Do It Anyway

Verse of the day: Joshua 9:14 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD.

Joshua and the Israelites found themselves in a very difficult situation because they lacked wisdom in how they dealt with these strangers. So often, in our efforts to be kind and giving Christians, we allow ourselves to be taken advantage of. The fact of the matter is that we live in a fallen world, and whether a person calls him/herself a Christian, or not, we must be wise in how we deal with others. The Gibeonites were cunning in how they approached Joshua and the Israelites. They took extra measures to ensure that they would appear to come from far away in an attempt to deceive Joshua into making a treaty with them. It worked. Sadly, Joshua and the Israelites ignored that feeling within them that caused them to question these men after they told their story. In verses 7-8 they made their suspicions known when they said and asked, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” The reply they received should have made them suspicious of the tale these men told because they never really directly answered their questions. Nonetheless, they proceeded, skipping one very important step in their decision-making; they failed to seek God’s counsel. Three days after making this hasty decision, they learned of the deception they were drawn into. What is to be done when we realize that the person we trusted lied to us in order to gain something from us? What do we do when we find ourselves having to fulfill a promise to someone who deceived us in order to get what they wanted? Maybe the person was considered a friend. Maybe it was a person we may not have known well, but for the sake of being a kind and giving Christian we agreed to do something for that person or promised to give them something to help them in their plight. In our lifetime we will meet many people, and possibly enter and turn away from many friendships. Not everyone we meet will be a person of integrity, and we may not realize it right away in every instance. Proverbs 13:7 tells us, “There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; and one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.” So what do we do when we are deceived because someone who had plenty convinced us that they had nothing and took advantage of our kindness? What do we do when we find out that we promised to give something to someone or do something for them, only to find out that they were not the person we thought they were? We do as Joshua and the Israelite did. Because they made this treaty of peace with these deceivers in the Name of the LORD, they refused to break their covenant. Sadly, many of us today would immediately begin to justify breaking our promise on the basis of being deceived. We would rationalize that we do not have to follow through on our promise, based on the other person’s dishonesty. However, God said this in His Word about the character of the person who dwells with the Lord in Psalm 15:4, “But He honors those who fear the LORD; he who swears to his own hurt and does not change”. In Psalm 15:5, the Psalmist concludes, “He who does these things shall never be moved.” In other words, God is pleased with those who keep their word; even if it means that there is a loss for that person in following through with what they promised. We can come up with a thousand reasons why we should not keep our word, but it would only bring us down to the level of the dishonest person who deceived us to begin with. When we consider the hastiness with which Joshua made his decision, it is his own fault for his failure, and Israel’s failure to seek God’s counsel in the matter. In the end, Joshua’s decision to not break the covenant proved to be pleasing to the Lord, as we read in chapter 10 of the magnificent victory God gives him and the Israelites, marked by one of the greatest miracles performed by God in giving them victory over their enemies. God further confirmed this when He severely avenges Saul’s wrong toward the Gibeonites in 2 Samuel 21:1. The bottom line is that the devil will use people in our lives, some we even consider friends, to bring us to ruin and cause us to ruin our testimony for the Lord, by drawing us into situations where we behave like the world in retaliation for the wrong done to us. However, we must not return evil for evil, but return good for evil (Romans 12:17; 1 Peter 3:9). Joshua and Israel kept their promise, but it cost the Gibeonites dearly as they became Israel’s slaves from the point forward. Those who think that they have succeeded in taking advantage of us are only setting themselves up for their own hurt; for when they take advantage of our kindness, because we desire to do good in the Name of Christ, they are actually putting themselves in confrontation with God, and God will repay their unkindness toward us (Romans 12:14-21).

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).