I am confused when Joshua 10:14, in reference to God's answer to Joshua's prayer for the sun to stand still, says, "There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man." I think of God listening to Abraham's plea for Sodom and his nephew Lot in Genesis 18:16-33. I think of God's listening to Moses on many occasions, whether it was to perform miraculous signs in Egypt or the desert, or for God to forgive Israel when they sinned. God tells us in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." He certainly listens to his people all the time.
One possible answer is that I'm reading it wrong, and instead "there has never been a day like it" refers to the sun standing still, and "a day when the LORD listened to a man" is simply adding that this is yet another example of God's grace on those who approach him in faith. What do you think?
I thought of only the sun standing still, probably because of the passages you stated first.
ReplyDeleteHere is what our pastor said when I asked him about this: "It's probably best to think of this how you suggest: On that particular day God listened to the prayer of Joshua (a man) and acted on it in a way that had never been witnessed before (sun standing still), or ever has since."
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