The longest day of the year
The summer solstice is a phenomenon of nature that brings the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and the shortest night. The sun light will last for approximately 17 hours. Sol means sun, sistere means to make stand still. This is in reference to the fact that the sun appears to linger at the highest point in the sky at midday. In the southern hemisphere it is the opposite, meaning it will be the shortest day of sunlight of the year.
It is believed that STONEHENGE in the United Kingdom, was designed in prehistoric times to align with the sun at the summer solstice. The sun rises above the HEEL STONE, marking the beginning of the summer solstice feast. There are several other ancient monuments around the world that are believed to have been designed to align with the rising and the setting of the summer solstice. Like the Bighorn Medicine Wheel, near Lovell, Wyoming.
Many organizations have used this day as a day to celebrate their interest, such as in Northern Ireland it is the Day of Private Reflection, it is the International Surfing Day, International Yoga Day, World Music Day and the list goes on and on. While many organizations take advantage of the longest day of the year to celebrate their interest I choose to use it to reflect on true “longest day of the year,” ever.
In the Bible it tells about a great battle that was being waged between Israel and the Amorites. It was a gruesome battle, Israelites were heavily outnumbered, but they pressed on and Joshua spoke to the Lord and ask him to stop the sun and the moon until they could finish the battle. And the sun did not move for a whole day nor did the moon rise until it was allowed by God. How could this possibly happen? The Bible speaks over and over about faith, and how with faith unbelievable things can happen. It tells us that if we have faith as a grain of mustard seed we could tell a mountain to get up and move and it would do it. It doesn’t say a whole lot for our faith now a days does it? But Joshua had faith that God would stop the sun when he asked, as did Moses when he parted the Red Sea, and Elijah when he asked God to stop the rain from falling and the due from coming up for several years. We all need faith, for without it there is no hope: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
It is good to have days that commemorate the special times of our lives. We commemorate the day we get married, and have our first child, and grandchild etc. One of those days we should write down should be the day we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and the day we were baptized, having special days is a good thing.
As parents we need to teach our children to keep the reason for festivities within the realms of reality. For instance, Christmas can become a very commercialized secular holiday instead of commemoration of the birth of Christ. The same can be said about Easter, the hunt for eggs and candy instead of the religious holiday of the Resurrection, where the shedding of the blood which lead to our redemption.
We as authors love to romanticize about special days of the calendar, giving them magical qualities where none actually exist. But it makes really good stories. There is one holiday that does have magical qualities, where Jesus gives his life and forgives the sins of those who call upon his name. Now there is a best seller!
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.
Joshua 10:12-14
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
Habakkuk 3:11
The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
Psalms 74:16-17
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
Matthew 27:45, 50
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Revelations 21:23