Your Attention Please
Scripture: Joshua 9:3-4, 6, 14-1, 18
"But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua...6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us... 14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. 15Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. 16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!...18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel."
Observations:
After God led the Israelites into another amazing victory, before they even discussed their next conquest amongst themselves they were met by a group of men from the next city over who tricked Israel into signing a peace treaty that would keep them from killing them. Joshua and the leaders were suspicious at first but finally agreed to the treaty because they didn't bother to consult the Lord to see if they should. As it turns out, it was not a good idea and because they had vowed not to kill the Gibeonites, they could not occupy their land. This was the second time they hastily forged a plan without asking God's opinion that ended up costing them in the end. It was not God's will for His people to make any treaties with foreigners (Exodus 23:32), yet somehow Joshua and all the leaders made a royal mistake because they didn't pay attention to the details of God's instructions He had already given them (Exodus 34:12). What's worse is that right before this happened, Joshua had just finished reading the entire Law of Moses to all of the people word for word! (Joshua 8:34).
Application:
Sometimes we are no different than the Israelites when things are going good. When we have important decisions to make our natural tendency during the "high points" in our relationship with God is to rely less on God's Word and more on our own know-how to get us by. This is especially true when it seems like God is really blessing us for our previous obedience. Somehow in all our blessings we get careless and sometimes neglect the very thing that caused us to be blessed in the first place. When we make mistakes, it's usually not out of ignorance but out of neglect. It's not that we didn't know or hadn't heard the truth, it's that we didn't take the time to consult with God's Word in the way that we should have. If we would simply give God's Word the proper attention it deserves we would be able to know the right course of action every single time. The question is: do we really believe God knows best? And if so, why don't we spend more time consulting Him about things He has already instructed us about?
Prayer:
Father, help us to trust in You with all our heart and not to rely on our own understanding. We choose today to acknowledge You and ask you to direct our path. Help us never to fail to consult Your Word in everything we do. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua...6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us... 14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord. 15Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath. 16 Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!...18 But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel."
Observations:
After God led the Israelites into another amazing victory, before they even discussed their next conquest amongst themselves they were met by a group of men from the next city over who tricked Israel into signing a peace treaty that would keep them from killing them. Joshua and the leaders were suspicious at first but finally agreed to the treaty because they didn't bother to consult the Lord to see if they should. As it turns out, it was not a good idea and because they had vowed not to kill the Gibeonites, they could not occupy their land. This was the second time they hastily forged a plan without asking God's opinion that ended up costing them in the end. It was not God's will for His people to make any treaties with foreigners (Exodus 23:32), yet somehow Joshua and all the leaders made a royal mistake because they didn't pay attention to the details of God's instructions He had already given them (Exodus 34:12). What's worse is that right before this happened, Joshua had just finished reading the entire Law of Moses to all of the people word for word! (Joshua 8:34).
Application:
Sometimes we are no different than the Israelites when things are going good. When we have important decisions to make our natural tendency during the "high points" in our relationship with God is to rely less on God's Word and more on our own know-how to get us by. This is especially true when it seems like God is really blessing us for our previous obedience. Somehow in all our blessings we get careless and sometimes neglect the very thing that caused us to be blessed in the first place. When we make mistakes, it's usually not out of ignorance but out of neglect. It's not that we didn't know or hadn't heard the truth, it's that we didn't take the time to consult with God's Word in the way that we should have. If we would simply give God's Word the proper attention it deserves we would be able to know the right course of action every single time. The question is: do we really believe God knows best? And if so, why don't we spend more time consulting Him about things He has already instructed us about?
Prayer:
Father, help us to trust in You with all our heart and not to rely on our own understanding. We choose today to acknowledge You and ask you to direct our path. Help us never to fail to consult Your Word in everything we do. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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