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Patriarchs and Prophets
yet he put forth as earnest effort as though success depended upon the
armies of Israel alone. He did all that human energy could do, and
then he cried in faith for divine aid. The secret of success is the union
of divine power with human effort. Those who achieve the greatest
results are those who rely most implicitly upon the Almighty Arm.
The man who commanded, “Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and
thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon,” is the man who for hours lay
prostrate upon the earth in prayer in the camp of Gilgal. The men of
prayer are the men of power.
This mighty miracle testifies that the creation is under the control
of the Creator. Satan seeks to conceal from men the divine agency in
the physical world—to keep out of sight the unwearied working of the
first great cause. In this miracle all who exalt nature above the God of
nature stand rebuked.
At His own will God summons the forces of nature to overthrow
the might of His enemies—“fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy
wind fulfilling His word.”
Psalm 148:8
. When the heathen Amorites
had set themselves to resist His purposes, God interposed, casting
down “great stones from heaven” upon the enemies of Israel. We are
told of a greater battle to take place in the closing scenes of earth’s
history, when “Jehovah hath opened His armory, and hath brought
forth the weapons of His indignation.”
Jeremiah 50:25
. “Hast thou,” he
inquires, “entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the
treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?”
Job 38:22, 23
.
The revelator describes the destruction that is to take place when
the “great voice out of the temple of heaven” announces, “It is done.”
He says, “There fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone
about the weight of a talent.”
Revelation 16:17, 21
.
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