We drove to Latrun to see the Ayalon valley, the entrance to the valley from Yerushalayim to the coastal plane. This place has so much history. It is the British Fort which was the center of battle in 1948 for the siege of Yerushalayim, since Latrun controlled the gate to the route to Yerushalayim, known as Shaar Hagai or Bab el Wad. It is now the center for Shiryon - the tank division of the IDF. We stood on the roof of the old British fort and viewed the whole coastal plane to the West and the mountains of Judea to the East.
On that occasion, when GOD routed the Amorites before the Israelites, Joshua addressed GOD; he said in the presence of the Israelites:
“Stand still, O sun, at Gibeon,
O moon, in the Valley of Ayalon!”
And the sun stood still
And the moon halted,
While a nation wreaked judgment on its foes
—as is written in the Book of Yashar. Thus the sun halted in midheaven, and did not press on to set, for a whole day;
Yehoshua 10:12-13
It is the entrance to the Ayalon valley which is the location of a very important moment in Sefer Yehoshua. The Givonites, a powerful Canaanite nation, made peace with Israel (Yehoshua 9). The local Canaanite kings were upset by their defection and decided to punish them. The kings of Yerushalayim, Chevron, Yarmus, Lachish and Eglon created and alliance to attack Givon (Yehoshua 10:1-2). Israel came to their aid despite the fact their treaty was made with Givon under false pretexts. The battle which ensued was nothing less than miraculous. When the Israelites pursued their enemies, stones fell upon them from the heavens (Yehoshua 10:11). Then, right where we were, at the Ayalon valley, Yehoshua commanded the sun remain still until the Israelites could avenge all their enemies.
We spent some time learning how to appreciate miracles then and now.
We noticed that the very floor around the modern day tank division in Latrun was created like the sun rays, acknowledging the moment the sun stood in this place.
