One of the more interesting and contested accounts recorded in the scriptures is that of Joshua’s longest day. Joshua and the army of Israel were in a campaign to take the promised land, Canaan, for the children of Israel. Five kings of the Amorites (warlike highlanders from the land of Canaan) laid siege against Gibeon (the major city of Israel’s ally the Gibeonites). The Gibeonites sent for Israel to assist them. Joshua force marched his men all night in order attack the Amorites unexpectedly. The Lord fought for Israel in the ensuing battle and a great victory was at hand but the day was running out. The text says that Joshua then spoke to the Lord: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon." So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day” (Joshua 10:12-13 NKJV). Because God miraculously extended the day, Israel defeated the Amorites.

Did this longest day really happen? An urban legend has arisen from time to time alleging that NASA, using their powerful computers, have determined there is a day missing from history. In order to make such a calculation one would need to know the planets' positions before any missing day, as well as after. This is impossible. However, it is interesting that various cultures have legends of a long day. In Greek mythology Phaeton, Apollo's son, supposedly disrupted the sun's course for a day. Since Joshua 10 is historical, cultures on the opposite side of the world should have legends of a long night. In fact, the New Zealand Maori people have a myth about how their hero Maui slowed the sun before it rose, while the Mexican Annals of Cuauhtitlan (the history of the empire of Culhuacan and Mexico) records a night that continued for an extended time. By the laws of nature, a 36 hour day does not seem possible. However, we must remember that God can transcend the laws of nature. Jesus made wine out of water, stilled the raging sea, and raised the dead. For Him, extending the length of a day would be no great feat.

Different theories have arisen as to how God accomplished Joshua’s long day. Some suggest that God refracted light from the sun and moon to prolong the day. Others suggest that God caused the earth to wobble in its orbit thus tracing an “s” shaped or circular path in the sky. And still others say that God slowed the earth’s rotation. All of these are merely conjecture, the only thing we can be sure if is that God did extend the length of a day, because He tells us He did and He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

The account of Joshua’s longest day has great significance for the Christian. Much of what the Christian hopes for will not be realized until after the second coming of Jesus. The resurrection of our bodies from the grave, the reuniting with our spirits, and our being changed, are all things that we look forward to in hope. These are promises made by God which we do not fully understand how He will make happen. Even so, we have the utmost confidence that He is able to perform them. For if He is able to transcend nature to extend the length of a day, He is able to transcend nature to raise the dead, to give faithful Christians a new glorious body made in the image of Christ (1 John 3:2), and to make us immortal so we can be with Him eternally (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).