Getting Ahead of the Lord

“Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord.” (Josh. 9:14)

                Have you ever committed to do something then regretted it later?  Maybe you signed a contract and got stuck with some recurring payments you couldn’t get out of.  Maybe you bought a car without really considering the full impact of the payment terms on your budget.  Unfortunately, we often tend to make quick decisions, and those decisions can often be bad decisions.  We have an example of a quick, bad decision by Joshua and the leadership of Israel in today’s verse.

                When the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land, God clearly commanded them to remove all the inhabitants of the land.  The command was non-negotiable and purposeful – God did not want His children being influenced by the worship of the pagan gods that the natives worshiped.  Initially, Joshua and the Israelites did what God commanded, annihilating cities like Jericho.  But, today’s verse points us to an occasion when the Jews were snookered by the Gibeonites.

                The Gibeonites sent leaders to Joshua who posed as inhabitants of a far country, rather than natives of the Promised Land.  After a brief inquisition, Joshua accepted the terms of a treaty because “they did not seek the counsel of the Lord.”  Joshua made a mistake because he didn’t seek God first.  You and I will make the same mistakes if we start running ahead of God.  Before making decisions, we should always go to God first.  Seeking Him above all others will keep us from making critical errors.