rosalie and Chris Baig. Special thanks to Bishop Paulinier, Robin van Ettin, Kayleb Burrows, Jocelyn Fuller, and the team at International Fellowship of Christians and Jews. You can hear more Prey dot com productions on the Prey dot com app, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. If you enjoyed The Chosen People with Yile Eckstein, please rate and leave a review.