Thwarting Deception

When Christians are faced with new situations, our first line of defense should always be to pray about it every time. I know in many situations we may feel that we know enough about about a thing to make an educated decision about it, so in this instance we feel that we are exempt from praying about it. No, not true, wrong!! Even after we've surveyed it by looking at it, hearing it, touching it, and even tasting it if we can, we still have to pray about it. Although we may think we know what's good for us, only God in his infinite wisdom can make the determination of what is best for us. In Joshua chapter 9, the Gibeonites set out to deceive Joshua and the Israelites. They clearly believed that Joshua would execute the the God given instructions in Deuteronomy 7:1-2, "When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations-the Hitties, Girgashites, Amorites,Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusties, seven nations larger and stronger than you-and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy." They also knew what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai-obliterated them. Although they resorted to a plan of deception, they were not deceived about what God was doing for his people. There was no doubt in the minds of the Gibeonites that the Lord's plan was definitely going down. They obviously believed that they did not stand a chance in battle, so they didn't engage the Israelites in one as the other nations surrounding them were planning to do. Now, the Gibeonites were not believer's in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yet they believed in the Lord's plan for his people so strongly that they devised a scheme to attempt to dodge death. The Gibeonites plan was to get the Israelites to believe they were travelers from a distant land (not their neighbors) who had traveled to meet them because of the fame of their God and to get them to agree to a treaty with them. If they could get the Israelites to agree to a treaty with them (even under false pretenses), the Israelites could not destroy them when they claimed their land. They looked the part of tired, weary travelers from their clothing to their provisions. They wore old, patched clothing, worn shoes, and shared old moldy bread. The Israelites tested the Gibeonites provisions, dried, old bread, but they didn't seek the Lord. They entered into a treaty with the Gibeonites without seeking God. The Israelites were fooled by their senses. They were fooled by what they saw-old worn shoes and clothing, tasted-old, dry bread, and heard-they had journeyed from a land afar. The Israelites, who had relied on God up to this very point for everything (food, living instructions,travel directions, plan of attack, success in battle), suddenly, relied on their own understanding. What understanding could they possibly have thought they had? Up to this point the only understanding they had came from God, because they couldn't make a move apart from him. To further prove their deception, the travelers shared their provisions in Joshua 9:12, "This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to see you. But now see how dry and moldy it is and these wine skins that were filled were new, but see how cracked they are and our clothes and shoes are worn out by the very long journey." Their appearance did look as though they had traveled from afar. Their scheme proved to be quite believable. They sounded convincing as well, "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God." That second part was true, because they believed what God had done and believed what God would do. The Israelites leaned to their own understanding and not God's. They should have inquired to the Lord about this, because it was a very serious matter. The Israelites did exactly what God told them not to do, so they would have to suffer the consequences of their actions, sooner or later. Back in Joshua chapter 3:4, Joshua instructed the Israelites to follow the ark of the covenant as they crossed the Jordan River, so they would know which way to go, because they had never been that way before. He gave specific directions as to how they should follow the ark and cross into the new land. Those same specific instructions should have been applied to this situation. Entering into a treaty was also new for them. They had never been this way before either. A group of men asked to make a treaty with them and Joshua didn't even know from which they came. But guess who knows everything about everything? God knows. Our senses can be easily fooled, because they don't know beyond what they see, hear, feel, or taste. God knows beyond these things. God knows that our senses are not accurate indicators of truth. Our senses can't go beyond what they do. They can never stand up to the wisdom of God. Our senses are not to be trusted. We shouldn't make poor choices because of what we see, hear, feel, or taste. This is an example of how our senses are not to be trusted. Christians should not make decisions apart from God. We are to seek him first then our paths will be made straight and then we will have good success.

What Is Your Report?

Two people can see the same thing and give two totally different accounts of it. The accounts can be so very different that you wonder if both individuals actually saw the same thing. For example, if two individuals saw a glass of water, one might say, "My glass is half empty. It's almost gone." While the other might say, "My glass is half full. I have plenty." Another example can be found in the book of Numbers the thirteenth chapter. The Lord told Moses to send some his men to spy out the land of Canaan which he was going to give to them. It was a land that flowed with "milk and honey." He was told to send a leader from each of the Twelve Tribes. Before deploying the men, Moses told them to check out the land and the people. After checking out the land and the people for forty days, they returned home. Upon their return, the twelve all agreed that the land did "flow with milk and honey." That's where their agreement ended, and the negative report began. Ten out of the twelve went on to say that the land's inhabitants were powerful and strong. They said the inhabitants were much stronger than they and thus infected the Israelites with their bad report. Caleb, one of the two who had a good report, said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." The men who had gone with Caleb became instantly enraged. They basically said, "Are you crazy? They' ll kill us. They are a bunch of giants and we're not. We couldn't possibly win against them." That was the beginning of the end. The bad report spread and infected the Israelites. The Israelites became distracted by the giants they saw in the land and failed to remember that the Lord was giving them that land. They were looking at what they couldn't do when they should have been looking to the Lord to see what he would do. Caleb and Joshua, the two who had good reports, attempted to tell the Israelites how great the land was, and that if they obeyed God he would protect them and give them the land. Unfortunately, the Israelites didn't make it into the land at that time. The end result was the Israelites were punished for their disbelief. They were punished for not trusting God. The same God that delivered them from Egypt with miraculous signs and wonders. They were made to wander in the wilderness for forty years, one year for each of the forty days they spied out the land. During this time, every man over the age of twenty would die in the desert except for Joshua and Caleb. The other ten with the bad reports were "struck down with a plague before the Lord." The Lord gave the Israelites a preview of the good land he was going to give them. The land was great! Instead of seeing this great gift that the Lord was giving them, they were distracted by the giants. They allowed the giants to block their view of the land's goodness and the Lord's greatness. The Israelites really should have seen the giants as God's problem, because God was giving them the land. Since he was giving them the land, he would have made the proper provision for them to receive it. God would have dealt with the giants if the Israelites had allowed him . Instead, they grumbled that they couldn't possibly win against them. They never even asked God how they should proceed. What is your report? Will you walk away from your blessing because of giants, or with the Lord's help will you take the land? Will you be like the ten out of the twelve with a negative report, or will you be like the minority,Caleb and Joshua, the two out of the twelve, with a positive report? Remember, when the Lord gets ready to bless you, he will make the provision for you to receive the blessing. What is your report?