New Year, New You, New Season - Part 7

New Year, New You, New Season – Part 7

Praise the Lord, everybody and good morning.  We’re continuing with our series, so please turn with me to Joshua chapter 9.

Joshua 9

And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; that they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, they did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; and old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.  And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, we be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua, we are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, who are ye? And from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, we are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is moldy: And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.  And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, we have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. And the princes said unto them, let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, we are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. And they answered Joshua, and said, because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.

Beware of who you allow into your circle.  All that glitters isn’t gold, it may be bling.  Joshua was now leading the children of Israel through the wilderness after the death of Moses.  All of the “ites” decided to get together and try to infiltrate the camp.  They sent some folks from the town of Gibeon, because they heard about the battles of Jericho and Ai, and wanted to try to gain their trust, so that they would be able to attack them from within.

This is how the enemy works within the body of Christ.  He will take someone who appears to be saved, or may actually be a Christian, but because their thinking is carnal, and they have an agenda, they will be in the midst of the saints, trying to look for the advantages in what benefits them, rather than just praising the Lord for His many blessings and serving Him in the beauty of holiness.  So they look for opportunities, like being promoted, because in their mind, they can do better than the current administration. 

Almost sounds like the government, huh?  Anyway, these cats came to the camp at Gilgal to approach the men in the group under a false pretense of wanting to join forces as servants.  Joshua, the man of God wanted information about them, and as they told their sad sob story, the men, without consulting the Lord, decided to make peace with them, along with Joshua.

Three days later into their journey with these guys, they heard through the grapevine that they were actually their neighbors, uncovering the deception.  Now, let me stop here for a moment, because you need discernment when allowing people into your life.  If you’re a wise individual, you might want to pray and ask God for guidance.  Many a man and woman has been hurt by folks who are looking for someone to use, misuse, mistreat and ultimately destroy.

Seek the Lord regarding new relationships and contacts.  Ask Him if it’s a kingdom connection or an earthly one.  You will know the difference based upon your interactions.  That one was free, and didn’t cost anything.

So because of the covenant that the princes of the congregation made with the men, they couldn’t kill them for being spies.  Since they confessed their true motives, and submitted themselves to the will of the people, Joshua agreed to make them carry wood and water.  Talk about being humbled!

You see, even though the people were foolish by not seeking the guidance of God, He still had mercy on them by revealing the plan of the enemy.  Saints, no matter how intelligent we think we are, Satan is crafty, and has all kinds of tricks up his sleeves to deceive the body of Christ.  Unless you know your enemy, and find out his strengths, so you can counter attack and build a good defense through the Holy Spirit, you’d might as well just throw yourself on the mat, and let the referee count to 10.

The wisdom of the Lord is foolishness to the carnal mind.  Until an acknowledgment and admittance that we are sinners in need of a Savior takes place, we will always have a question mark over our heads as to what the word of God says.  It won’t make sense.  Do you know how much He loves us?  So much so that He waits on us to make a decision for Him.  Life certainly is not easy, but knowing that Jesus is there for us at all times, with the Holy Spirit as our guide, we won’t go wrong, unless we miss a turn.

This is what happened with the Israelites.  They would seek God for some things, but not all.  Whenever they didn’t, they would get jacked up, because of their pride and arrogance.  Let’s not make the same mistake.  May the Lord bless you, and we’ll continue tomorrow, God willing.