Click to read Joshua 9
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Synopsis
News of the Israelites' victory spread across Canaan. Frightened but smart, the Gibeonites devised a deception plan to save themselves from being destroyed by Israel. They tricked Joshua and the leaders into signing a peace treaty with them. They pretended that they were from a far away land though they were actually living right next to the Israelites. Joshua and the leaders made the mistake of not enquiring God, and fell into the Gibeonite's trap. Joshua had to honor the treaty and bear the consequence of that mistake.
Major verses
V3-13 - The Gibeonites, who were living right in Canaan devised a ruse to trick Israel into sparing them. Somehow, they knew that Israel was bent on destroying all the inhabitants of Canaan (a command from God - Joshua 9:24-25)
V14-15 - tells of Joshua's mistake .. "The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord." It was a major mistake as God had specifically commanded them not to sign any treaty with the inhabitants of Canaan (Ex 23:31-33 ; 34:11-12).
What I learnt - Many times we think that we know better. Our logical mind tells us that we are making the right decision based on facts. Facts are not necessarily the truth. Facts feed out human minds, truth feeds our spirit. Truth comes from God. So, unless we learn how to constantly depend on Him, inquire of Him before making decisions, we have a very good chance of making the wrong decisions.
V16-18 - Even though they found out about the deception later, Joshua took the treaty very seriously and honored the treaty as it was an oath was made before God.
What I learnt - We must honor our words, even if we had make a mistake. Such integrity honors God.
V16-18 - By failing to inquire of the Lord before making the decision, Joshua had to face an angry nation (v18) and also to honor an awkward treaty with the Gibeonites.
What I learnt - It is so important to depend on God in our daily life. He is there for me. Why shouldn't I depend on Him, especially when having to make decisions? We must honor God by revering Him consistently. We can do so by constantly depending on Him, inquiring of Him in our decision making. He will never get tired listening to our requests for help and guidance. In fact, He delights in us doing so as it shows our dependence on Him.
Summary
As we learn to inquire of God when making decisions in life, we can be very sure that He will always guide us to the right decisions. Every decision made with reverence to His guidance is the right decision, for He works for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
Up next...
We will see God's power in delivering complete victory to Israel in Joshua 10. Coming up on 29th Jan...
(Request - Please leave your comments after reading this blog. Bless others with your own sharing too. Click "Comments" right at the end of this page. Thanks.)
Referring to the deception, I wish to point out the following:
ReplyDelete1. The leaders did do an Due-Deligence check v7 which the enemy had prepared for with the made-up evidences. They put their trust on the method rather than God. Conman understands your thinking and hence is able to trick you.
2. All the Leaders, not just Joshua, were tricked. The influence of the majority, supporting each other wrong perception of reality is a major cause of corporate failure. Again look out for the wise counsel of God rather than rely on each other's opinion.
3. The enemy seemed to have more faith and know more about the God of Israel than the Israelist that they quickly made peace first.