Hoodwinked (Part B)

You can lean on your own understanding at times when you know, again, what's for dinner, what color socks to wear with an outfit. Lean on your own understanding. But when it comes to serious spiritual matters, serious matters of life, we are not to do it that way. Sight without spirit.

Of course, there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death. 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 the Book of Joshua. 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 in the Book of Joshua, Chapter 7.

Hoodwinked is the title of Pastor Rick's message, and he'll be teaching in Joshua, Chapter 9. How we get caught by looking at, well, the fact. It's a moldy bread. That is a fact. But join it to the story. Now there's no truth. The truth is that they're not from a country far away or a land far away. They're from the Promised Land.

What a lesson that is for us. Get confirmation. Get to the bottom of it on serious matters.

I mean, you can pull this off in the morning with blue socks or black socks. I mean, you don't go and try to get on your knees and figure that one out. But the serious matters in life, you bet we take these to the Lord. Have you ever noticed you say to someone, well, let me pray about it. Then you can sense they're a little frustrated because they want the answer now.

They know you can't pray about it. I don't want to wait. I want you to say yes. And that is an indication to say, no, not right now.

I'll get back to you. And then you can kind of enjoy them writhing in impatience. It's like, oh.

Well, no, you shouldn't do that. Verse 6, thank you, Lord. There's always another verse to get out of something. And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal.

Remember, that's where the shame was rolled away. How profound a thought that is. And said to him and to the men of Israel, we have come from a far country.

Now, therefore, make a covenant with us. Well, they're lying. We know that. But can anybody blame them? They can stand and fight and go down like A.I.

and Jericho, or they can come up with a plan like they did. Jesus, he told the story. He said, you know, the sons of this world, they're crafty. They think they used their noggin. Christians come along.

They don't think. Not all of us, but many of us. We get emotional.

God's going to provide when God is given no indication he's going to provide. And we take a step out when we shouldn't take a step out. And you learn. You fall and say, you know what? That didn't work. I don't want to do that again.

Next time I'm going to be pretty, pretty careful. Then the steward said within himself when his master caught him up to no good and was about to fire him. What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me.

I cannot dig. I am ashamed to beg. I have resolved what to do. That when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his master's debtors to him and said to the first, how much do you owe my master? And he said, a hundred measures of oil. So he said, take your bill, sit down quickly and write 50. Then he said to another, how much do you owe? So he said, a hundred measures of wheat. And he said, take your bill and write 80. So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly for the sons of this world or more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

Certainly Jesus is not condoning, stealing, or lying. What he was doing is how much do you owe my master? A hundred bucks.

Write down 50. And the person that writes down 50 said, I like this guy. He's looking out for me.

So that when he gets fired, he can go to that guy, hey, can I have a job? Yeah. You see, that's the crafting. I can't beg. I can't dig ditches. All I am is, you know, I can do the books.

You can cook them too. And Jesus said, you see what they did under pressure? You see what that man did? He used his noggin and he tells a story in such a way that the disdain in us makes us remember the story. Our Lord is sharp, sharp. That's what we're to get out of this story here in the book of Joshua, that we are to use our noggins and not take things for granted, to see it through, to apply ourselves. In verse seven, Joshua nine, then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, perhaps you dwell among us.

So how can we make a covenant with you? It's worded as though Joshua knows they understand this and they do understand this. When we get to verse 24, it comes out that they knew all about this. At this time, at this moment, as Joshua was talking to them, he doesn't know they're Hivites. That's the narrator of the story is giving us that. Jerusalem is not Jerusalem yet. It's Jabbos at this time. And at the end of this chapter, of course, he's going to say it's Jerusalem, but that they will serve into Jerusalem. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. My point is, Joshua records the story for us, but it is put in this format by editors and there's nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

There's not any corruption there. But just so you know, Joshua doesn't know that these are Gibeonites. And now the Jews, of course, were to be the hammer of God, just like we're to be the hammer of God on lies. They were to be it on whole peoples because of their lies. We're to be the hammer of God on lies that come up against Christ and hammer them out.

And that's not true. We have to tell the unbeliever, where did you hear that about Jesus Christ? Jesus was married. No, he was not. What book did you get that?

What other dumb things you got? That's how you go about purging the devil's influences out of souls is by confronting them with the truth that they would otherwise not be confronted with. Anyway, the Jews were to purge the land through the sword, exterminate the land, Deuteronomy 20 verse 16. But of the cities of these people, which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive. I think that's pretty clear. But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Pezerite, and the Hivite.

That's these people. That's the commandment right there from Moses handed on to Joshua. He goes on in the Jebusite, inhabitants of Jerusalem. Just as Yahweh your God has commanded you, not suggested, commanded, lest they teach you.

He gives a reason. He says, 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. He's saying they're going to leaven you. They're going to convert you. You're going to lose souls. Now, before I forget, because I don't have this, well, just before I forget, I'm forgetting it while I'm talking. It says here in verse 7, perhaps you dwell among us, so how can we make a covenant with you?

That's a valid concern, of course. We don't want to violate the Lord by making a covenant with you if you, in fact, are in the land and you're tricking us. Do you know what I noticed thieves will do? Well, I worked one time in a very bad neighborhood for a long time, and I worked up on a lift so I could see the street level action from high up. And there were times we could see thieves in action, and they would walk, and someone would look at them, and they'd act like, okay, I've been caught, and walk away. And they'd turn right back around and steal what they were trying to get, because they knew the other person felt you chased them away with the look. He looked at them, they made eye contact, and, okay, I'm leaving.

Good, I scared them away. Walks back in his shop, comes back, grabs whatever he goes, and he's gone. Well, here we have a case of Joshua thinking that he is giving a thorough investigation and chasing away any thoughts that these people are deceiving him, but he is wrong. It's a valid concern, but he's not going to see it through to the satisfaction of the Spirit. He failed to investigate it all the way. He has the idea, but that's all he does.

He doesn't go the rest of the way. And I think that individuals, households, and whole churches are still doing this. We're all susceptible to it. We link up with spiritual contraband, something that doesn't belong inside creeps in, it was brought in, and it's not dealt with. If a congregation or a household or an individual understands the basics of this, then you have a chance, a better chance, of them pushing it out. Someone coming to the church with false ideas about Christ, if they're in the lobby, and after service, you fellowship, and they bring these things up, and you start hammering back, no, wait a minute, we don't believe that.

That's what has to happen. Somebody, some child comes home and says, hey, look what I found out about Jesus, and he shares it, and the parents or the other siblings say, that's not biblical, that's wrong, and it's dealt with. But it's when it's tolerated, excused, or permitted, that it becomes a problem, and that's what is going on here. So the lesson that we would say to believers, if the Lord does not say so, then it must go.

Not complicated. No matter what anyone else says or feels about it, you must stand your ground when it comes to the truth. And unfortunately, I think those who never seem to learn this, they're flying by the seat of their pants and not by their gauges. And the churches that filter these folks out, those churches are better off doing that. You live by the truth, you must take the consequences of standing your ground. It's worth it.

If you don't look at your gauges and you're just going by how it feels, you're likely going to crash. Joshua's conclusion was based on a natural investigation when it should have been spiritual also, because he was spiritual. They were spiritual, and that's why he was wrong. Centuries later, Paul would write, of course, we're not ignorant of his devices, his Satans, and his stories like this help us form a response. Verse 8, but they said to Joshua, we are your servants. And Joshua said to them, who are you, and where do you come from? Well, they're going to skirt this question. You're not going to tell them. If he pressed it, they could have made up a whole bunch of places.

It doesn't get asked, and it should have been pressed. Verse 9, so they said to him, from a very far country, your servants have come, because of the name of Yahweh your God, for we have heard of his fame and all that he did in Egypt. Well, the Gibeonites, they knew how to pour it on.

They're pouring it on a little thick here. They knew the Jews, again, could not make treaties with inhabitants of the land. However, the Jews could make treaties with people outside the Promised Land.

It was not an uncommon practice then or now. You try to get along with your neighbors. And, well, he continues, because of the name of Yahweh your God, for we have heard of his fame and all that he did in Egypt. We're reminiscent of Rahab. We've all heard about what's been happening with you people.

I'm changing teams. And everybody else did not, and they perished. This answer would have impressed the Jews.

Yes, that's right. God has been working for us. Just about two weeks ago, I got an email. I think I've already let the cat out of the bag. I'm planning a trip to babysit Pastor Thomas Powell to the UK next year. And so I get this email inviting me to speak in London at some little church or conference. Now, I'm suspicious right away, but it's also flattering. It's like, yeah, you got the right guy. If you want somebody to come there and clean your clock, I'm him. But there was a little bit of that.

I can't lie in the pulpit. But anyway, I certainly did the investigation. It was a scam.

But just that moment of, yeah, okay, I could do this. And this is flattering. That's how scam artists work. One of the things they do, they flatter us. They make us feel good about them and ourselves at the same time. And just as human nature, that's what we can't lose sight of in this story or in our own lives. Just because we are spiritual people, walk by faith, not by sight, does not mean we're immaterial people.

We still have a body and we still are human. We have to make sure we strike that balance. And it is not that difficult to do if we pay attention.

It becomes very difficult if we start disregarding these facts. Well, these Gibeonites, they're not trying to scam Israel. They are fighting for survival. And that's a big difference between many people who scam churches today or other people. They're looking to enrich themselves. But the lessons are still available. Even though their motives are different, the tactics are the same.

And not in every single case, I wouldn't go that far as saying it, but in many of the cases they are. Verse 10, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to Sihon, king of Heshbon, to Og, king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. Therefore, our elders, verse 11, 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. As I said, it was customary for neighboring lands to enter into covenants with friendly people.

Oftentimes they do it by marriage. Well, in these two verses, we get a little bit more information about the Gibeonites that they had a lot of information about the Jews. They knew about their conquests on the other side, the east side of the Jordan. And the Jews were loving hearing this. They were being reminded of just how God was with them. I don't know that that was the intention of the Gibeonites. They were certainly trying to win the Jews and tell them they were familiar with them. But I don't know.

It doesn't matter. But at the same time, I know that the Jews were liking this. I would like this.

If a scam artist came up to the church door and I didn't know he was one, he says, I heard about Calvary Chapel mechanics. I love this place. The people here are great. Yes, you like it now. Oh, you missed the connection. All right. That's all right. It's late. But you would like to say, yeah, that's right. The people are here. Great.

I love this church too. And you would be good to be very careful when that was happening. Maybe there are, if I were speaking to a New York City congregation, I could say, I know there's a bunch of you that have been scammed.

Well, maybe there are some of you here that have been scammed. And you learned that one time. That's all you have to do. Verse 12, verse 12, this bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new. And see, they are torn. And these, our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey. I'm sorry.

I mean, Joshua should have said, wait a minute here. How far did you come from, Mars? I mean, how long does it take to wear them? We just got 40 years in the wilderness and didn't wear our sandal.

Where do you buy your shoes? Well, I mean, you read that and you just say, yeah, that's a bit much. I mean, I think the bread would have been long run out by the time, I don't know how long it takes to wear a wineskin, but I wouldn't think it would take, I think it would take a few years.

I don't know. But I know that they're pouring it on and Joshua looks and he says, yep, that's moldy bread, all right. That proves it. Well, no, it doesn't, Joshua.

The sting has got to be convincing and it is convincing. And again, we Christians are not to be like little children who will not learn from their parents. We are to learn from the scripture and pay attention to these things, painful or not. It was life or death, death for them. And verse 14, then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but they did not ask counsel of Yahweh. There it is. It's the whole story right there. You can lean on your own understanding at times when you, you know, again, what's for dinner?

What color socks to wear with an outfit? Lean on your own understanding. But when it comes to serious spiritual matters, serious matters of life, we are not to do it that way. Sight without spirit.

Of course, there is a way that seems right to man, but it's end is a way of death. Proverbs 14, 12. It says here, but they did not ask the counsel of Yahweh. Again, we're not judging them.

We're learning from them. David wrote it this way. He says, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and I shall be innocent of great transgression. So he says, God, I don't want to presume. I don't want to act without the authority of truth, being correct.

I do not want to get ahead of you or myself. The Lord's response at this point is simply, Joshua, you should have come to me and he doesn't. And maybe you have had someone in your life that you have been able to say that to on for you should have come to me.

You should have told me this rookie rookie rookie mistake for us to act without the Lord. Don't believe everything you think. You have to learn that, do we not? Because we can, we can come to a place where if we think it, it must be right. We must be correct. That's sometimes that's right. Sometimes it's not.

We cannot be trusted to know the truth without the Holy Spirit and his word and the context of events that we're facing here in this story. Now again, some resent being told this because they like flying by their feelings and they don't want to do the work and they certainly don't want, they don't like the feeling of having to say to someone, no, I'm not going to do that. No, I don't care if it's the last one. I'm not going to buy it. No, I don't care if the sale ends tomorrow.

Maybe I'll take it. No. Well, I'm trying to relate to these people, Lord, and it just is a wallop. They're resisting me. Anyway, Jude talks about those who just work by their feelings. He says, these are sensuous persons. Now, Jude's being, he's dealing not with just Christians who just go with their feelings and not with facts.

He's dealing with troublesome people too. And he says, these are sensuous persons who caused visions, not having the Spirit. So we look at that verse, we say, well, I'm not going to be a sensuous person. I have the Spirit and I will not cause these divisions and I will seek the Lord. Experience and instincts are not trustworthy enough for us to go forward without the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word together. Because if you just say, well, I'm going with the Lord, but what if you start applying yourself in a way that the Scripture is forbidden? The Scriptures don't do that. And so that's why we need the two.

God doesn't need the two. He's got it all together. What did Joshua have? What could he have done? Well, he had the priest. He had the lights and the perfection.

This was a serious issue. He should have gone to them. Again, not picking on Joshua. He's one of my heroes in the Bible. And Numbers 27, verse 21, this is Moses getting Joshua ready to be the leader. He shall stand before Eliezer 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 children of Israel with him, all the congregation. So Moses is saying, Joshua, I'm not leaving you alone here. You've got the resources.

You're going to have the resources. And in this case, he did not do it. I guess, you know, as humans go, if I put myself in his spot, I would say, well, this is a no-brainer. This is the bread, this is the shoes and all. It feels right. So they beat Jericho by discipline, marching according to their orders and time. It's patience.

That's from maturity. They beat Ai through self-examination and battle. If you're going to beat the devil, you're going to have to do it through dependence on the Lord in the spirit. 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. We go back up to verse 15 and there again we read, but they did not ask counsel of the Lord, so Joshua made peace. He made peace with the wrong people. And the only reason why they did not become a big problem is because they will be drawn into the house of God.

And we'll get to that at the end. But in verse 15, where Joshua made peace with them, another mistake we make is we tend to project. If I don't lie, then I'm not being, then he's probably not lying to me. If I don't steal, I'm probably not being stolen from. I think most of us tend to do that and we have to learn not to do that. There's something to it. It takes one to know one. Now, if you are someone who's frequently lying to other people, when you're being lied to, you probably pick up on it and resent it.

But, you know, imagine the look on the face of Joshua when he learns that he has been duped. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the book of Joshua. Cross Reference is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville in Virginia. If you're interested in more information about this ministry, please visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com.

You'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick available there. We also encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. By doing so, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. Just search for Cross Reference Radio in iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast app. You can also follow the links at crossreferenceradio.com. We're glad we were able to spend time with you today. Tune in next time to continue learning from the book of Joshua right here on Cross Reference Radio.