74 BATTLES OF THE BIBLE.

It is thought that it was in midsummer, when the days
there are fourteen hours long ; so the length of that
wonderful day would be twenty-eight hours.
George. But it is not the sun that moves, grandfather ;
it is the earth; yet Joshua told the sun to stand still.
Grandfather. Astronomy was not so well understood
then as now; and if Joshua had commanded the earth
to stand still, not a man in his army would have un-
derstood him ; they knew nothing of the daily revolu-
tion of the earth upon its axis. The sun was at that
time believed to move, and the earth to stand still. The
Scriptures speak in the language that was generally
understood at the time they were written; the sun is
spoken of as rejoicing like a giant to run his race,
Every one who heard Joshua command the sun to stand
still would understand quite well what he meant, and
would be able to tell whether the event verified his
words. If he had lived in our day, he would have
used different language to express his meaning.
Marianne. It was a very splendid miracle; but I
have been wondering, grandfather, what was the use of
it, for the battle could haye been finished the next day ?
Grandfather. It shewed the almighty power of God ;
——a power which extended not only to the earth, and
the things that are in it, but even to the heavenly
bodies, which are so far above man. It shewed the
folly of those nations who worshipped the sun and the
moon; for high as these are placed, yet he is above
them, and has them under his control. But we have