Ephesians 6, put on the whole armor of God and sleep with it on. Doesn't say that, but I think it should have said that. He's helping Paul out a little bit. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, the tricks, the crafts. Satan changes tactics.
And you think you've got the victories, you think you figured it out. And then he throws in something you weren't ready for: less dramatic, flattering, religious. Oh, it put Jesus' name on it. You must be the contractor to go with. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through a topical series. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick as he begins a brand new study called Joshua and the Gibeonites. Joshua chapter 9.
This evening, if you have your Bibles, we're going to stay pretty much in that chapter. Unlike the last question and answers that we've been going through, been bouncing around. But before I get to the question, Delaying A return to Reformed theology, which is an outstanding question still and worth addressing, Calvinism versus Arminianism. Uh to give you And perhaps more me. A bit of rest from this divisive topic.
So what we have left after tonight will be Defining and distinguishing the differences between the body, the soul, the spirit, according to the scriptures. Calvinism versus Arminianism. Then we have a closer that will involve a book of the Old Testament, not a big one. But tonight Joshua and the Gibeonites? That's the question.
It was just phrased just like that: Joshua and the Gibeonites. A compliment being paid to me that I would read their mind and know what they wanted by just reading that much. And of course I did do that. And We're going to open up this chapter with the title.
Now the title is supposed to mean something. Facts without truth there is such a thing. And Christians need to know about that because a lot of times Christians Look at the facts, forget the truth, or look at the truth and forget the facts. Another way of saying it would be trust, but verify. The kingpin verse that sort of says, look, this is the big takeaway from this chapter, and there are quite a few of them.
The big takeaway is verse 14. Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions. But they did not ask counsel of Yahweh. Ooh, that gives you a chill if you understand the Scriptures correct.
So notice I said correct and not can I get a amen. Just one of my pastor friends saying, you know, I listen to myself, and I kept saying to the congregation, Can I get an amen? And I said to myself, You can get, boy, that was dumb. From me. Anyway.
And this chapter is a historical illustration of the opposite. of Proverbs 3, 5, and 6: Lean not on your own understanding, but on all your ways acknowledge the Lord.
Well, this is an illustration of what happens when you don't do that. Concerning God's directions.
Now, the Gibeonites, because it is again the question, Joshua and the Gibeonites. These are people that lived in the promised land, and they had a very large city and a very serious army. They're going to change sides. They're going to come over to the Jews. And say, hey, we want a treaty with you.
So when the Gibeonites heard, and I'll give you the overall, then we'll go verse by verse because I mentioned juicy parts in there. When the Gibeonites heard of Joshua's victories at Jericho, at Ai, not Artificial intelligence, that's the name of The town AI in the promised land now. We're not in the book of Numbers wandering. They're in the land, the base of operations. They've crossed over Jordan.
They've set up in Gilgal. The tabernacle is in Gilgal, and they're going out on their conquest and they're coming back to Gilgal. And shrewdly. The Gibeonites, when they said, He took out Jericho, he took out Ai. They're gonna get us too.
So they put together a plan to pretend. They sent some representatives to pretend to be ambassadors from a far country to make this peace treaty. Because if they said, listen, we're in the promised land, we want peace.
Well, God's instruction was, no, this is a judgment. We're beyond that.
So they knew this. The scriptures from the Jews was making its way to the Gentile world, largely through trade routes and trading with indigenous peoples along the route way. Jericho knew they were coming years before, that's why Rahab was ready to make a treaty.
So they deceived the Jews. As we read in Verse 14, because the Jews didn't ask God about this. And when the deception was finally discovered, the Israelites Kept their word, which is a powerful lesson, too. They didn't say, oh, well, now I don't have to keep my word.
So these are the things we've got to color in.
However, The Jews did make The Gibeonites worked for them.
So speaking of colouring it in the insights and details. Having won those two large campaigns, Joshua Now ready. Two Just rejoice in the Lord, but he wasn't ready for an unconventional attack. There's a lesson there. He's pitching me fastballs and curves.
I'm ready for those. He throws a change up at 65 miles an hour. I can't hit that. My brain's not adjusted. We demand A knowledge of baseball in this church.
People. Remember the beginning and he and that should be enough. Anyway. So The Gibeonites tried something less dramatic. Then amassing their troops and coming straight at them, Not only was it deception, It was deception through civility.
With a little flattery, a little religion thrown in just for good measure. And it worked. One lesson. on top of another. Satan changes tactics.
Yeah, that's a lesson for Christians. Ephesians 4: That we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men in the cunning craftiness. of deceitful plotting, Somebody's put a lot of effort into deceiving somebody else. Paul said, I fear lest somehow The serpent As the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted.
Now here's a punchline to that verse that's often missed because we're focused on Eve and we're focused on Satan and deceived, but this is a big part of our faith. Make That your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. How many people try to complicate Christianity? You've got to go to seminary. You've got to remember these five points.
You've got it's the simplicity of the faith. I have a relationship with Jesus Christ based on Scripture. Anybody can understand the Scripture. Relatively sane person. There are exceptions.
Some people just have handicaps and, you know, but God can handle it all. Ephesians 6, put on the whole armor of God and sleep with it on. It doesn't say that, but I think it should have said that. It's helping Paul out a little bit. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, the tricks, the crafts.
Satan changes tactics. You think you've got the victories, you think you've figured it out. And then he throws in something you weren't ready for: less dramatic, flattering, religious. Or put Jesus' name on it. You must be the contractor to go with.
So now we look at verse 1. And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, they're in the land. In the hills and in the lowland, and in all the coast of the great sea, toward Lebanon, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Pezerite. And the Jebusite heard about it. that they gather together to fight.
with Joshua and Israel. With one accord.
Well, they're adamant about resisting. They formed a confederation of defiance. Satan does these things. They weren't going down without a Fight to the death? If you look at it, the world, there are people like this in the world, self-willed s to self-destruction.
A type of that impenitent person that knows what's coming. but has convinced themselves that somehow They're going to be the exception that they're going to prevail. That they're going to do okay and survive, and they're not. The word hell means you can't handle this. That doesn't mean that literally.
But If in s in the end, that's what it comes out to be. In verse 3, but when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard that Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily. and went and pretended to be ambassadors. and they took old sacks On their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended Old and patched sandals on their feet. Verse five.
and old garments on themselves. and all the bread of their provisions was dry and mouldy. Verse 6. And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal. and said to him, And to the men of Israel, we have come from a far country.
Now, therefore, make a covenant with us. Boy, there's a lot going on here. Gilgal, where the temple is, the headquarters of Joshua is. At this time, twenty miles from Gibeon, not even So they give you a nice look. These guys are on our doorstep.
We got to come up with something quick.
So they send this team. The rest of the people are back in the big city. It's a developed city, we learn in chapter 10.
So the Hittites say to the confederation of other Canaanite country alliances Deal me out. Yeah. And they take matters into their own hands. This will Ignite when they make this treaty, it will ignite a firestorm of retaliation against them by their fellow Canaanites. Anybody in the land roughly referred to as a Canaanite?
even though they're different types of peoples. That retaliation against the Gibeonites. Which Joshua has bound himself to. I'm ahead in the story now when Joshua has made the treaty with them. Joshua will march all night to get to Gibeon to keep his oath.
And he will go on a rampage. Through the land He's going to wipe out this alliance. He's going to move and get that one. He's just not going to almost stop. Chapter 10 is a long chapter, but it covers the wars.
When the sun did stand still and hailstones came from the sky, it's all ignited. by these Gentiles. That's how God said to you, I'm going to use this. And use it, he did. Looking forward at verse 19 of chapter 11, just let me read that.
There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel except the Hivites, that's the Gideonite, the inhabitants of Gibeon. Not Gideon, Gibeon. All the others They took in battle. Yeah, they thought they were going to win and they did not.
So there's Joshua and the Jewish people celebrating their victories at. AI of Jericho and Bethel. And the people of Gibeon We're putting together this clever plan. And while the other Inhabitants of Canaan scramble to fortify their defenses and build up their armies. And Gibeon says, if you can't beat them, Join 'em.
And it works. Verse 5 here in chapter 9, and they took old sacks, old wineskins torn and mended.
Well, deception proved more effective for them than brute force.
So there is such a thing as facts without truth. They presented the facts: moldy bread, worn-out clothes, dust. What a lesson for us. Israel when they took out AI They faked them out. They faked them out of the city and they got them.
Here the Cibeonites are faking out Israel. Just interesting. You let your guard down, something So when I was 14, 15, I was involved in some martial arts as all the kids were, pretty much. And I was never in the kids' class, always with the men, and that was tough. for them to get beaten up by a 15-year-old But anyway, this one time I was Competing with a man, Gerald was his name.
He's like 6'4. And I managed to flip him. And it was a brilliant move. They should have. The natives should have sang songs about me.
So he gets up. Shame humiliated. And he does the identical thing to me, the next engagement. And I was so angry at myself. Because I left my guard down.
and let him get me back with my move. And then the natives began to sing about him. My point is, that's what happened. They faked out AI, and then they get faked out. And so you got to keep watching everything.
Verse 7. Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you dwell among us.
So how can we Make a covenant with you.
So at this point, the Jews did not know. If these guys were straight out of Canaan or not. We're taking any chances. The Jews were supposed to be the hammer of God to purge the land by bloodshed. It's an act of judgment.
It was not God saying, Well, I got to make room for my people, you got to go, and we're going to kill you. That's not what was happening. God said, These people are so dirty, if these generations continue to live, they're going to infest the regions and it will be irretrievable. They have got to be stopped. And in a very literal way, The Jews became the salt of the earth.
And they s they addressed the corruption. Deuteronomy 20. of the cities of the peoples. Which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, but you. shall utterly destroy them, the Hivite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, The Pezarite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Just as Yahweh your God has commanded you.
Okay, so those are their orders.
So now you can understand when the people find out Joshua has made a covenant with one of those groups, they're like, wait, this, God's going to get us now because of you, Joshua, and the leadership.
So when we get to that, you'll it's justifiable They're concerned. It continues in Deuteronomy: lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done. For their gods. And you sin against Yahweh, your God.
So the Lord is saying, these are dirty people. You gotta deal with them, or else they're gonna corrupt everybody else, you included, and I'm not having that.
So that's why this has to take place. Verse 8. But they said to Joshua the Gibeonites. We are your servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are you and where do you come from?
Verse 9.
So they said to him, From a far country, your servants have come because of the name of Yahweh, your God.
So they put religion into it now. For we have heard of his fame. and all that he did in Egypt. and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, the Sihon king of Heshbon, And ah, king of Bashan, Who was at Asteroth? Yeah.
The people knew what was coming. Rahab, again, These are the only two people that look to make a treaty with the Jews. Rahab and the Gibeonites. But Rahab was straightforward. These guys didn't have.
They weren't as pretty as Rayhap, so they couldn't do that. That ain't gonna work. Come on, Otis, save that thing. Anyway, Uh So looking at verse 8. They skirt the question.
And Joshua fails to press it. Who are you? They were ready. for his superficial inquiries. They weren't ready for him to dig deeper, and he didn't dig deeper.
The Gibeonites knew that the Jews. We're not supposed to make treaties, so they weren't going to tip their hand at, well, we live in this land. That would have been their death sentence. Israel was permitted to make treaties with people outside of the promised land. but not inside the promised land.
So in verses 9 and 10, we see the investigation turned into a contract. Negotiation. That's the deception taking place. They've got Joshua. They are.
They're controlling where this is going. They're in control, and Joshua doesn't know it. He's got the army and the swords, he thinks he's in control. And they successfully use flattery and religion to tell him about God is with them and they've crushed their enemies and. It just makes Perfect sense to be your friend.
To distract Joshua from his initial suspicions.
So sometimes you get an instinct, I don't trust this guy.
Well, you can't dismiss that unless it's about me. Of course that's crazy. But If you have a serious canal, some people become paranoid. And that muddies up the water because they're wrong a hundred times, but there might be one time they're right.
So We try to keep control on these things by being aware of how they work.
So their reply flatters the Jews. Many a pastor, many a parishioner, many a congregation have been flattered to sleep on the watch. And they should have said, this is a Johnny come lately thing. How come the church has been so powerful without it?
Now, all of a sudden, you're telling me we got to have this too? I don't think so.
Well The Gideonites The Gibeonites They were fighting for their lives. They were not trying to scam the Jews for self-enrichment. And we have to keep that in mind. These people aren't up to no good. They just want to live.
Verse 11, and God sees that. Verse eleven Therefore Our elders And all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take provisions with you for the journey. And go to meet them, and say to them, We are your servants now, therefore make a covenant with us.
Well, this is this part about we are your servants, that turns out to be Prophetic in an ironic way. Because Joshua, if he forgets anything else, he's going to remember, you're going to be my servants all right after that dirty trick. You said it, and they're going to be his servants. Verse 12. This bread of ours we took hot from our provisions, from our houses on the day we departed.
To come to you. But now, look, it is dry and moldy. Man, these guys are liars. They're liars, and they're getting away with it. And Joshua and his team are just.
Taking the bait, verse 13. And these wineskins which we filled were new. And see? They're torn. And these, our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.
You'd think somebody would have said, No, come on, you just went to your attic and you pulled stuff out that you couldn't sell at the garage. And Well, the yard sale here, right? And uh nobody did that. Yep, that's moly bread, all right. But that doesn't prove anything.
It's a fact. But the truth that belongs to the fact It's not there. Here they are. Full wardrobe prop performance. This was life or death.
Death for these Gibeonites And as I mentioned, they're just trying to survive. They knew, and we'll get that in verse 24, they knew that God commanded them not to make treaties. Verse fourteen. Then the men of Israel took some of the provisions their provisions and But they did not ask counsel of Yahweh.
Now that's our kingpin verse. The text, you could say. Site without spirit. It's carnal. It's just natural sight.
Nothing spiritual about it. There it is. We know this, there's a way that seems right to man, but its way leads to death.
Well, this doesn't go that far for Joshua, but it does seem right to him. Psalm 19 keep back your servant Also from presumptuous sins.
Now I can't get into that because But we can in our English the word we presumption First definition is you assume without evidence. But in the Hebrew, It's deeper than that. It's an arrogance that goes with it. That's not what Joshua is guilty of. According to the Jewish use of the word presumptuous.
But in the English, he is being presumptuous. He's not getting to the bottom of things. And that is enough for us to remember. Let's not presume on critical issues. I mean, if you're playing Parcheesi or something.
You don't have to be intense. The problem is with sports or games, Christians get in the flesh like that. They just turn into these sinners, these little heathens. If they died on the spot, you know they might not get in. That's not true.
And thank God grace doesn't say, oh, you didn't use the password, you forgot to repent. That's not grace, that's law. Grace says I take the whole picture, your confession of faith, in spite of your failures. Anyway, this incomplete investigation. to follow up on their own suspicion in a time of war.
And we're always in a time of war as Christians.
Now we're not judging Joshua, but we are learning from him. And The undiscerning link This story gives us She spiritualized. Joshua's conclusion upon a natural investigation seemed right. But he was wrong. And we do the same thing.
It seems so right. Thanks for tuning in today to Cross Reference Radio, where Pastor Rick has some answers for various questions that have been asked. We can't fully express how grateful we are that you've been with us today, but if you're ever looking for more teaching and content from us, you're welcome to subscribe to our podcast. Just go to your favorite podcast app and look for Cross Reference Radio. For any other information about this ministry, go to crossreference radio.com.
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