“Bad Decisions” Part 2
Joshua
Joshua 9:1-20
And it came to pass when all the kings who were
on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the
coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite,
the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard about it, 2 that
they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.
3 But
when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they
worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old
sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, 5 old
and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the
bread of their provision was dry and moldy. 6 And they
went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of
Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with
us.”
7 Then
the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can
we make a covenant with you?”
8 But
they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.”
And Joshua said to
them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”
9 So
they said to him: “From a very far country your servants have come, because of
the name of the Lord your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He
did in Egypt, 10 and all that He did to the two kings of the
Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og
king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. 11 Therefore our elders
and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions
with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are
your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 This
bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day
we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. 13 And
these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and
these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long
journey.”
14 Then
the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel
of the Lord. 15 So Joshua made peace with them, and made a
covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore
to them.
16 And
it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them,
that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. 17 Then
the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now
their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. 18 But
the children of Israel did not attack them, because the rulers of the
congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the
congregation complained against the rulers.
19 Then
all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord
God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. 20 This we
will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the
oath which we swore to them.”
In this account of
Joshua, the elders of Israel made a covenant with the Hivites and they swore by
God that they would not harm them. This
placed them in a catch 22. First of all,
in Numbers 30:2, the Israelites were instructed not to break any agreement that
they had made. So they were obligated to
fulfill everything that they had agreed to do.
However, God also commanded them in Deuteronomy 7:1-2 to completely
destroy everyone who was living in the territory that God had given them. God specifically named the Hivites as one of
the groups that they were to wipe out.
He also said that the Israelites were NOT to make any covenants with
these people. Now, because they failed to
seek the counsel of God, they were guaranteed to disobey one of God’s
commands. They were faced with the
choice of breaking His law which said not to fail to fulfill the agreement that
they swore to; or they would have to honor their covenant with the Hivites and violate
God’s command to destroy them.
Is it necessary to consult God in the small simple matters? After all, what could be wrong with making a covenant with people who are from a faraway country? They’re not part of the group of people that God gave specific instructions to destroy; or are they? But we could also ask if it is necessary to consult godly counsel when it comes to the seemingly innocent decisions we have to make on a regular basis. What could be wrong with moving into a house that is too expensive for my annual salary if the bank is willing to approve the loan? Unfortunately, in 2008, many people experienced what it was like for the economic bubble to burst around the country and for the property value to decrease tremendously.
Luke 14:28 teaches that there is a cost for following Christ in a world that rejects Him. Even as we should be aware of what it means to follow Christ and the price that we will have to pay for doing so, it is equally important to understand that we should not enter into a long term agreement with a short term mind set.
