1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:13,540 Speaker 1: Life Audio Hello and thank you for listening to Your 2 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,090 Speaker 1: Daily Bible Verse, the podcast that examines one verse each 3 00:00:17,150 --> 00:00:19,950 Speaker 1: day to learn more about God and His will for us. 4 00:00:20,910 --> 00:00:24,610 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jessica VanRoekel, and after this short word 5 00:00:24,650 --> 00:00:28,990 Speaker 1: from our sponsor, we'll continue our series titled, Trusting God 6 00:00:29,130 --> 00:00:32,540 Speaker 1: One Step at a Time, with a discussion from Joshua 9.14. 7 00:00:32,540 --> 00:00:36,620 Speaker 1: Today's Bible verse is Joshua 9.14. So the men took 8 00:00:36,700 --> 00:00:44,050 Speaker 1: some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from 9 00:00:44,110 --> 00:00:59,650 Speaker 1: the LORD. Advertisements abound online for health trackers, blankets for 10 00:00:59,690 --> 00:01:02,850 Speaker 1: hot sleepers, supplements that promise weight loss in three weeks 11 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:08,680 Speaker 1: or unending energy, or creams for unending youth. These are, 12 00:01:08,700 --> 00:01:12,860 Speaker 1: and there are, legitimate sounding testimonials which loop us into 13 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,780 Speaker 1: the maybe I should try it cycle. You do your research, 14 00:01:16,860 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: it looks legit, and we hit the buy button. Then 15 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,550 Speaker 1: we discover something written in the fine print. You know, 16 00:01:23,569 --> 00:01:26,509 Speaker 1: I've learned that sometimes we can gather all the information 17 00:01:26,670 --> 00:01:31,630 Speaker 1: and still miss what matters most. Information and discernment are 18 00:01:31,670 --> 00:01:36,110 Speaker 1: not the same thing. The Israelites did their investigation. They 19 00:01:36,170 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 1: examined the bread, looked at the Gibeonites' provisions, and listened 20 00:01:40,170 --> 00:01:43,020 Speaker 1: to their story. But they forgot to ask God what 21 00:01:43,060 --> 00:01:47,300 Speaker 1: to do, which really is the most important step. Joshua 22 00:01:47,319 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: chapter 9 is a sobering chapter. The Israelites didn't act recklessly. 23 00:01:52,910 --> 00:01:55,890 Speaker 1: They took the time to examine the evidence before them, 24 00:01:55,970 --> 00:01:59,030 Speaker 1: before they made a decision. But the last part of 25 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,660 Speaker 1: the phrase from today's verse is telling. They did not 26 00:02:02,780 --> 00:02:07,660 Speaker 1: consult the Lord. Discernment isn't about seeing something other people miss. 27 00:02:08,340 --> 00:02:11,419 Speaker 1: It's about stopping long enough to talk to God before 28 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:16,630 Speaker 1: moving forward. Let's dive into some background. Joshua and the 29 00:02:16,730 --> 00:02:19,710 Speaker 1: Israelites were in the process of occupying the Promised Land. 30 00:02:20,550 --> 00:02:25,220 Speaker 1: The Canaanites were polytheistic people involved in despicable practices, and 31 00:02:25,290 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: God wanted to keep his people, the Israelites, separate and 32 00:02:29,419 --> 00:02:33,559 Speaker 1: holy for himself. To protect his people's hearts, he commanded 33 00:02:33,620 --> 00:02:36,980 Speaker 1: them to not make treaties with any of the Canaanite people, 34 00:02:37,700 --> 00:02:40,549 Speaker 1: but to destroy them. And this, of course, was met 35 00:02:40,570 --> 00:02:44,470 Speaker 1: with resistance. The people in the Promised Land employed two 36 00:02:44,490 --> 00:02:48,830 Speaker 1: different strategies of attack against the Israelites— The southern kings 37 00:02:48,889 --> 00:02:53,000 Speaker 1: heard about Jericho and Ai and were afraid. They chose 38 00:02:53,070 --> 00:02:56,919 Speaker 1: to attack head to head. The Gibeonites, however, chose a 39 00:02:56,940 --> 00:03:01,180 Speaker 1: different tactic. They recognized that God fought for Israel and 40 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,940 Speaker 1: chose to deceive the Israelites into believing that the Gibeonites 41 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:11,050 Speaker 1: were from far away. Treaties with kingdoms outside the promised 42 00:03:11,090 --> 00:03:14,330 Speaker 1: land had been okayed by God, and the people of 43 00:03:14,389 --> 00:03:19,330 Speaker 1: Gibeon were clever. They misrepresented themselves and gave false evidence 44 00:03:19,430 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 1: through old wineskins, worn-out sandals, threadbare sacks, and moldy bread 45 00:03:25,820 --> 00:03:30,380 Speaker 1: to lie about their actual location. Joshua and the leaders 46 00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:34,660 Speaker 1: did not seek God's counsel. Instead, they examined the evidence 47 00:03:34,820 --> 00:03:38,190 Speaker 1: and made a peace treaty with the Gibeonites. But once 48 00:03:38,270 --> 00:03:42,010 Speaker 1: the deception was revealed, the people of God complained, but 49 00:03:42,050 --> 00:03:45,050 Speaker 1: Joshua and the leaders said they needed to keep their oath. 50 00:03:45,950 --> 00:03:48,510 Speaker 1: even though it was made without consulting with the Lord. 51 00:03:49,370 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: So Joshua decreed then that the Gibeonites would serve by 52 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: becoming woodcutters and water carriers. Thus, the Gibeonites were incorporated 53 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: into the Israelite nation. The deception was clever and powerful. 54 00:04:04,660 --> 00:04:08,310 Speaker 1: Joshua and the elders trusted their senses rather than seeking 55 00:04:08,370 --> 00:04:12,610 Speaker 1: the Lord's counsel. They walked by sight rather than by faith. 56 00:04:13,090 --> 00:04:17,270 Speaker 1: presumptuously and with incorrect reasoning, they made a covenant that 57 00:04:17,410 --> 00:04:22,690 Speaker 1: couldn't be broken. This misguided and unwise decision brought ungodly 58 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:27,180 Speaker 1: Canaanites into their community, which in Deuteronomy chapter 7 God 59 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:32,120 Speaker 1: had forbidden. In all of our decisions, we really need 60 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:34,660 Speaker 1: to look to the Lord for wisdom and guidance so 61 00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:39,839 Speaker 1: that we can avoid unnecessary sorrows and tragedies. But when 62 00:04:39,860 --> 00:04:43,180 Speaker 1: we forget and we turn away, God has a way 63 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,900 Speaker 1: of making good out of bad. Rahab and the Gibeonites 64 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: are great examples of this. Rahab is remembered for her 65 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,270 Speaker 1: great faith and is one of the women listed in Jesus' genealogy. 66 00:04:55,210 --> 00:05:00,909 Speaker 1: The Gibeonites themselves risked forsaking former associations to be counted 67 00:05:01,010 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: among God's people. They became servants of the tabernacle. Eventually, 68 00:05:06,580 --> 00:05:10,180 Speaker 1: the Ark of the Covenant stayed in Gibeon. One of 69 00:05:10,300 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: David's mighty men was a Gibeonite. God appeared and spoke 70 00:05:15,420 --> 00:05:20,500 Speaker 1: to Solomon in Gibeon. The Gibeonites helped Nehemiah rebuild the 71 00:05:20,540 --> 00:05:25,440 Speaker 1: wall around Jerusalem and the prophet Hananiah came from Gibeon. 72 00:05:26,220 --> 00:05:29,289 Speaker 1: This shows us that God can do great things with 73 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:32,050 Speaker 1: people who may be far from him but come to 74 00:05:32,130 --> 00:05:36,310 Speaker 1: him in humility and love. While it is best to 75 00:05:36,350 --> 00:05:41,409 Speaker 1: consult the Lord, and seek his discernment regarding decisions, sometimes 76 00:05:41,589 --> 00:05:45,460 Speaker 1: we don't. We can let today's verse be a reminder 77 00:05:45,580 --> 00:05:49,820 Speaker 1: to seek God's counsel, even when the evidence leading us 78 00:05:50,020 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: one way may be compelling. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank 79 00:05:55,140 --> 00:05:58,060 Speaker 1: you so much for who you are, how you take 80 00:05:58,580 --> 00:06:02,210 Speaker 1: our mistakes or wrong decisions or wrong turns, and you 81 00:06:02,290 --> 00:06:07,230 Speaker 1: can turn them into good. Lord, you did that with Rahab, 82 00:06:07,270 --> 00:06:10,789 Speaker 1: you did that with the Gibeonite people and you used 83 00:06:10,850 --> 00:06:14,720 Speaker 1: them in mighty ways. So Lord, while we want to 84 00:06:14,779 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: seek your counsel in all that we do, Lord, there 85 00:06:17,580 --> 00:06:20,660 Speaker 1: will be times when we forget, where we trust our 86 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:24,570 Speaker 1: own senses like Joshua and the elders did. And Lord, 87 00:06:24,589 --> 00:06:28,150 Speaker 1: in those times, just remind us to gently turn to 88 00:06:28,190 --> 00:06:32,350 Speaker 1: you and to trust that you can work things out. Lord, 89 00:06:32,390 --> 00:06:34,110 Speaker 1: help us to look to you in all that we 90 00:06:34,130 --> 00:06:37,210 Speaker 1: do today. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.