CAN HONOR SURVIVE AMIDST DECEPTION?
JOSHUA 9:1-27.
There is a story about a Methodist preacher who often spoke on the subject of sin. He defined sin as that abominable thing that God hates. One day some of the leading laymen came to urge their pastor to stop using the word sin. The laymen told their pastor that they want him to stop being so plain and always talking about sin. We believe that because you speak against it so often that our young people are more likely to try it. Couldn’t you just call it an error, a mistake or even that it was the fault of nature. The pastor said I think I understand what you are saying. Then he got up went to his book shelf and took a bottle from the shelf. He pointed to the bottle and said according to this label this bottle contains strychnine and the label is saying that it is poison. Then the pastor took some paper wrote on the paper and glued it to the bottle. The he handed the bottle to the laymen and said have a drink because as you now can see the label say soda pop. The laymen looked at their pastor and said are you trying to kill us. It doesn’t matter that you have changed the label the bottle still contains poison. The pastor looked at his laymen and said isn’t that what you want me to do. You think that just because I call sin something else that it will suddenly become harmless.
When we last visited Joshua we saw that Joshua had stopped the war for the purpose of getting the people together to spend time worshiping the Lord. I know that we probably think that since they took all that time to worship and read the covenant they made with the Lord that things in their lives would go the way the should go. It look like after they had worship the Lord that they threw their common sense away. I am sure that you heard people say about someone they haven’t got the sense that God gave a goose or that person just doesn’t have a lick of sense. Common sense is given to us by the Lord and our common sense is developed over the years and made better by our life experiences and by the information that we receive. I am sure that you all know that there is a but here. A born again Christian is not supposed to live their life by common sense but by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, their faith in the lord and the direction from the Word of God. We have all had dealing with people who for one reason or another just seem like they threw their common sense out the window, like the lady who called the poison control center because her daughter was eating ants. Just as the mother was about to hang up she said I know that the ants won’t hurt my daughter because I gave her some ant poison to drink to kill the ants.
I guess we can say that through out most of our lives our common sense seems to be ok but there are time when our common sense can get us into trouble particular when those decisions affect our conduct, character and our actions.
A. This chapter teaches us is that Satan doesn’t always come against us in the way that we are prepared spiritually.
We need to be prepared because blessing and battles can occur at the same time. While Joshua and the people are worshiping their enemies have gathered together to plan an attack.
Satan doesn’t always use conventional methods. We may not like it but there are times when Satan will use our wives, friends and our neighbors to get us. There is nothing in the Bible that requires Satan to broadcast what he is going to do nor does the bible teach that Satan can only attach us in a way that we can detect so we can defeat him. The Gibeonites heard the same reports that Rahab had but they did not allow that knowledge to lead them to proper actions. They had heard about the power of Israel and may have even realized that Israel got their power from God. Rahab heard about the God of Israel and she had a heart that was open to learn more of him and worship Him. The knowledge that the Gibeonites had didn’t lead them to worship the Lord; instead the knowledge lead the Gibeonites to fear and doing anything necessary to save their skins. There are people today who will do whatever they feel a person has to do to get them through the difficulties of life. If the Gibeonites would have simply turned to God in repentance: as Rahab had, then no deception would have been necessary. But instead of repenting they decided to deceive the Israelites. Now whether we believe it or not but I believe that Satan is behind this whole mess. Satan doesn’t want anyone to turn to the Lord. Anytime mankind comes up with a plan that will lead people to do the opposite of what would bring glory to the Lord you can be sure that Satan is behind it. Satan is a master at getting people to follow his plans to deceive people. Satan would rather that we do as the Gibeonites did and do whatever we have to do so we can succeed without following the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Satan would love for people to be really scared of the lord instead of having a relationship with the lord.
B. We shouldn’t be making decision based on one witness.
Joshua and the Elders based their decision completely on what they saw. The Bible even tells us to what extent the Gibeonites went to so that they could deceive the Israelites.
They took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us. Everything they had selected was done to try to give the impression that they had traveled a long way to reach the camp of Israel. They wanted to deceive Joshua about their origin.
I remember when my brother-in-law decided to buy a brand new car. He was so happy. Everytime you saw him he took great pleasure in talking about this new car. The thing is that by the end of the first month the only thing that he was talking about was the lemon that he had bought. The car looks good; it was a good price but what that car looks were the only good thing about the car.
The Bible tells us that the Gibeonites not only deceive Joshua and the Elders but they also lied for the purpose to get what they wanted. We don’t know if they knew that God had told Israel not make any alliances with the people of Canaan or whether they figured that although Joshua might not make an alliance with neighboring nation but he might make one with a country that was far off. Joshua and the Elders asked some questions but they acted on what their eyes told them.
There are people in this world who will not only speak but they will act in such a way to get what they want. This tells us that as Christians we can be deceived just like anyone else.
When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat this problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in zero gravity. The pen also wrote upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass, and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300 C. The Russians simply used a pencil.
In verse 8 Joshua asked who are you and where do you come from. Notice the answer. We come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord your God. Notice that they did not answer Joshua’s question of verse eight, who are you, and where do you come from? Instead they said, Oh we are so far away that you would have never heard of us. The Gibeonites not only were deceptive about there origin but they also lied about their intentions. They told Joshua that they wanted a covenant because they had heard about the wonders of the Lord God.
Verse nine they say that they have come because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt. They gave the impression that they longed to honor God. But notice they didn’t offer to repent. Then they presented their credentials; the moldy bread, patched wineskins, and ragged clothes.
The Israelite assumed that they were being told the truth. I know there have been times when people have told me that so and so won’t lie to me because I am a Christian. With in the Christian community I have come across a number of times where Christians have actually looked me in the eye and told what they call a small white lies because they didn’t want me to know the actually truth. The thing is these people not only lied about who they were but they lied about why they came.
C. Just because someone talks about God doesn’t always mean that they are a born again Christian. There are times when people will say certain thing for the purpose of getting us to accept what they are saying and not be concern about whether it is the truth. If we are honest today when someone uses the lord name it puts us at ease. We think there ok, there a born again Christian so we accept them and the result is that we become vulnerable.
There are people in the world who will use their knowledge about the Lord so they can take advantage of the Lords people.
Acts 5 has the story of Ananias and Sappheria.
Acts 8 we have the story of Simon. Peter final words to Simon are your heart isn’t right with the Lord.
When common sense says that a course is right, lift up your head to God, for the path of faith and the path of blessing may be in a completely different direction than our common sense wants us to go in. When voices tell you that action is urgent, that something must be done immediately, refer everything to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to guide you. If called on to act and you have not time to pray, don’t act. If you are called on to move in a certain direction and cannot wait until you have peace with God about it, don’t move. Be strong enough and brave enough to dare to stand and wait on God, for everyone that waits on Him shall not ever be ashamed. Satan would just love to get the lord’s children to make hasty decision especially if those decisions would cause someone who is a Christian to compromise the standard of the Lord. That is the only way to outmatch the devil. So Joshua made a treaty with the Gibeonites without first bring the matter before God.
D. There will be times when we will make a bad decision and we will have to live with the consequences of that decision.
Verse 14, the men of Israel took some of their provisions and did not ask for counsel from God.
Deception will always be discovered. When people purposely use deception for their own gain eventually it will be discovered. The writer of Proverbs (12:19) says, a lying tongue is only for a moment. The story of this deception says that dishonesty, may work temporarily but it is a never a permanent solution. Sooner or later trickery and deceit will be exposed and the truth will come out. Because they didn’t ask the Lord for guidance they would have to live with their decision. This shows us as Christian how critical it is to keep our commitment to the word of God no matter how difficult it is. Joshua and the leaders of the nation erred in failing to consult the Lord about the Gibeonites, trusting in their own impression and judgment but they did not compound it by going back on the covenant that they had made. Some Christians are under the misconception that when we sin if we confess and seek the forgiveness of God there are no consequences to sin. Although this action does bring cleansing it does not erase the consequences of our sin. That is the great problem with a failure to consult the Lord in all matters: we must live with the consequences of our wrong actions.
Common sense says that we need to take care of ourselves but the Holy Spirit is supposed to be our guide.
Common sense says that you are just to busy to become a committed Christian is just another deception that Satan will use so to stop people from becoming all that the Lord wants them to be.
God’s plan is often different that what common sense would have us to go. To be in the center of the will of the Lord a Christians must follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit instead of their common sense.
Paul wrote in first Corinthians we have not received the Spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God so that we may understand what God has freely given us. The person without the Holy Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God because they are foolish to him and he can’t understand them because a person need the Holy Spirit working in their lives to be able to discern thing that are spiritually. The bible says that a born again Christian has the mind of Christ this means that we don’t have to go through life making decision only on the basis of our common sense that sometime works out but often puts us at odd with what the word of God says.
Joshua and the people didn’t inquire of the Lord; they though they could operate on their common sense. It is critical that we bring our lives before God in such a way that our lives are ordered by the wisdom of God and not by the wisdom of man.
After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, British scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago. Not to be outdone by the British, in the weeks that followed, an American archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story was published in the New York Times: American archaeologists, have found traces of 250-year-old copper wire and they concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 100 years earlier than the British. One week later, the state’s Dept of Minerals and Energy in Western Australia, reported the following: After digging as deep as 30 feet in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, Jack Luck a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Jack has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Australia had already gone wireless.
If you were a financial counselor and you have two appointments, first with an elderly woman and then a middle-aged man. The woman’s husband died six years ago. She says, I have no more money. The cupboards are bare. These two dollars are all I have to live on, yet I feel as if God wants me to put them in the offering. What do you think? What would you tell her? Likely you’d say, That’s very generous of you, but God gave you common sense. He knows your heart – that you want to give. But he intends you to take care of yourself. I’m sure God would have you keep those two dollars and buy food for tomorrow. You can’t expect him just to send down food from heaven, can you? God wants us to be sensible. Your next appointment is with a successful, hardworking, middle-aged farmer whose crop production has been excellent. He tells you, I’m planning to tear down my old barns to build bigger ones so I can store up more crops and goods and have plenty saved up for the future. Then I can take it easy, retire early, and do some traveling and golfing. What do you think? How would you answer? Perhaps like this: Sounds good to me! You’ve worked hard. God has blessed you with good crops. It’s your business, your crops, your money. If you can save enough to take care of yourself the rest of your life, by all means go for it. I hope one day I’ll be in a position to do the same! Would this kind of advice to this poor widow and rich man appear reasonable? What does God have to say about it?
Common sense says that what the Lord wants isn’t logical.
Common sense is a good thing but it must be held against the will and the plan of the Lord because very often God’s way of doing things is in conflict with conventional wisdom.
