Have you ever heard the story of the "Gibeonite Deception"?   Oh it's a fascinating bit of history from the Bible that takes place not long after God helps Joshua destroy Jericho and Ai.  Truth be told, it was God alone who delivered Jericho and Ai into their hands, He just requested that the Israelites exercise a bit of faith before He worked His wonders.  There was something else God requested...no, commanded of the Israelites.  He warned them not to make a treaty with anyone residing in the land He was giving them.  He warned them again...and again....and, you get the picture.  This brings us to the Gibeonite Deception I mentioned earlier.  Now, if you're the Gibeonites and you hear of this insignificant seeming nation in your territory wiping out peoples much larger and stronger than themselves, you're probably thinking, "how can we get those guys on our side?"  Well, you're right, but they didn't just walk up to the enemy camp and petition them to join forces.  No, their leaders hatched a plan to deceive the Israelites.

The Gibeonites really went to a lot of trouble to pull off this ruse.  They basically disguised themselves as travelers from afar.  Then they asked the Israelites to make a treaty with them.  God's people questioned them and the Gibeonites lied.  They skirted around the "where are you from" questions and pointed to their "fake" provisions (spoiled and worn out) as evidence that they had come from a very long distance to seek a treaty with the Israelites.  The Bible tells us that "the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD."  They made a treaty and three days later they would learn that they'd been deceived.  In doing this the Gibeonites saved their own lives but were subject to the Israelites from that day.

Thankfully the story doesn't end there.  Later we find that the Gibeonites are being attacked and they call on the Israelites to honor their pact and come to their aide.  You've got to know that the people of Israel despised the fact that they had to fight this war.  Of course, God required them to uphold their word and they went into battle.  I have to say that this is probably one of my most favorite battles in the old testament.  Why?  Because I can relate to where the Israelites were at when they marched to what could be their ultimate doom.  They got themselves in this situation whether they intended to or not all because they failed to inquire of the Lord.  Now they are faced with a battle that they wouldn't have to fight otherwise.  Does that sound familiar to your own life at times?  I know it does mine.  While I can relate to their predicament, it is what happens next that brings me encouragement.

Because they honored their oath, the Lord came to their aid in a magnificent way.  First the Israelites took the enemy by surprise.  If you know anything about battle, this is a huge advantage by itself.  Then, the Lord threw the enemy into confusion.  As they began to run from the Israelites, God rained down huge hailstones, killing more with the stones than His people did by the sword!  Now, if you think He had helped enough at this point, you would be wrong.  Joshua knew they needed more daylight to track down the ones that were fleeing and so he asked God to make the sun stand still.  Such a bold request!  Had I just witnessed giant hailstones dropping on people around me, I might be inclined to ask for the moon...er, I mean, the sun too!

"So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!"  Joshua 10:13-14

I would wager that by the end of that battle, Joshua couldn't remember a time when the sunshine was more beautiful to him.  How many times has God come to my rescue, even when I was the reason I was in trouble?  Too many to count.  I can mark many times when "the sun stood still" while God helped me overcome and emerge victorious!  I only wish I would ask for the sun more often instead of trying to fight the enemy on my own.

"God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16(NAS)