The day the sun stood still

Faith breeds confidence which breeds courage which breeds success.

Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don’t know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it “really” means. Let’s see where this takes us!

Joshua 10

I’m reading Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Joshua remained faithful to the Gibeonites who had deceived him, and came to their defense when five kings attacked them.

The key verse of Joshua 10 is the 8th:

The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them, for I have handed them over to you; not one of them shall stand before you.”

We don’t know how the LORD communicated with Joshua, but the LORD is no longer depicted as a presence within a nearby pillar of cloud. Moses communicated with the LORD when the pillar was near, but the LORD’s communication with Joshua seems to be all in his “head,” or mind, or imagination.

Previous experiences for Joshua — the parting of the Jordan, the walls crumbling at Jericho — gave him a sense of invincibility. But that’s because he relied on his faith, and not on…