Alate_One questions:

7 Jul 10:

Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon.

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel [Josh. 10:12–14].

"We have already discussed the various interpretations of Joshua’s long day in the opening remarks of this chapter. According to Joshua 10:12, I believe God stopped the entire solar system to accomplish this miracle. The sun became silent. Joshua wanted more daylight in which to fight; so God stopped the solar system and cut down the heat of the sun by a hailstorm.

God caused the sun to stand still so that Joshua might be victorious in battle. A certain professor once said, “It is ridiculous that God would stop the entire universe for one man.” It may sound preposterous to some people, but God did it. He also sent His Son into the world to die for sinners, which was much more wonderful than stopping the sun. When God stopped the sun, He demonstrated His wisdom and power. When He sent His Son into the world to become a man and die on the cross, He displayed His love. If you were the only person that had ever been born, Christ would have died for you. The professor will say that is ridiculous also, and it is. But we have another word for it: grace. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8)." McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 2:25

"10:12–14 sun stood still, And the moon stopped. Some say an eclipse hid the sun, keeping its heat from Joshua’s worn soldiers and allowing coolness for battle. Others suppose a local (not universal) refraction of the sun’s rays such as the local darkness in Egypt (Ex. 10:21–23). Another view has it as only language of observation; i.e., it only seemed to Joshua’s men that the sun and moon stopped as God helped them do in one literal 24-hour day what would normally take longer. Others view it as lavish poetic description, not literal fact. However, such ideas fail to do justice to 10:12–14, and needlessly question God’s power as Creator. This is best accepted as an outright, monumental miracle. Joshua, moved by the Lord’s will, commanded the sun to delay (Heb., “be still, silent, leave off”). The earth actually stopped revolving or, more likely, the sun moved in the same way to keep perfect pace with the battlefield. The moon also ceased its orbiting. This permitted Joshua’s troops time to finish the battle with complete victory (v. 11)." MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Jos 10:12

27 Jun 10:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof [Ps. 19:1–6].
Now I want to share with you the translation made by Dr. Arno C. Gaebelein, who was one of my teachers, and in whom I have great confidence. He was well acquainted with the great Hebrew and German scholars who made a thorough study of the Book of Psalms: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the expanse maketh known the work of His hands. Day unto day poureth forth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge—there is no speech and there are no words, Yet their voice is heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and to the end of the earth their words; in them hath He set a tent for the sun. And he is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, He rejoiceth as a strong man to run the course. His going forth is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit unto the ends of them, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof” (The Book of Psalms, p. 89).
This is a marvelous psalm. “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Paul says it this way in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” The heavens tell out the wisdom of God, they tell out the power of God, and they tell out, I think, something of the plan and purpose of God. From the beginning creation has been the primitive witness of God to man, His creature.
In all the creeds of the church, including the Apostles’ Creed, creation is ascribed exclusively to God the Father. But when you come to the New Testament, where there is an amplification even of the act of creation, you find that it is not exactly accurate to say that God the Father is the Maker of heaven and earth. The Trinity was involved in the creation of the earth. In fact, the word Elohim is a plural word in the Hebrew, and it speaks of the Trinity. The New Testament tells us that the Lord Jesus was the agent of creation, and the Holy Spirit came in and refurbished and revamped it: “… the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2). The apostle John tells of another beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1–3). This is the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:16, speaking about the Lord Jesus, says, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.” The Lord Jesus was the agent in creation. The first chapter of Ephesians tells us that all the members of the Trinity were involved in our redemption: God the Father planned it, the Son paid for it, and the Holy Spirit protects it. This applies to God’s creation as well: God the Father planned this universe; the Son carried out the plan, and He is the One who redeemed it; and the Holy Spirit today is moving and brooding over this creation.
It is interesting to note that the sun is prominent and likened to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber. When I was in Jerusalem, every morning I could see the sun come up over the side of the Mount of Olives. What a thrill it was to see the light breaking on Jerusalem—the walls of the city, the high places first. It touched David’s tomb on Mount Zion, then touched the tops of the buildings, and then moved to the temple area. It was thrilling, and it was a picture of another bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness. Some day He is coming in glory to this earth, but before He comes, He is going to take His church out of the world. He is the Bright and Morning Star. The Bright and Morning Star always appears before the sun rises. What a picture we have here in creation! There is nothing quite like it. This wonderful, wonderful psalm pictures creation.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 2:700-701

 

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again [Eccl. 1:5–7]
It is very interesting that these accurate observations come from the days of Solomon. Dr. Arthur T. Pierson comments on this fact:
There is a danger in pressing the words in the Bible into a positive announcement of scientific fact, so marvellous are some of these correspondencies. But it is certainly a curious fact that Solomon should use language entirely consistent with discoveries such as evaporation and storm currents (vv. 6–7). Some have boldly said that Redfield’s theory of storms is here explicitly stated. Without taking such ground, we ask, who taught Solomon to use terms that readily accommodate facts that the movement of the winds which seem to be so lawless and uncertain, are ruled by laws as positive as those which rule the growth of the plant; and that by evaporation, the waters that fall on the earth are continually rising again, so that the sea never overflows. Ecclesiastes 12:6 is a poetic description of death. How the “silver cord” describes the spinal marrow, the “golden bowl” the basin which holds the brain, the “pitcher” the lungs, and the “wheel” the heart. Without claiming that Solomon was inspired to foretell the circulation of the blood, twenty-six centuries before Harvey announced it, is it not remarkable that the language he uses exactly suits the facts—a wheel pumping up through one pipe to discharge through another?
There are three very interesting statements in verses 5–7.
1. “The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down.” There is a monotony in nature, but also that which you can depend upon. You can count on the sun coming up and you can depend on it going down—we still use that terminology although we know that the coming up and going down of the sun really is caused by the rotation of the earth. We are standing on a pretty solid piece of earth, and it looks to us as if the sun comes up and the sun goes down. The terminology has accommodated man in all ages. The amazing thing is the precise, regular way that the sun appears and disappears; it is obeying certain laws.
2. “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north.” Today we know that the wind follows certain patterns. Even with our modern gadgets we are not able to predict it well enough to forecast the weather as we would like to. Here in Southern California where we have a monotony of good weather, the weatherman misses the exact prediction about half the time. I have watched this very carefully over the years. The Lord Jesus said, “The wind bloweth where it listeth”—that is, where it wants to blow. It is blowing according to laws. “And thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth …” (John 3:8)—we can’t tell where it is coming from and where it is going. As I am making this study of Ecclesiastes, we have had quite a bit of disturbance across the country. Here in Southern California we never get rain in June or July or August—but we’ve been having showers! I couldn’t believe it when I got in my car the other night and had to use the windshield wipers. The weatherman tells us that there is a low pressure here and a high pressure there. There is movement; winds are blowing. “The wind bloweth where it listeth.” Or, as Solomon put it, “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north.” At one place the wind is moving south, and in another place it is moving north. In Arizona they even had flooding in desert communities, all because of the wind. It is obeying certain laws as it is blowing. How did Solomon know that? He didn’t have the gadgets which we have nor the background on which to base his conclusions.
3. “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full.” Solomon is tacitly speaking of the law of evaporation, of the elevation of moisture into the air. Then the wind comes along, blows that moisture over the land, and it pours out on the earth. The whole process follows certain definite, specific laws. There is nothing haphazard happening, although we may think so. Including verse 4, we have four remarkable statements concerning the laws of nature that make sense and fit right into what men know today. Compare this with other writings that come from one thousand years before Christ. You will find a great deal of false conclusions and superstitions in contrast to the accuracy you find in the Word of God.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 3:108-109

 

Fear before him, all the earth: the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigneth [1 Chron. 16:30–31].
That day is coming!
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.
Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the Lord, because he cometh to judge the earth [1 Chron. 16:32–33].
The trees are going to sing. I’m waiting for that day. Someone asks, “How do you think they’ll sing?” Well, I don’t know. But when we get to that day, you and I will both know. It will be wonderful. It will all be to the praise of God.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 2:381

16:23–33 See notes on Ps. 96:1–13.

 

96:1–13 The substance of this psalm, and portions of Pss. 97, 98, and 100 are found in 1 Chr. 16, which was used by David’s direction in the dedication of the tabernacle on Mt. Zion. The psalm has importance beyond that historical occasion, however, because it anticipates kingdom praise for the Lord from all the nations of the world (vv. 3, 4, 7, 9–13; cf. Is. 2:2–4; Zech. 14:16–19), and even from nature itself. It also expresses the intense joy that will saturate the earth when the Messiah is ruling from Jerusalem (cf. Is. 25:9; 40:9, 10).

     I.     The Proclamation of Praise (96:1–6)
     A.     The Invitation to Praise (96:1–3)
     B.     The Recipient of Praise (96:4–6)
     II.     The Exhortation to Worship (96:7–13)
     A.     Worship from the Gentile Nations (96:7–10)
     B.     Worship from Personified Nature (96:11–13)
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Ps 96:1
 

The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself: the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved [Ps. 93:1].

“Jehovah reigneth”—this is the Lord Jesus. He is clothed with majesty. This is a psalm that will really have meaning when He comes to reign on this earth. All rebellious opposition will be broken down, and all those who have opposed God will be dethroned on the earth.
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 2:819

Psalms 96:10

Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns! Yea, the world is established, it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity."

96:10 firmly established. Instead of the continuance of international chaos in human history, the world will be settled and efficiently managed by the Messiah in the millennial kingdom (cf. Ps. 2; Mic. 4:1–5). judge the peoples righteously. Not only will the Lord establish international peace and stability in the future messianic kingdom, but He will also rule the world with impeccable justice (cf. v. 13; Is. 11:1–5).
MacArthur, John Jr: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997, c1997, S. Ps 96:10
† 97:10 — You who love the Lord, hate evil!
As our taste for the Lord and His loving, holy nature grows, our distaste for anything that dishonors and displeases Him should also grow. Our love for God should prompt us to help others love Him, too.
Stanley, Charles F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible : New King James Version. Nashville, TN : Nelson Bibles, 2005, S. Ps 97:10