Joshua - Inquire

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The Battle of Midway in June of 1942 (picture) was one of the most important naval battles in world history and a turning point in the Second World War. Between June 4 and June 7 of 1942, aircraft from the aircraft carriers USS Enterprise, USS Yorktown, and the USS Hornet ambushed and sank the Imperial Japanese Navy’s carrier force, that only six months before had attacked Pearl Harbor and terrorized the Pacific. The Battle of Midway is important to memorialize and remember for many reasons. Among these reasons is that it is an inexhaustible source of still-relevant lessons on how to successfully apply intelligence at all levels of war.

The article continues.

At the root of the American victory at Midway was U.S. Navy intelligence successfully breaking Japanese codes and discovering the Japanese Navy’s plans to attack Midway Atoll.

Station Hypo was the team of U.S. signals intelligence (SIGINT) analysts led by then-Commander Joseph Rochefort. Immediately after Pearl Harbor, Station Hypo began attempting to decode messages transmitted using the Japanese Navy Code or JN-25 code. By late April, Rochefort’s team assessed that the Japanese were planning major operations against the central Pacific and Aleutian Islands. In a famous trick, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Chester Nimitz approved a ruse proposed by Rochefort that saw the American garrison at Midway send a fake message “in the clear” (or.. on open channels) regarding broken water evaporator units on the island. Almost immediately afterward, American listening posts intercepted Japanese transmissions mentioning the water shortage and the need to bring along extra water to support the operation. The identity of the Japanese objective was conclusively determined as Midway.

In his memoirs , Pacific Fleet Intelligence Officer Lieutenant Commander Edwin “Eddie” Layton stated:

Summarizing all my data, I told Nimitz that the carriers would probably attack on the morning of 4 June, from the northwest on a nearing of 325 degrees. They could be sighted at about 175 miles from Midway at around 0700 local time.

On the morning of the battle, as the initial American reports sighting the Japanese force began to trickle in, Nimitz remarked to Layton with a smile, “well, you were only five minutes, five degrees, and five miles out.” Layton’s assessment allowed Nimitz to take a “calculated risk” by devoting three of his precious aircraft carriers (still scarce at that stage of the war) to the battle, and ultimately claim a decisive victory in what we now call the turning point in the war.

You see church, I realize not all of us are history buffs this morning, and that’s okay. But what I want us to realize is this, that inside, vital information… has a way of helping us make the right decisions in life. It leads to victory in war, insight in business, success in academics and a has implications in a host of other ways`… and yet… all to often… we fail to go to the right source.

Interestingly enough, Americans will spend 13.2 billion dollars in 2022 alone self-help books. People reading all kinds of books not to mention all the online articles, magazines, talk show hosts, and a host of other things all looking for direction and insight in life. None of which are necessarily bad…

But church, when things get shaky in life, Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Dr. Seuss won’t cut it…. Only Jesus will.

You see, I don’t know where you are this morning… What anxieties your facing, what financial challenge you have, what problem is on your mind, what battle your facing… but this morning, we serve a God that is for us,whose desire is to give us victory in battle, wisdom in life, and peace…. If we’ll simply go to Him and Inquire what is best. You see, so often we’re quick to say prayers. We pray, we talk, and tell God what we need or want… and yet, how often do we listen? Church, this morning, God has much to say to you… if you’ll make yourself available to inquire of Him and then listen to what he has to say.

If you have your bibles, turn with me to the book of Joshua 9. And as your turning there, we have 2 points that and I want us to see that as we inquire of God 3 things happen in our lives. 1. Inquiring of God leads to Holiness. 2. Inquiring of God leads to peace.

1. Inquiring of God leads to Holiness

If you have your bibles, turn with me to Joshua 9 this morning. And as your turning there I want to just briefly paint that scene that we uncover this morning. First, we see that Israel has been massively successful since entering the Holy land. Under Joshua’s leadership, Israel has crossed the Jordan River, they’ve defeated Jericho, and AI, they’ve seen God do great victories among them. And then… we get to this point in Chapter 9, where they make a fatal mistake.

Joshua 9:1-14 1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded[a] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?” 8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.” 14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.

As we stop and consider the text for a moment, I want us to notice several different things. The first thing that we notice is this, these mighty kings have gathered together as one to take down the Israelites. That is except for one people, the Gibeonites. Rather than attack, Israel, The gibeonites, or Hivites resort to a ruse. Or trickery. (By the way when we see this word Ruse in vs 5. - same word used of Satan in Genesis 3:1 where we’re told the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.

We then notice that these Gibeonites, state that they have come from this distant land, and they left, and all the bread was warm, but now it’s moldy, the wineskins were new and now they’re cracked and even their clothes and sandals are worn out from this long journey. And so, the bible tells us that the Israelites sampled their provision, and they believed the lie. We say, well what’s the problem.

Well, there’s a major, the problem is the Israelites don’t inquire of God; they don’t see what God has to say about it.

You say, okay well, what’s the problem with that. And aside from the major implications that they should be going to God as he’s the one leading the way. The biggest problem is that they leaveopen doors to sin in their lives.

You see it’s funny, in Joshua 8 after defeating AI, Israel renews its covenant at Mount Ebal. Joshua 8:34tells us 34 Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

Well, what does the law say? (look into what law covers.) Well after the 10 commandments in Deuteronomy 5, we quickly get to this point 2 chapters later in Deuteronomy 7. Where Joshua would have read.

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[b] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

I want us to turn back to the second part of verse 2 for a second. What does it say. 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Don’t make a treaty with them, show them no mercy. Why? Verse 4 “they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,” verse 6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”

We fast-forward to Joshua 7.

“14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.”

Church, God had given them the warning. Joshua had even just read this warning at Mount Ebal, but just a few days go by and they’re making this treaty with the gibeonites.

How could they be so blind this morning? Church, we look at this lesson this morning and say, “man it was right in front of them!” “it was so obvious” “how could they possibly miss the elephant in the room?”

And listen…. They failed to miss the warning. Because as verse 14 tells us 14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. And in so doing, they left their lives open for the enemy to come in.

You see I think of my daughter Harper this morning, many of you know harper and how sweet she is, she also really likes art and loves soccer. But one thing that you may not know about Harper is that if anything can go wrong medically with Harper, it will go wrong. But this past week, Harper had allergy testing done at the children’s hospital in Columbus, and if you’ve ever seen this practice done before they come by with these rubber-like devices with small, little needles on the end of them and they apply a number of allergens to your back.

Well wouldn’t you know about 1 minute after application, harpers doing this little shuffle with her shoulders, and if that was music in the room, she could just have about tried out for Americas got talent with her little dance she’s doing. But come to find out, Harper has an allergies to a lot of stuff…

And here’s the problem, we just got 2 little kittens, and guess what… she’s allergic to cats.

But here’s the key, as her Father, I know the cats love my little girl, they want to come into her room… but the door has to stayed closed because they’re harmful to my daughter…

Church this morning, if we’re not careful, we will open doors to the enemy… that not only affect us and our lives, but also our family, our sons, our daughters and the future… You see God had commanded them to be Holy, to be set apart, and yet… because they didn’t inquire of God, they were tricked. They left room for the enemy to come in and deceive them... and in time, as you know, later in scripture… it would be the idols of neighboring people that would be Israel’s downfall.

You see in verse 14 we’re told14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.

The word inquire here in Hebrew means mouth, and here’s the point, the Israelites failed to ask God to speak… into the situation…, and in so doing they opened doors for themselves, and their sons and daughters to be affected by outside influences. And affected by in.

Church this morning, in our own lives, we have to go to God. We have to pray. The enemy would love to come in through doors in our life. He would love to ruse or trick us, we must pray.

2. Inquiring of God leads to peace

14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. 16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So, the leaders’ promise to them was kept.

It's interesting, at the time. Much like today’s alliance with Nato and other nations, Israel would sign this treaty of Peace. But here’s the problem… when they signed this treaty of peace. They couldn’t make peace with the enemy. And in so doing, they opened room for the whole assembly to grumble against the leaders.

You see, when we look at the word Grumble: It means to lodge, to stop over, or spend the night. And what’s interesting is the Israelites were looking for peace, and yet when they opened the door for the enemy to come in… the very peace they were looking for was the opposite of what they got.

You see chapter 10 explains, and we won’t read the scripture together, but after the neighboring kings found out that the Gibeonites had formed an alliance with the Israelites, these kings would come up and attack Gibeon… and in so doing, Israel was sworn to defend the Gibeonites. the bible tells us 6 The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

Here’s the point… by not inquiring of the Lord… even though they have this “treaty of peace” they now face the opposite of peace. There’s Grumbling within the community 2. There’s a personal frustration with themselves and 3. They’re literally in a war. And listen, it was avoidable.

You see you can think you’re making the right decision in life… you have this picture-perfect idea of what things will look like… and then you realize that the deal of a lifetime wasn’t the right deal after all... You see it reminds me of a neighbor feud in It's Schenectady's New York, in this story, a modern version of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s has turned one neighborhood into a community eyesore.

CBS 6 the local station who covered the story learned that the feud between the neighbors had been going on for 10 years, and it started with a battle over property lines.

The neighbors involved wouldn't do an interview, but one talked off camera and explained. The feud was reignited about a month ago when the neighbor in the blue house started throwing peanuts to squirrels over the fence. That prompted the neighbor in the yellow house to put up a ‘Danger! No Peanuts, Food Allergies’ sign, because he says his relative has peanut allergies. The other neighbor responded by putting up the ‘Worst Neighbor Ever Lives (arrowing pointing there)’ sign. Then came the wall of tarps and those ‘Slow Down’ soldiers. The yellow house neighbor claims police have been called here more than 70 times due to the back and forth which he said included one physical scuffle.

You see church, here’s the point. God knows what’s best for our lives. God knew the Levitical priests had to go and stand in the Jordan river for the waters to stop flowing upstream, God knew the Israelites had to march around Jericho over the course of 7 days before the walls would come tumbling down, God knew that the best way to attack the city of Ai was by setting an ambush. And God knows what’s best for you. Even when things don’t make sense. But do we go to Him?

Philippians 4 tells us: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So church, I don’t know what season of life you’re in, what battles you’re facing or what mountains you have to climb. But I do know that God desires is peace for your life. The shalom peace of God, that many times doesn’t make sense, is what God offers to us… but we have to pray… and listen to what he tells us to do.

I’m going to call Lisa back forward at this time.

And as she comes forward, I want to just draw our attention back to Joshua 9. You see the beautiful thing about the God we serve is his grace that he extends to us this morning. You see we think of Rahab earlier in Joshua, who you may recall is even in the lineage of Jesus. And the beautiful part about the scripture we read this morning, is that God can take our mistakes and make a masterpiece out of it. You see, in the case of the Gibeonites, we see this beautiful idea that even in the Old Testament, God had a concern for both Israel, the Jew and the gentile.

22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So, we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”

26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.

You see the beauty this morning, is that somehow in their failure of Going to God. God still uses their choices to work good. This covenant between the Gibeonites and Israelites. As servants at the altar, the Gibeonites were not rejected by God. Instead, they joined the worshipping community before God.

26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.Gal 3:26-29

Church, my prayer is that we will go to the Lord in prayer. That in our seasons that we face, in times of questions and needing direction, in making decisions that we would put Christ first, that we would ask direction of Him. But I’m also encouraged that we have a God who is for us. That somehow, God can use our choices, and turn a mess into a masterpiece.

You see, that’s all of our stories this morning. There’s who we were before Christ. And yet, who we are in Christ this morning. There’s the ugliness of sin, but the beauty of redemption. There’s the fear before Christ, and the faith that only comes through him. And yet this morning, he desires relationship. He desires for you to go to him and abide. Dwell in him.

So, as we close, I would just ask as I often do… what is God saying to you this morning? Are you inquiring of the Lord? Are you spending time with Him? Are you committed to the Lord this morning and are you going to Him in prayer?

1 peter 5:6-7 And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand 7 by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.

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