Joshua : Moving Heaven and Earth
I am sure we have all heard the expression, “moving heaven and earth”, meaning doing our utmost to succeed at something, whatever the odds or cost. It appears that the earliest recorded use of this expression was in France in 1564 in relation to the change from the Julian to Gregorian calendar. At that time about 10 days were lost from the calendar, which brought to mind for some the time God arranged for a day to be lost, as recorded for us in Joshua 10:
Joshua spoke 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 still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel. (Joshua 10:12 – 14)
Clearly, God moved heaven and earth to fulfil Joshua’s request. How did He do this? We don’t know..… but I know that nothing is impossible for our God, who moves heaven and earth for our benefit. In this case, God somehow prolonged a day so that Israel could effectively defeat their enemies.
In the case of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20, Isaiah 38:1 - 8), God gave Hezekiah a physical sign that He would heal him, by seemingly make a shadow go back in time. How did God undertake this? We don’t know, but following this sign, Hezekiah did indeed recover and live a further 15 years after his illness.
Later in the Old Testament, we read these words:
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:6 – 9)
Do we know how this was fulfilled? YES!! God moved heaven by sending Jesus (the Desire of All Nations). By His death on the Cross, God arranged His glory to be manifest in the lives of all who accepted Jesus as Saviour and Lord, and also brought peace with God for all to experience through His death. God also moved earth by arranging for an earthquake at the time of Jesus’ death on the cross to confirm His presence was there, just like God’s presence shook the mountains in Moses’ time (Numbers 19:18, 19).
God is in the business of “moving heaven and earth” for us, His children. Take a moment and think about the ways that He has “moved heaven and earth” in your circumstances, to reveal His power and His love toward you. Ask Him to increase your awareness of His presence in your life, and remember to thank Him.
