Doing by Sight
or Asking for Counsel?
The
Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Joshua
9:14 (NIV)
I have a SUN Direct connection at home. Every
time I switch on my television there are number of advertisements which come
one after the other. The other day I saw an ad which said that there is a belt
which can reduce your tummy and we can become slim in 15 days. Last one year I have
put on a lot of weight. Extensive Travel and work didn’t give me time to work
out. But then this ad of Sauna belt was a great relief. The reason you don’t need
to take any extra time to work. By just wearing it while you travel you can
reduce your tummy was the assurance given by the company. I called on the
number and booked it. I got it in 5 days and started using it. It took me 25
days to realize that all this is faux.
What you see is not always what you get.
Have you ever purchased something on a whim, only to realize that what you
received was not all it was cracked to be? What is worse is making an
investment in something or someone, only to find out that you were cheated.
Joshua and the Israelites were tricked into thinking that what they saw exactly
was what they were getting. They trusted in their intellects, they relied on
their senses, and they acted without seeking God. The result was a bad
decision, as usual.
The Gibeonites heard that the Israelites
had destroyed Jericho and Ai, and they were afraid they would be next on the
conquered list. So the Gibeonites came up with a devious plan to deceive the
Israelites in order to ensure survival. The Gibeonites arrived at the camp of
the Israelites pretending to have journeyed from a faraway country, when they
were actually next-door neighbors. To add believability to their story, the
Gibeonites dressed in worn-out clothes, brought with them some
moldy bread, and carried old luggage. The Gibeonites must have been good actors
because Joshua and his leaders were taken in by their story and agreed to enter
into a peace treaty with them.
Imagine the Israelites’ surprise when then
they found out they had just been cheated. For some reason, Joshua and the
leadership team either did not feel the need to consult God, or the thought
just never entered their minds.
Some decisions in life can be made with
our own senses and intellect. For example, if the weather is wet and rainy,
prayer is not necessary to decide whether to take an umbrella when we leave
home. In these instances, your senses are right. But the danger is in thinking
that spiritual decisions can be made this way.
Before entering into any alliance—taking a
partner in life, going into business with another, yielding assent to any
proposition which involves confederation with others—be sure to ask counsel at
the mouth of the Lord. He will assuredly answer by an irresistible impulse—by
the voice of a friend; by a circumstance strange and unexpected; by a passage
of Scripture. He will choose His own messenger; but He will send a message.
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