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. 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. Joshua and the Gibeonites is the title of Pastor Rick's message as he continues teaching today. 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 stay long. Address 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. 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. 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 Ashtaroth, 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 they didn't have They weren't as pretty as Rayhaps, so they couldn't do that. That ain't gonna work.
Come on, Otis, save that thing. Anyway, 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 suspicion.
So sometimes you get an instinct, I don't trust this guy.
Well, you can't dismiss that unless it's about me. And 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 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 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 Oh, a yard sale here, right? It's a yard sale. 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 14. Then the men of Israel took some of the provision their provisions.
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 is 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 nineteen 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. But that's not what Joshua is guilty of. According to the Jewish use of the word presumptuous.
but in the English he's 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 To spiritualize. Joshua's conclusion upon a natural investigation seemed right. But he was wrong. And we do the same thing.
It seems so right. But did you if somebody else will come along and ask you, but did you that no That's too late now.
Sometimes Trust. But always verify When it comes to Vital concerns.
Sometimes trust, but always verify. Invalidate concerns. Paul said we're not ignorant of Satan's devices. God says you should have asked me. That's Proverbs.
How many of you have Proverbs somewhere written down or in a refrigerator or somewhere? And don't do it.
Well That's why I don't put it anywhere. I can do it without worrying about feeling guilty. There's a consequence. Don't believe everything you think. We tend to believe everything we think, but that's a trap.
That's what the peer review is supposed to stop.
So when a pastor gets in the pulpit, where is his peer review? The congregation. If he starts saying stuff that's goofy outside of scripture, They're supposed to not let that happen. I don't mean, you know. little things.
I'm talking about big doctrinal things. The smaller things, we we take some of them on the chin. Anyway, We cannot be trusted to know the truth without the Holy Spirit and the Word. A danger is some think the word is enough. And it's all intellectual.
Others think you just need the spirit. as not very intellectual.
Well, if you just have the Word, who needs the Holy Spirit? And if you just have the Holy Spirit, who needs the Word? And in both cases, you're insulting God. You're making a mockery of the effort He's put into both of these. Making them available to us.
Now some resent being told this, since they prefer flying by the seat of their pants. as opposed to reading their gauges. And if you just say, oh, a car feels like it's got gas. No special isn't. Never mind the gauge.
It feels pretty good right now. We're now entering The Badlands. And don't worry about the gauge. Yeah, well that's the app metaphor. It feels right, it must be right.
Never mind. the thought that goes into protocols. I think ideally when a Pastor And those faithful serving with him set policy, a lot of thought has gone into it. Are you not glad the pews are not fuchsia. Or however you want to pronounce it.
psychedelic rainbow pews. All right, that's just my little thing. But there's a lot of thought that goes into everything. Paul He said, therefore, when I was planning this. Did I do it lightly?
Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh? That with me There should be yes and no no. What? He's saying, I don't Say yes, no to confuse you. It's either yes or no, but it's not.
I'd never do that, and then you do it. Yeah, yeah, sure, I'll do it, and then you don't do it. He continues But as God is faithful, our word to you was not yes and no. When we said this is it, that's what it was going to be. But the point that we get out When I plan was planning this, did I do it lightly?
Our approach on spiritual matters is not a light matter. And there are Christians that don't want that. They want to fly by the seat of their pants.
Well, that's what Joshua was doing. He's just flying by the seat of his pants.
Now, I know you may say, it's so much work to think it through. It's better to just close your eyes and go.
Well, you might do that at a intersection. Once? Don't sell yourself short. Thinking that Well, I can't think things through. I just don't have it.
But God does. And if he's got your salvation, he's got more for you also. Experience and instincts are not trustworthy enough without the Scripture. without the word. You've got to think some things through.
And that will allow you to not only Be led. but also be more useful. There are a lot of Christians that are just sitting home right now. They don't ever go to church. How useful are they?
Numbers 27, 21. Let me pause there. Think how much money you could save if you didn't have to come to church and tithe. Think how many times you could go fishing or shopping or whatever it is you want to do if you didn't have to come to church and serve. and fellowship.
It is a sacrifice of praise. And it is worth it. And it is your flesh or Satan. That will Work very hard. And the prophet Amos had to deal with this people complaining about the Sabbath day, and they couldn't do business.
Think of the profits they were missing out on. And God called them on that.
Well, numbers 27. This is what was said to Joshua. When Moses was still alive, he He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, Who shall inquire before Yahweh for him by the judgment of the Urim? At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in. He and all the The children of Israel with him.
All the congregation.
Now, let's not sell short at his word. The first meaning is. at the word that comes from the direction of God. But it is inclusive of scripture to us. And he kept the Urim and the Thumim.
The lights and the perfection. In the holster. When the bear was upon him, They beat Jericho. By discipline. marching and waiting Day after day.
And the interesting thing about marching or military drill. is you're not thinking about anything else but that drill when you're doing it. And it's true with any drill. The idea is to get you focused on the drill. And just a simple thing like marching, you're keeping your distance from the guy in front of you, because if you hit his foot, he's going to want to fight you.
If the guy on the right, and you're listening for the next command, you're focused, you're not thinking about Nap time. And when they marched around Jericho. It called for discipline. And it called for maturity. And that's how they beat Jericho.
When they beat AI, on the other hand, it was more self-examination and combat. Because of course, Achan sinned, and Joshua, God told him, there's sin in the camp. Joshua, get up off your face. Joshua's like, what is going on here? and a self-examination had to take place.
To beat the devil You're going to have to depend on God, scripture, and action. Those three have got to be part of it. You may get away with it sometime, but that you're not going to get away with it all the time. And you may teach others to do the same wrong thing, and that. explains a lot of ruined institutions that we have within Christendom.
In verse 15, so Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them. to let them live and the rulers of the congregation swore to them What are unused advantages? They're not advantages. He holstered, as I mentioned, Urum and Dum. He had them.
He could have gone to the priest. Do we trust these guys, God? What do we do with them? No mention of that. And again, we're not beating up on Joshua, he's a hero of the scripture.
But on this event We get a lot from him. that he would rather not be associated with. Verse 19, and it happened at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Yeah, just like 18 miles up the road. Mistakes committed in ignorance come back to bite us, to humiliate us.
Imagine the look on Joshua's face. When he learned he had been duped, By the very people he was not to be duped by. Verse 17. Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities On the third day, the Now their cities were Gibeon, Kefira Biroth, Kirajash, Jiram. But the children of Israel did not attack them because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by Yahweh, God of Israel, and all the congregation complained against the rulers.
The leaders didn't tell anybody. Listen. We made a deal with these Gibeonites. that are in well the leaders found out, but they still didn't tell anybody until it got That's how it reads to me till they got to The enemy positions we can't attack them. What?
We marched all this way. There's loot in that town. What do you mean we can't attack them? Yeah.
So all the congregation complained against the rulers, and they had good reason, as I read from Deuteronomy 20 earlier. This generation of Jews, the second generation out of Egypt. They took God's word very seriously. And verse 19. Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, We have sworn.
To them by Yahweh, God of Israel.
Now, therefore, we may not touch them.
Now here's another lesson. Disobedience does not correct disobedience. And that is what Joshua is teaching us. They lied. We were disobedient to God.
We did not investigate sufficiently. We're not going to be disobedient again. Our standards might be a little different, but The Jews knew better under their Government with God. The weight of our word to others means something. to God.
He said, never mind the other person. The other person may not value what you said, but God is listening. Matthew 5:37, similar to what where Paul gets it from, Jesus speaking, Let your yes be yes, and your no no, for whatever is more than these is from the evil one. It's Satan. He is leavening you.
He's corrupting you. Once you get used to, you know, you meet somebody who gets used to lying. Maybe you know him as a kid. And you find out they've learned to lie comfortably. And when you bust them, They can't even admit it.
It's like they're in an alternate reality. Verse twenty This we will do with them. We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because... of the oath which we swore to them.
So Joshua said, Yeah, we cornered ourselves, but we're not going to Self-destruct on this.
So Joshua owns the consequences of His presumption without breaking God's word further. Gibeon forfeited the right to negotiate terms because of their deception. And that's why they're going to be made servants. which is now becomes the fine print becomes a large print. And Joshua sets those terms.
The emphasis is not on Gibeon's deception. They didn't have the Ten Commandments. They weren't under Mosaic law. They were heathens. The emphasis on the material.
of doing wrong to save themselves. is actually logical. Again, not a scam to swindle, but to survive. The emphasis is on God's people seeking God. There's where the emphasis.
lies. And maybe if the Gibeonite said Okay, they're not an enter a treaty when they went back to their cities. We need to leave. We need to go move outside the promised land, just let them have everything. I don't know, maybe they would have fought to the death.
Anyway. This uh This is not rewarding the deceivers. This is warfare. And in war The rules bend. A lot.
Just we make sure we we don't break them. That was King Saul. King Saul thought he could break a rule whenever it was convenient. One of the lessons is Don't make rash vows. I'm telling you, as a pastor, a lot of Christians make rash vows.
Pastor, I'm going to do this for the church, I'm going to do that, and they never do it. I know 'cause I tell them.
Well no, I don't tell them. But I just cringe. I sometimes tell them, you need to pray about that. Don't just go making these rash vows, and you choke at the end, and you don't do it. No, I'm going to do it.
They don't.
Well, back to King Saul some 400 years later. violated his oath. Anytime he could. Samuel sent him out to wipe out the enemy. He didn't do it.
He brought back other things and he justified. But one particular one has to do with these people here. Um 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.
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