A Secularized Prayer (Joshua 10.12)

On the day when the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD; and he said in the sight of Israel,

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.”

Background

We have come to the first example of a petitionary prayer in the book of Joshua. Yet, true to form, this petition is not like other petitionary prayers of the Bible. After “Joshua spoke to the Lord,” we expect an address to God. Perhaps a praise of His name and then the actual request, followed by some closing address to God. Yet, we find that Joshua only says: “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.” It sounds more like an order than a request, and, if it were not for the previous phrase, we would think Joshua was speaking directly to the sun and moon rather than God. A few lines later, we read that “God listened to a man.”

Some background sheds light on the prayer (pun intended). Many kings in the region, having heard about the Israelites’ alliance with the Gibeonites,¹ formed an alliance to fight the Israelites. During the battle, as the Israelites are winning, Joshua speaks to God, and the sun and moon “stand still” and “wait.” The Israelites defeat their enemies. Despite their lack of faith (and forgetfulness about prayer), God is still with them.

In the Ancient Near East, it was common for pagan priests and leaders to address celestial objects as gods or goddesses. They believed that those objects were either representations or manifestations of the gods. The Israelites did not follow this view, of course. Celestial objects were creations of God, not representations or manifestations of God. Yet when we read Joshua’s words, he speaks like the polytheists who lived in the land. The words are the same words found in a prayer from an ancient collection called the Book of Ishtar.² Only the context tells us he is speaking with God. 

Meaning

There are four possibilities for understanding this passage.