Do not trust your own judgement
From the Prophetess Chamber
Saturday’s “Sight Beyond Seeing”—clear Instructions!
Here’s the deal…follow them closely!
Joshua was warned by God to drive out all the wicked nations of the Promised Land, but after only two great victories, the Israelites felt confident that their job was done.
Then the Gibeonites (descended from the Amorites), approached the Israelites on donkeys. They convinced them that they were from a different land far away. They were able to make a covenant with the Israelites and had been allowed to “live” with them as the “woodcutters” and “water carriers.” for the whole congregation.
Listen to the instructions God gave to His people about going to war.
As far as all the cities INSIDE the land of Canaan, God had told them:
“Kill everything in those cities that breathes. Completely destroy them. Wipe out the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.” That’s what the Lord your God commands you to do.
“If you don’t destroy them, they’ll teach you to follow all of the things that I, the Lord your God, hates.”
God hated the way the Gibeonites worshipped their gods. So He cautioned them that if His people chose to do those things, they would sin against Him. (Deut.20:16b-18)
Here’s the MAJOR point— because of the influence of the Canaanites (Gibeonites) who remained in the land, the Israelites “followed false gods,” bringing about spiritual decline and judgment.
The Israelites did their due diligence by asking questions and examining their provisions, but they forgot the most important thing: ASKING and CLARIFYING WITH GOD, if they should enter into covenant with those whom God said to destroy!
The Gibeonites however, knew that if the Israelites obeyed God, they themselves, were doomed. So they came up with a plan to trick Joshua and the Israelites.
Joshua 9:14 reveals, “The men of Israel “sampled their provisions,” (what they could provide for them), but did not inquire of the Lord.” It resulted in the Israelites “sharing” the Promised Land with the Gibeonites.
So, what was God’s rule for war for all the cities inside the land of Canaan?
Destroy all of the people in the land!
WHY? ”Because they worshipped false gods, and they would teach the Israelites to follow those false gods.”
There are times when we feel our wisdom is sufficient to make a decision. Only the Lord, however, knows the deceptive hearts of others. Today, we can find information on any subject in the world in just a matter of minutes, through television and the computer. It is very easy to think we have all the answers; or at least, to think there are other really smart people who have all the answers; but the Bible warns us about thinking we have all the answers.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. (Prov. 3:5-6.)
Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”
When we do what we think is right without seeking God FIRST, it is called “being wise in our own eyes.”
The lesson for us is that the devil is deceptive and will use anything (and anybody), to convince God's people to compromise. Satan is sly and seeks to sneak up on believers. He uses subtle ways (indirect manner such as little hints that are not so obvious and are difficult to detect), to draw us from the things of God.
Believers, you need to remember that Satan will probably not try to get you to deny the “entire” Bible; He’ll just integrate a little bit of what “seems right” along with a little bit of what “sounds like” truth!