Acting Without Talking To God First

Acting without Talking to God First

Q: How did the Gibeonites fool Joshua?

• a. They pretended there were more of them than there really were.
• b. They put on old clothes and pretended they had traveled far.
• c. They hid their possessions and pretended they were poor.

The Israelites had conquered Jericho, and after a setback, they’d conquered Ai (see Joshua 6–8). Now they were going to move on to conquer more enemies and rid the land of idol worshipers.

The Gibeonites lived nearby, and they were afraid they might be next. They wanted to enter into a peace treaty with Joshua. The problem was Joshua wasn’t allowed to enter into a peace treaty with a nearby nation.

The Gibeonites tricked Joshua. Some men dressed in old clothes and patched shoes. They had weathered saddlebags and moldy bread. They told Joshua, “This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

Joshua entered into a binding peace treaty with the Gibeonites without talking to God about it first. Three days later Joshua found out he’d been tricked. He honored the agreement he’d made with them, but he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the Israelites.

Joshua didn’t ask God for direction, and he was fooled by a nation that didn’t believe in God. If he’d taken the time to pray, God would have shown him the truth.

For You

There are three lessons that can be learned from the three cities you’ve read about in your devotions the last three days. Jericho shows us we are victorious when we trust God. Ai shows us sin has consequences. And Gibeon shows us it’s important to pray about decisions. Which of these lessons can you apply today?

Answer: b

They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. . . . They told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”   Joshua 9:5-6

(The Whole Story: Joshua 9)