This Is Why They Were and We Still Are Deceived 

Joshua 9:14-15 (NIV) – 14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Gibeonites were afraid that Israelites would kill them. Israelites had a divine mandate to kill all inhabitants of Canaan including Gibeonites. God had given Canaanites opportunity to repent, but they didn’t. Now it was time for divine punishment. God commanded Israelites to kill all Canaanites including Gibeonites.

God told Israel that He would help them in the war. For every tribe they destroyed, they replaced their land. Failure to destroy any tribe meant failure to posses that land. Failure to kill Gibeonites meant they would have less land than God had offered. It was in their interest and in obedience of God told kill Gibeonites.

The Gibeonites were afraid of being killed by Israelites. Our chapter today tells us that they hatched a scheme to deceive Israelites. They came pretending to be people from a very far land, a land beyond where Israelites were to inherit. They requested to make a treaty with Israel.

The Israelite leaders were deceived. They made a covenant they should not have made. They disinherited themselves that piece of God given land. But why were they deceived?

Joshua 9:14-15 (NIV) – 14 The Israelites sampled their provisions BUT DID NOT INQUIRE OF THE LORD. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

They were deceived because they did not inquire of the LORD. They made a serious risky decision without asking if God approved it. They trusted themselves in a matter that required divine intervention. They were conned because they did not inquire of the LORD!

Why didn’t the leaders pray and ask for God’s will on whether to make an agreement with Gibeonites or not? Just a prayer. Isn’t prayer free? God doesn’t charge us for prayer and advice, yet they did not inquire what God’s will was!

Are we any different? Don’t we make big purchases without praying about it? Don’t we enter into relationships without finding out if it is consistent with biblical advice? Don’t we start businesses without praying for God to lead us? Don’t we make online applications of offers we find without asking God’s will and only end up praying at the visa interview desk? Why don’t we inquire from God?

We take up new jobs without praying for a sign if we should take up the job. We move into new neighborhoods without asking for God’s will. We start a new week, a new year, we celebrate events and commemorations without asking God. Aren’t we susceptible to being conned, deceived and failing where we shouldn’t?

What does it take to inquire from God? Prayer which is free. Bible study which is free. Consulting religious leaders who have proven to be consistently reliable in giving biblically sound advice. Yet we don’t inquire of the LORD!

We get deceived by tricky questions in exams because we didn’t inquire from God. We get misled by peer pressure because we don’t ask God for directions. Advice from relatives and friends deceive us to end relationships we could fix, because we don’t inquire from God. We are conned into wrong relationships and marriages because we don’t ask God before falling in love.

We get misled by new religious teachings. We get deceived by extremists who are very convincing but false. We join cults and sects because we didn’t inquire from God!

We are conned. We fail. Our initiatives don’t proceed very far, because we do not inquire from God before engaging.

The core reason why we are deceived is because we do not ask God. We do not inquire from the LORD. May God forgive us and help us to always consult God. Daily consultation with God will save us from being deceived. May we be saved from deception, in Jesus’s name, Amen!

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