Read or hear the story in Joshua 10:11-14

Giant hailstones?
      Book of Jashar??
            Sun and moon standing still???

The Book of Joshua is not objective history capturing what happened with:
tape recorders
cameras
The Book of Joshua is sacred history capturing what happened with
legend (religious quality)
saga (larger than life stories)
etiological story (explains how something started)

Have you ever experienced things as "larger than life"? Biblical writers often use hyperbole -- exaggeration -- as all good storytellers do. Read about textual formation in Joshua and the Land, p. 10-11.

The book of Joshua was written during the Exile when Israel was oppressed by the Babylonians. In the stories of Joshua, Israel remembered a day when God took vengeance over their enemies:
             "The sun stood still and the moon stopped
            until the nation took vengeance on their enemies."
Remembering this story of past victory brought comfort and hope to the oppressed people of God, in exile under Babylon.

HAILSTONES from God to confound the enemy during times of oppression come two other times in the scriptures:

Hail. An ancient memory... the 7th plague God sent upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to free Israel (Ex 9:22-29)
Q: What is the lesson of the hailstorm?
A: "The earth is the Lord's."

Hail. An ancient vision... the 7th plague God sends upon those who persecute Christians (ancient Rome) (Revelation 16:1-4;17-21)
Q: What is the lesson of the hailstorm?
A: "Great and amazing are your deeds, Lord God the Almighty."

Walking backwards through biblical history:
When the early church was persecuted by the Roman empire,
      the people of God looked forward to a day
      when God would avenge their suffering.
This hope is expressed through the vision of John in the book of Revelation.
And the hailstones fell...

Speaking of Babylon... If you aren’t easily offended, read how John talks in code about Rome--the archenemy--as "the great whore" of Babylon. The early Christians remembered how Babylon had oppressed their ancestors during the Exile when the book of Joshua was written. There's a straight line of continuity between Old Testament and New Testament attitudes about Babylon (see Revelation 17:1-6).

And before Babylon, Egypt...       "The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites,       and made their lives bitter with hard service" (Ex 1:13). BUT, don’t despair... Out of their slavery their cry for help rose up to God.       God heard their groaning             looked upon the Israelites             took notice of them (Ex 2:23-25). You know the rest of the story, right?

The point is...
The Lord heeds pleas of the oppressed, and fights battles for them (read Joshua and the Land, p. 30). It happened in Egypt and it happened in Canaan. Does it still happen today?

Moving forward to the present...
Where do you think God is fighting battles for the oppressed now?
Click here to add your response and/or read others' responses.

May discusses contemporary movements for land. Check out these websites (note*) on:
The Crow Nation in the United States
The Penam of Sarawak
Movement of Landless Rural Workers in Brazil

On the day the sun stood still, "The Lord fought for Israel."
The writers of Joshua were real clear--
The conquest part ends with this summary:

Our God is an awesome God goes the song.
That's the sense of this story about the day when the sun stood still.