Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
He sent from above, He took
me, He grew me out of many waters" (Ps 18:7-17), who would ever think of
interpreting the words literally, and supposing them to mean that God actually came
down from the sky, and stretched out His hand to draw David out of the water? Or
who would understand the words of Deborah, "They fought from heaven, the stars in
their courses fought against Sisera" (Judg 5:20), in their literal sense? The
truthfulness of such utterances is to be sought for in the subjective sphere of religious
intuition, and not in a literal interpretation of the words. And it may be just the same
with these verses, without their actual contents being affected, if the day was merely
subjectively lengthened-hat is to say, in the religious conviction of the Israelites. But
even if the words really affirmed that a miraculous and objective lengthening of the
day did actually take place, we should have no reason whatever for questioning the
credibility of the statement.
All the objections that have been raised with reference to the reality or possibility of
such a miracle, prove to have no force when we examine the subject more closely.
Thus, for example, the objection that the annals of the other nations of the earth
contain no account of any such miracle, which must have extended over the whole
world, loses all its significance from the simple fact that there are no annals in
existence belonging to other nations and reaching back to that time, and that it is
altogether doubtful whether the miracle would extend far beyond the limits of
Palestine. Again, an appeal to the unchangeableness of the motions of the stars
according to eternal and unchangeable laws, is not adapted to prove the impossibility
of such a miracle. The eternal laws of nature are nothing more than phenomena, or
forms of manifestation, of those divine creative powers, the true character of which
no mortal has ever fathomed.
And does not the almighty Creator and Upholder of nature and all its forces possess
the power so to direct and govern the working of these forces, as to make them
subservient to the realization of His purposes of salvation? And lastly, the objection
that a sudden stoppage of the revolution of the earth upon its axis would have dashed
to pieces all the works of human hands that were to be found upon its surface, and
hurled the earth itself, with its satellite the moon, out of their orbits, cannot prove
anything, because it leaves out of sight the fact that the
http://207.44.232.113/~bible/comment/ot/k&d/josh/jos59.html (2 of 3) [13/08/2004 01:17:50 p.m.]