Life can be and often is very hard. Sometimes we make it more difficult because we run ahead of God and think because something sounds good or reasonable it must be the Lord’s will.
Moses had died. The Children of Israel had left Egyptian bondage, had crossed the Red Sea and taken both Jericho and the little city of Ai in battles. God was granting successes to the Israelites. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard of Israel’s accomplishments they devised a scheme to make them appear to be neighbors from far off, when in fact, they lived very close by.
The Gibeonites came to Joshua and Israel seeking to make a treaty of peace and protection from them, but, the Bible says, “They (Israel) asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” (Joshua 9:14) Soon afterward they heard who the Gibeonites were and how they had been deceived into making an alliance with the Gibeonites. (Joshua 9:16) Even though they had been deceived, the Israelites would not go back on their word. The Gibeonites were thorns in the sides of the Israelites from then on.
How often do we rush to make agreements and treaties with the world only to find out that we have sinned against God joining hands with the devil and haven’t sought the counsel of God.
We must not violate Scripture nor its principles to accommodate the world.
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