Failing to Ask for God's Counsel
Whenever we have a decision to make, we should consult with the Lord first before making that decision. Joshua and the sons of Israel learned that lesson the hard way when dealing with the Gibeonites. (Joshua 9:14,15) We all need to learn this lesson well.
The Gibeonites lived in the land of Canaan, and they were afraid of the sons of Israel once they saw what happened at Jericho and Ai. They pretended to be from far away, and they convinced Joshua and the leaders, so that they made them their servants, when they were really supposed to destroy all of the inhabitants of the land. They made this mistake, because they did not seek God's counsel. They went by their own reasoning and logic. They also acted too quickly. Therefore, they failed to completely follow God's will in taking the land. This caused them problems later, when the sons of Israel were drawn away from God by the idolatry of the Gibeonites and others pagan peoples in the land.
When we fail to consult God, we set ourselves up for failure. We show pride that we think we are smart enough to see all of the details and make the right decision. Mostly, we sin because we are supposed to pray about everything and base all we do on trusting God and His will for us. If we do it ourselves, and sin by making a bad decision, we will suffer from it for a long time.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 10-12.
The Gibeonites lived in the land of Canaan, and they were afraid of the sons of Israel once they saw what happened at Jericho and Ai. They pretended to be from far away, and they convinced Joshua and the leaders, so that they made them their servants, when they were really supposed to destroy all of the inhabitants of the land. They made this mistake, because they did not seek God's counsel. They went by their own reasoning and logic. They also acted too quickly. Therefore, they failed to completely follow God's will in taking the land. This caused them problems later, when the sons of Israel were drawn away from God by the idolatry of the Gibeonites and others pagan peoples in the land.
When we fail to consult God, we set ourselves up for failure. We show pride that we think we are smart enough to see all of the details and make the right decision. Mostly, we sin because we are supposed to pray about everything and base all we do on trusting God and His will for us. If we do it ourselves, and sin by making a bad decision, we will suffer from it for a long time.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 10-12.