Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.
Joshua 9:8-15
Want advice or information for a decision you need to make? You’ll have no problem finding it, whether it’s getting started with sourdough, diagnosing the source of your kid’s fever, how to navigate Dubai on a budget, or launching a new ministry venture. You name it, the advice, tips, tricks, and “how-to-do-it” information is at your fingertips.
One of the problems with this glut of information is that we can be easily deceived into thinking that, thanks to our hours of research and learning, we know what we ought to do. If we’re not attentive, that can quietly lead us into making decisions based on human wisdom without seeking God’s guidance.
The biblical parallel
It’s similar to the scenario that takes place in the passage quoted above. The Israelites have entered the promised land and seen military victories and followed through on God’s command to make no covenant or agreement with the people living in the land, lest they get sucked into worshiping idols and (once again) abandoning Yahweh.
It’s in this context that the Gibeonites, one of the people groups within Canaan, decide to trick the Israelites into allying with them. They dress up as if they’ve traveled a long distance, bringing old food and patched sandals, showing up at the Israelite’s camp and declaring, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” (Joshua 9:6)
Wisely, the Israelite leader’s initial response is, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” But then they go wrong, relying on their human wisdom and experience to guide their decisions. After all, they know well what it looks like to travel a long distance after their own decades of wandering in the wilderness. They’re experts in this area! So they examine the state of the Gibeonites and their provisions and determine that they have indeed come from far away. They’ve been wise! They’ve done their research and made a decision.
But, as the text records, they skipped a crucial step; seeking God’s guidance. Verse 14 declares, “…the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. ”
The danger of human wisdom
And with that single decision Israel fails to follow God’s command to make no covenant or agreement with the people of the land, beginning another spiral into idolatry and abandoning the God who led them out of Egypt and gave them grace upon grace.
This scenario needs to be a reminder for we who have so much more knowledge and human wisdom at our fingertips: if we fail to seek the counsel of God in our decisions we will, ultimately, fail.
Like the Gibeonites in Joshua, there are plenty of forces in the world that are out to deceive us. We live in an age of disinformation, and that is true far beyond the realm of politics. There are spiritual forces at work, intent on quietly locking God’s people into making foolish decisions; there are worldly powers loudly proclaiming morals and worldviews that are starkly opposed to Jesus,’ and there is an endless well of self-deception at work in our desires and thoughts thanks to our sin-nature.
As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. Let’s make sure that we’re not settling for what appears to be wisdom when we make our decisions and instead be fiercely intentional about seeking the instruction of the Lord.
No Comments