There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being.
Joshua 10:14a

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READ: Joshua 10:1–15

It takes guts to make a bold statement. Everyone who has ever told their boss they wanted a raise or spoken up against popular opinion in a tense meeting can attest it’s not easy. Any boyfriend who emboldened himself enough to propose to their girlfriend, and any college kid who told their fiscally minded parents that they’re changing majors from Accounting to Theater, remembers the courage it took. What emboldens us to make big declarations? Almost always, it’s the hope of getting a positive response. The potential reward is so alluring, it’s worth the risk.

For Joshua and the entire Israelite army, things were going well in a prolonged battle against five nations that had attacked Israel’s allies, the Gibeonites. God sent a massive hailstorm to take out huge swaths of these enemy soldiers, and now they were on the run. To finish the job, Joshua prayed an emboldened prayer: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon” (10:12b).

Joshua’s prayer isn’t a request; it’s a command. Remarkably, God listens. The sun stands still. Scholars generally interpret this passage in one of two ways.

• Literal: Something miraculous occurred (perhaps a solar eclipse that the Israelites interpreted as nightfall), and when the eclipse passed, the ongoing sunlight seemed like the sun standing still.
• Figurative: This passage is written in poetic form, so Joshua may have been using poetry to reference their all-night march and God (Israel’s “sun”) giving them victory.

Whichever way you interpret this event, don’t lose sight of the most remarkable detail about this passage: God listened to Joshua! God wasn’t offended by Joshua’s emboldened words; rather, God granted his demand and made the sun stand still. Decades earlier, God had also listened to Moses, who had made a bold request to spare the Israelites after they’d made a golden idol to worship. God listened and spared them. Just as God had parted waters for both Moses and Joshua, God responded positively to both of their emboldened requests.

A STORY OF THEN & NOW

An Emboldened Ask | Kurt K. | Willow South Barrington

Eight years ago, I left a stable banking career to follow what I believed was God’s calling— joining as a partner in a promising business. But soon after I joined, a critical defect in one of our products nearly bankrupted the company. I was too new to fix the product or rescue the finances, so I did the only thing I knew—I prayed. Desperately. Boldly.

During those long hours of prayer, I began seeing a recurring vision of unfamiliar faces, along with a message: “Serve these people.” At first, I didn’t think much of it, but I soon recognized them as the homeless individuals I passed every day on my commute. Despite our company’s own crisis, I shared the vision of serving our homeless neighbors with my team. To my surprise, they all said yes—and the S.A.M. Foundation began. No budget, no resources, no strategy—just prayer and obedience. We started by delivering meals. Then came Friday dinners, Bible studies, Sunday church pickups, and small groups. Slowly, we became a family—brothers and sisters to those the world had overlooked. Time after time, God has shown up for S.A.M., providing food, volunteers, and even a 12-passenger van (through Willow’s C.A.R.S. Ministry), right when we needed it most.

God had brought me to my knees—not to punish me, but to remove distractions so I could hear His voice clearly and obey. In that place of surrender, God emboldened me. And through that boldness, one of His ministries was born.

DID YOU KNOW?

Science affirms the two unusual natural occurrences described in Joshua 10:12–15. Hail is unusual in Israel, but not unheard of. As recently as 2015, baseball-sized hail pummeled the country, causing extensive damage.14 And the earliest solar eclipse ever recorded—an annular eclipse dated October 30, 1207 BC—would be around the time of Joshua’s emboldened demand for the sun to “stand still.”

A PRAYER

God, it’s often easier to stay silent than to say what I really want—from You and from others. Embolden me to speak up, and to trust You with the outcome, whatever it may be. Amen.

FOR REFLECTION

Describe a time you made an emboldened demand of God—and your demand was granted. What was your response?

Describe a time you made an emboldened demand of God—and your demand was not granted. In light of what you know about God’s character, how do you interpret this experience?