New Danville Mennonite Church

Pastor's Corner

John Isner of the United States won the longest tennis match in history on June 24, 2010 when he defeated France's Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon. The first-round match took 11 hours and 5 minutes over three days, lasting so long it was suspended because of darkness--two nights in a row. Isner won the epic marathon 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68. At the end of this epic tennis battle there was exhaustion and exhilaration as a feat that may never be duplicated ended.

The Bible has many epic battles, not of tennis, but of God’s judgment on the nations. In Joshua 10 we read about one such battle that took the longest day in history to complete! Joshua 10:7-15 So Joshua set out from Gilgal, his whole army with him—all those tough soldiers! God told him, "Don't give them a second thought. I've put them under your thumb—not one of them will stand up to you." Joshua marched all night from Gilgal and took them by total surprise. God threw them into total confusion before Israel, a major victory at Gibeon. Israel chased them along the ridge to Beth Horon and fought them all the way down to Azekah and Makkedah. As they ran from the people of Israel, down from the Beth Horon ridge and all the way to Azekah, God pitched huge stones on them out of the sky and many died. More died from the hailstones than the people of Israel killed with the sword. The day God gave the Amorites up to Israel, Joshua spoke to God, with all Israel listening:
"Stop, Sun, over Gibeon;
Halt, Moon, over Aijalon Valley."
And Sun stopped,
Moon stood stock still
Until he defeated his enemies. (You can find this written in the Book of Joshua.) The sun stopped in its tracks in mid sky; just sat there all day. There's never been a day like that before or since—God took orders from a human voice! Truly, God fought for Israel. Then Joshua returned, all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

I don’t think John Isner or Nicolas Mahut desired for their day to be lengthened but for Joshua, he desired this defeat to be so complete and miraculous that it would be a sign to the nations that God was the victor, not Israel. I suspect that after such a long and tiring marathon of a day the people of Israel were exhausted and exhilarated. That day they saw God do something that never happened before and it gave them renewed spirit and trust in Almighty God.

As we continue on the journey of life and look to overcome the temptations of the world, we, too, are in a marathon clash with forces of darkness. Neither night nor day stop satan’s desire to overcome us and drag us down. But let us remember that God has already secured the victory through Jesus Christ and that as we place our trust fully and confidently in His hands, we are a part of the longest contest in history-- a contest where the end has already been recorded. All we must do is have courage, strength, perseverance and keep our eyes focused on the One who has overcome the world.

Blessings,
Curtiss