JOSHUA 9:14
THE MEN OF ISRAEL SAMPLED THEIR PROVISIONS BUT DID NOT
INQUIRE OF THE LORD
There are a lot of ways to describe what happened to
the Israelites when they met the Gibeonites: flimflammed, snookered, duped,
deceived. Having heard what the Israelites did to Jericho and Ai, the
Gibeonites knew they needed something more than an army to survived the
Israelite military machine; they needed a plan. Their plan was to trick
the Israelites, into a treaty by making them think they weren’t part of the
peoples Israel was commanded by God to subdue. So, they made their clothes and
food look old and stale, like they had come from a great distance, and they
proposed a treaty. The Israelites, brought the story. They sampled their
provisions, but they did not "inquire of the Lord." Full of themselves after consecutive
victories, they were so confident about what they thought that they didn’t
bother to ask the Lord what he thought. The treaty was ratified.
If only the Israelites have prayed about
the Gibeonites and their proposal, this story would have turned out better for
God’s people.
"Would’ve, could’ve, should’ve"
are the words of regrets. Taking the time to pray uses up time in the short
run, but it saves time in the long run. When was the last time you thought you
were too busy to pray? This morning, perhaps? The Gibeonites were whispering
deception in your ear. The lesson of this story is the title of a book on
prayer by Bill Hybels: The truth of the matter was that you were Too Busy
Not to Pray.
There is another lesson in the story of
the Gibeonite deception: Simply pursuing God’s goals is not enough. We need to
use God’s means, too. God’s Will covers not only what we are to do, but how;
and in the case of the Gibeonites, it covers who we are to do it with. Pray
until you hear the Lord speak, and don’t stop until he stops speaking. "In
all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs
3:6).
In Christ,
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
No comments:
Post a Comment