We all have to decide about God's involvement in our lives.
2 These kings combined their armies to fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites. 3 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, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. 5 They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy.
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." 7 The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you." 8 They replied, "We are your servants." "But who are you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do you come from?"
9 They answered, "Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the LORD your God and of all He did in Egypt. 10 We have also heard what He did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River--King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth). 11 So our elders and all our people instructed us, 'Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell them, "We are your servants; please make a treaty with us."' 12 "This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey."
14 So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORD. 15 Then 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! 17 The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 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. The people of Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty. 19 But the leaders replied, "Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them. 20 This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine anger would come upon us if we broke our oath.
We have heard of the might of the LORD your God
The God of Israel has a reputation for helping his children, he has done mighty things to prove that he alone is God, everybody knows what he does for his people. The crazy thing is that these people could have acknowledged him as God, they could have tossed out their idols and false notions about who God is but despite their knowledge about the awesome God that we serve, they still refuse to change.
So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the LORDThe Israelites look at the physical evidence and buy into the story that the heathens made up and even though they realized the possibility of a trick, they still made a hasty decision, they didn't give God the time of day.
God could have helped out either of these two groups of people but he wasn't considered as an option by either of them. The heathen nations could have had a change of heart just as Rahab did back in Joshua chapter two. The Israelites shunned God and made their own decisions without asking him what he wanted them to do.
For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below. – Rahab
It is amazing that we can know God and how awesome that he is and still we don't run to him until it is the last option that we have, I need to invole him in every decision that I make, I need to find out what God's will is before I run away with my own will.
Thank you Lord for your patience with us and for allowing us to come back to you with our mistakes. I want to always be reminded of how awesome that you are.
