BEWARD OF DECEIVERS!
BEWARE OF DECEIVERS!
So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them. At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. —Joshua 9:14-16
Those from Gibeon “answered Joshua, ‘Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it’” (Joshua 9:24-25).
Joshua and the leaders had been deceived when the Gibeonites said, “We are very far from you” (Joshua 9:22). Joshua and the leaders believed them when they showed them their bread that they said was still warm when they left and now it was dry and crumbly. They also said their wineskins were new when they filled them, but now they have burst and that their garments and sandals were worn out from the journey. The Gibeonites used all this with the intention of making it look like they came from a very distant country. It was a deception.
The Gibeonites said to Joshua—
“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ —Joshua 9:9-11
Joshua and the leaders “did not ask counsel from the LORD” (Joshua 9:14). The result of that was they were deceived. Here is a lesson for us that is so important! Beware of just making decisions upon appearance without seeking the Lord’s counsel. That can lead to deception just as it did in this case. God’s Word, His counsel, needs to be what we depend upon. His Truth never changes and we can depend on what He says 100% of the time. So… let us seek His counsel in all things. Yes, Dear Father, may this be so with the discernment of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son and my Lord, Jesus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLX83HbefrI