You probably know that yesterday was Eclipse Day. My wife and I sat on our back porch and debated how dark it would get. I was surprised. It got much darker than I thought. We live in NE Ohio, so we were fortunate to be in the "path of totality." When the last glimmer of sun disappeared behind the moon, it was dark enough for our "on at dusk" lights to switch the porchlights on. The woods behind our house came alive with all the usual creature sounds we hear around 9 pm. It was beautiful and exciting.
We planned to be out on the porch by 3:15 yesterday because scientists can predict eclipses within one minute, many years in advance. This is God's design at its finest and grandest scale. We should be blessed by the precision, beauty, and, I'll say it, coolness of God's creation.
Regardless of God's precision, beauty, and epic solar exhibitions, doubters want to explain away the complexity and exactness of God's natural science. They want to find the ordinary in the extraordinary.
Recently, I read an article by a scientist who claimed he had identified the first recorded eclipse. The date was October 30, 1207 BC. According to him, that was the same day Joshua asked God to stop the sun. This scientist needed a reason to debunk the sun standing still "myth" and used this calculated date to explain Joshua 10:13: So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped Until the nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hurry to go down for about a whole day.
In the article, he explained that this verse could be translated as "the sun and moon stopped shining" rather than stopped moving. Granted, the sun and moon are both dark during an eclipse, but I think the premise is a stretch. Joshua petitioned the Lord to stop the sun and extend the day so he could finish off the Amorites. First, we know the sun does not move, so the Lord would have stopped the earth for a day. Second, an eclipse would not have bought Joshua any time; the day would have ended as usual. Joshua did not witness a total eclipse; he experienced a 48-hour day granted by the almighty God.
God is in control of all things. He is all-powerful and all-knowing, and it is his place to override his own laws of natural science if he pleases. I choose not to believe in a lesser God who needs his miracles explained away by sham arguments that are easily refuted. I believe in a loving, all-powerful God and accept what Scripture says about him. We are wise to accept the highest concept of God there is, because he is!
Why try to debunk God's abilities?
Are people scared to accept that God is who Scripture says he is? Do they stubbornly refuse to believe it because they fear it commits them to "doing something" with their God knowledge? Are they unwilling to accept God's omnipotence to justify defying his power and sovereignty? The pride and arrogance of man is frightening. How dare we attempt cutting God down to size. We do not want a diminished diety. We do not want a reduced redeemer we can control or be comfortable using to meet our needs.
We can wholly rest and rejoice in knowing that we have the greatest conceivable Creator and Savior. Best of all, he loves us without end and without limits. The power that hung the sun, earth, and moon is ours to trust and rest in. He cares for us constantly and can never be diminished. Praise God for his power and glory!
Meditation Points
1. In what ways have you settled for a lesser God?
2. How can you make God more prominent in your heart and mind?