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SUBJECT: Joshua’s “long
day”
QUESTION:
Have NASA computers really proven Joshua's “long day”?
ANSWER:
No, the NASA computers have not proven Joshua’s “long day.”
Although we believe that biblical account of Joshua's Long
Day is true, the claim that NASA has proven it is an old
urban myth.
Actually, the claim that astronomical calculations proved
that a day was 'missing' began over a century ago. In the
last few decades, the myth has been embellished with NASA
computers performing those calculations.
No one who repeats this story has ever provided details of
these calculations - how exactly was this missing day
discovered? This should automatically make people cautious.
How could you detect a missing day unless you had a fixed
reference point before this?
In fact we would need to cross check between both
astronomical and historical records to detect any missing
day. And to detect a missing 40 minutes requires that these
reference points are known to within an accuracy of a few
minutes.
It is certainly true that the timing of solar eclipses
observable from a certain location can be known precisely.
But the ancient records did not record time that precisely,
so the required cross check is simply not possible. Anyway,
the earliest historically recorded eclipse occurred in 1217
BC, nearly two centuries after Joshua.
There is so much good evidence for the truth of creation and
the Bible that we don't need to resort to embellishments and
urban myths.
Can we explain the "long days" of Joshua and Hezekiah?
In Joshua 10, the Bible tells the story of the day when the
sun-and time-stopped. The Israelites were fighting the
Amorites
in Canaan. During the battle, Joshua prayed for the sun and
moon to stop, so he would have extra daylight to finish the
task. Scripture records that this prayer was answered: the
sun "delayed going down about a full day" (v. 13). The very
objects in the sky that the Amorites worshipped fought
against them!
Several modern interpretations of the story have been
suggested:
Some say there was no miracle, but only poetic language. The
Israelites had fought so hard that it just seemed like two
days of work in a row! Others propose that a cloud shaded
the sun, keeping it cool enough for the fighting to continue
all through the afternoon. Of course, this relief from the
heat would have benefited the enemy as much as Israel.
Similarly, a solar eclipse has been suggested as causing
reduced sunlight. But eclipses of the sun last for only a
few minutes, not a whole day.
All of these explanations fall far short of the statement
that there has never been another day like the one described
(Joshua 10:14, cf. Habakkuk
3:11 - "...Sun and moon stood still in the heavens...").
What really happened on that special day? As with all
miracles, it is futile to speculate with scientific
theories. The details are unclear, but we know that God
could have refracted the light, or slowed the earth's
rotation, or stopped the entire universe - all with equal
ease!
Time stopped for Joshua, and it ran backwards for Hezekiah
(2 Kings 20:8-11).
God used this event as a special sign to show Hezekiah that
he would regain his health. The sun's shadow moved backwards
by ten steps, probably five to six hours on the sundial.
That is, the sun appeared to move eastward instead of
westward. The conclusion is again the same, that such a
miracle is beyond scientific explanation.
God may have temporarily reversed the earth's rotation,
affecting all its inhabitants, or the miracle in Hezekiah's
day could have been local instead of worldwide. The latter
view is supported by 2 Chronicles 32:31, which describes
envoys who traveled to the land where the miracle occurred.
Joshua and Hezekiah both made lofty requests of the Lord,
that the very heavens might be altered. And God answered
their prayers. The sun, moon, and stars obey the Creator who
placed them in the sky by the power of his word. |