Seek Counsel In The Lord
“‘Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.’ So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord,” (Joshua 9:12-14).
Joshua and the Israelites have experienced sweet victory as they had taken down Jericho and just a chapter earlier had taken down Ai. Word spreads quickly about the power of Israel. Verse 1 shows that many had heard about this and were scheming against the Israelites. “As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, head of this, they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel,” (Joshua 9:1-2).
These nations had become afraid of the power of Joshua and Israel and as a result they all planned to come together as one large group to fight Israel. However, the Gibeonites have a different plan. The Gibeonites were only a short distance away from Israel but they decided that they would attempt to deceive the Israelites. So the Gibeonites gather their things. They “took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, with worn-out, patched sandals for their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly,” (Joshua 9:4-5).
With their deception ready, they go to the camp of Israel and speak to Joshua. At first, the men of Israel are skeptical, saying, “Perhaps you live among us…” But the Gibeonites are prepared with their plan and tell the Israelites how they had come because they had heard about the God in whom Israel served and how He had provided for them and done so many great things. The Gibeonites then offer the Israelites a treaty. “Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey,” (Joshua 9:12-13).
The Israelites fall for the deception 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,” (Joshua 9:15). However, there is a problem. The Israelites have just made a covenant with the Gibeonites, something they were forbidden to do.
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittities, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them,” (Deuteronomy 7:1-2).
The Gibeonites were actually part of a larger group (the Canaanites), whom the Israelites were strictly forbidden to dwell with. The Israelites had made a big mistake. Unfortunately, this wasn’t anything they could fix. Having already made the covenant with the Gibeonites they could not turn back on their covenant.
The lesson from this story all goes back to verse 14. “So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord.” It is when we begin to make decisions on our own that we open ourselves up to trouble. Solomon writes in Proverbs 3:5-6 to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
God will take care of you in every circumstance of life, if you take your cares and your burdens to Him. We must be careful to not lean on our own understanding but trust in the Lord and allow Him to lead us throughout life.
Seek Counsel In The Lord This Week!
