Joshua 9 - Please look this up in your Bibles ...
As we look up Joshua Chapter 9 let’s take a look at where this event takes place in the history of ancient Israel.
Briefly recount: Abraham/Isaac/Jacob - Bondage in Egypt - Moses - Joshua
Before the time of the Judges - the kings - Israel deported - the years of silence - Jesus
(Now read Joshua 9 as people follow along in their Bibles)
What do we see in this passage?
On the part of the Gibeonites:
Fear
Deception
On the part of Joshua and the Israelites
Interrogation of the Gibeonites
Examination of the Gibeonites’ evidence
Failure to consult the LORD
Made a treaty with the Gibeonites
Swore an oath to the Lord
Once the Gibeonite deception is revealed:
Israel confronts the Gibeonites
Joshua and the leaders honor the treaty because of the oath to the Lord
So, what does that mean to us?
What does the Lord want to teach us through this historical account?
We see that the fulfillment of giving the Promised Land to Israel was to be a joint venture; the Lord would guide and direct and Joshua and Israel would obey without hesitation or second guessing.
We have a dual purpose to our covenant:
1) To grow in spiritual maturity with the Lord
2) To expand the Kingdom of God (go into all the world and make disciples …)
The devil fears both of these just as the Gibeonites feared Yahweh, the God of the Israelites and His people.
The devil will use deception to distract us from all that the Lord wants to accomplish through us just as the Gibeonites used deception to thwart the Lord’s intent toward them.
What deception with the evil one use?
1) If you’re not saved - “You don’t really need that! Those people are nuts!”
2) If you are saved - “You don’t need to try to grow spiritually! You’re already
better than all those other people! You should be proud of what a great
Christian you are!”
3) If you have been freed from a certain sin you used to be enslaved to - “Wow! Remember when you used to do that? That was really fun, wasn’t it? And, it wasn’t really so bad after all was it? You could probably do that just a little bit and it would be OK. No one would ever know.”
The Gibeonites brought deception against the Joshua and the Israelites and the evil one WILL attempt to deceive you! Be on your guard!
So, what should Joshua and the Israelites have done when confronted with this request?
They should have Googled Gibeon and done a mapquest to find out just
where this city was located! They didn’t even check Wikipedia or punch the
address into their GPS!
Actually, let’s review what the Israelites did with the Gibeonite deception.
They: Interrogated the Gibeonites
Examined the Gibeonites’ evidence
Failed to consult the LORD
Made a treaty with the Gibeonites
Swore an oath to the Lord
They forgot their history! Whenever they went in obedience to the Lord they were victorious and had His blessing. Whenever they went in disobedience to the Lord they failed miserably.
This time they made a major decision without consulting the Lord.
How about us? When the devil comes to deceive us?
Now when I talk about the devil coming to deceive one of us I’m not talking about some guy with bright red skin, a pointy beard and a red pitchfork coming to entice you.
When the evil one comes to entice you to sin it is usually through one of our senses to engage that sense in a way that is perverted in a way that is in disobedience to the will of the Lord and that is sin.
The evil one will tempt you to look at something you shouldn’t be looking at, or to touch something you shouldn’t be touching or listening to something you shouldn’t be listening to. And, most likely that temptation will come through an unsaved person. An old friend you used to hand out with will try to get you to go to the place where you used to sin. Or a billboard or TV show will entice you to contemplate one sin or another.
The temptation may even come through a preacher who is promising you wealth and health and prosperity if you only have enough faith!
When that happens what should you do?
Should you be like the Israelites who interrogated the Gibeonites and
examined their evidence and made their decision based on their knowledge
of the “evidence”?
Or, should we just do what the Israelites SHOULD have done; just ask the Lord about it?
Proverbs 3:5-8 / Romans 12:1-2 (recite)
If the Lord says it’s OK to do whatever you are thinking about doing, then go ahead!
If the Lord says it’s NOT OK to do whatever you are thinking about doing, then don’t!
If the Lord is silent on the subject wait until you DO get an answer and if you never do get an answer then assume that the answer is no.
Finally, what did the Israelites do once they found that they were deceived?
Israel confronted the Gibeonites
Joshua and the leaders honored the treaty because of the oath to the Lord
Here is where the parallels between the Joshua account and our interaction with sin separates and yet there are still parts that will teach us about righteousness.
First of all, you would think that Joshua and the Israelites would have had the foresight to say, “OK. So if this story you’re telling us is a lie, the deals off and we will treat you like any other city in the Promised Land.” But they didn’t and therefore they kept the oath they had made before the Lord.
How does that apply to us as Christians? Well, I don’t think any Christian who had been delivered from sin would say, when tempted, OK, I’ll try it again and I’m making an oath before the Lord that I will continue to commit that sin. That would just be ridiculous.
Let’s take a more realistic example. Supposed a Christian has been delivered from the sin of drunkenness. Now this Christian has been sober for a few years but one day he’s watching an episode of Dr. Oz and he says drinking wine is good for your skin. You think, “Oh, my skin is kind of dry. I’m sure I won’t become a drunk again if I just have one glass every day.” We all know what the end of that story would be.
Perhaps if you prayed about it the sky might open an a voice from heaven would say, “Buy some lotion with UV protection.”
Oh, by the way, at the end of the article Dr. Oz does say, “You can also try eating dark chocolate, blueberries, or pomegranates – all of which have a high concentration of polyphenols and provide the same benefits.”
How many of Dr. Oz’s viewers were led back into uncontrolled drinking by his careless endorsement of wine as a cure for possible skin lesions?
When the Gibeonites brought their treaty proposal to the Israelites the first response of Joshua and the Israelite leaders should have been to consult with the Lord.
In the very same way, when we are tempted with something that does not seem quite right our first consultation should be with the Lord and the Bible and possibly the counsel of a person who has a mature walk with Jesus.
Our counsel should not come from Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil or Oprah.
Finally, Joshua and the leaders of Israel were people of their word.
They had taken an oath before the Lord and they would not break it even though it had been made in an unwise manner.
We can learn something from this.
As Christians we are witnesses and ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Just as Joshua and the Israelite leaders kept their oath we must be keepers of our word.
What if I am a handy man making my living by doing smaller contract jobs. And, what if I tell a person that I can do the job for $1,000 and he knows that I am a Christian and gives me the job on a handshake. I estimated the job believing that the materials will cost $500 and I will get $500 for my labor. When I go to the store I find that the materials have gone up dramatically and they will now cost me the full $1,000. What do I do?
I have other contracts lined up. This person knows that I am a Christian and in the sight of the Lord it is irrelevant whether this person is a believer or not.
What then?
Psalm 15:4b AMP
“He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit].”
Psalm 15:4b TLB
He “keeps a promise even if it ruins him.”
The world says, “That’s just plain stupid.” but the next time you talk to that person about the Lord it may have an impact on what you have to say.
The Israelites kept their word to the Gibeonites and we must keep our word as well for the sake of the testimony for Jesus.
The Lord God is our example. We are to be like Him. We are people of our word.
Concluding remarks and prayer.
