IT PAYS TO CHECK WITH GOD!

There’s a very interesting lesson illustrated in Joshua 9.

Just before this, Joshua led his people valiantly and obediently in the miraculous defeat of Jericho – where upon the sound of the trumpets and the shouts of the Israelites the great walls of Jericho caved in and the people were given a great victory in their first battle in the Promised Land!

Then follows the attempt to defeat a much smaller settlement known as Ai. Joshua’s spies indicate that it can easily be defeated with a smaller force. However, this smaller force included a rascal named Achan who – instead of utterly destroying all the possessions of the city – squirreled some away in his tent! He and all his possessions and family were stoned for this act of disobedience!

Joshua and his army then rallied to defeat Ai. With specific military instructions from God, they were triumphant. This time, they were to kill all of the people, but were permitted to take the livestock and loot left in the city.

After this, the word was out in Canaan: the Israelites are mighty and are conquering one group after another. Great fear struck the whole land.

The people of a nearby town named Gibeon realized that they were next on Joshua’s scope! So, they hatched a plan to help them escape his wrath by deception.

[Joshua 9 3-15  All quotes from The Message unless otherwise noted.] 

They posed as travelers: their donkeys loaded with patched sacks and mended wineskins, threadbare sandals on their feet, tattered clothes on their bodies, nothing but dry crusts and crumbs for food. They came to Joshua at Gilgal and spoke to the men of Israel, “We’ve come from a far-off country; make a covenant with us.”

The men of Israel said to these Hivites, “How do we know you aren’t local people? How could we then make a covenant with you?”

They said to Joshua, “We’ll be your servants.”

Joshua said, “Who are you now? Where did you come from?”

They said, “From a far-off country, very far away. Your servants came because we’d heard such great things about God, your God—all those things he did in Egypt! And the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth! Our leaders and everybody else in our country told us, ‘Pack up some food for the road and go meet them. Tell them, We’re your servants; make a covenant with us.’

“This bread was warm from the oven when we packed it and left to come and see you. Now look at it—crusts and crumbs. And our cracked and mended wineskins, good as new when we filled them. And our clothes and sandals, in tatters from the long, hard traveling.”

The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask God about it.

So Joshua made peace with them and formalized it with a covenant to guarantee their lives. The leaders of the congregation swore to it.

 

Joshua was NOT HAPPY when he later discovered that he’d been tricked into making a covenant with these charlatans! But it all came back on him for failing to consult God before making the covenant agreement! But it was too late and the damage was done!

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How often do we make this same mistake?

We make decisions - sometimes big ones - without consulting God. We do, of course, have free will. Making decisions is not a sin! 

However, consulting with One who is in the past, present and future all at the same time seems to be a wise choice!

Joshua didn't experience negative consequences for his failure to consult with God - other than the pain of knowing that he'd been deliberately deceived by the Gibeonites. They did, after all, become servants to the Israelites as a result of their ruse.

Let's just call 'consulting with God about major decisions' a wise move that could possibly benefit us. So why ignore it?

I suppose we could rewire our thinking by:

>  Consulting with God about major decisions?

>  Giving Him an opportunity to guide us and – perhaps – protect us?

     Don’t just think about finances in this regard. We should feel free to consult God on any and every topic and area of our lives!

o   Lord, how can we bring You glory as we plan our vacation time for this year?

o   Father, we wait before You to see if You have any guidance for us regarding these physical challenges that have begun to impact us.

o   Gracious God, our home and its care are becoming a burden in our older age. Do You have any directions for us as we consider making changes?

o   Triune God, I have this opportunity for what appears to be a better job. Help me to see clearly and make a good decision here for me and our family!

o   Holy Spirit, our vehicle situation needs to change. We open this area to You as we explore our options and consider making this change. We’ll keep our ears open to Your voice as we proceed.

o   Jesus, as we adapt our budget to stay within our means, we lean on You for help and wisdom! You are – and always have been – OUR SOURCE! We submit to You and commit to follow any leads You open for us!

This might be a good time for us to reflect on the first psalm:
[from Today’s Living Bible]

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow evil men’s advice, who do not hang around with sinners, scoffing at the things of God. But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely.

 

They are like trees along a riverbank bearing luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.

 

But for sinners, what a different story! They blow away like chaff before the wind. They are not safe on Judgment Day; they shall not stand among the godly.  For the Lord watches over all the plans and paths of godly men, but the paths of the godless lead to doom.

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The old adage is “Look before you leap!”

Perhaps it should be “Consult God before you leap!”

Remember:

> He made you!

> He loves you!

> He is always with you!

> He cares about you!

> He wants to see you be fruitful!

> He wants to employ you for His purposes!

> He wants you to be with Him FOREVER!