Deal With It
Journey with Joshua • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 25 viewsNotes
Transcript
Introduction:
Last week we looked at the later part of Joshua Chapter 8. We talked about the importance of the altar & hopefully you took away from our time in worship that as Followers of Jesus Christ we should be taking all things to God. Praise, struggle, concern, triumph, defeat, confusion, celebrations, sin, thankfulness there is nothing that we should not take and lay at the feet of Jesus. You know who models this real well? Children. If you ever ask a child to pray you will hear everything from please help my sick puppy to I want to see my grandparent saved.
Children will run the gamut of their heart when it comes to prayer time. I came across some excerpts from prayer letters written by children to God and I want to share some of them with you this morning.
Dear God, Did you mean for the giraffe too look like that or was it an accident? - Norma
Dear God, Instead of letting people die and having to make new ones, why don¹t you just keep the ones you have now? - Jane
Dear God, Who draws the lines around the countries? - Nan
Dear God, I went to a wedding and they kissed right in church. Is that okay? - Neil
Dear God, Thank you for my baby brother, but what I prayed for was a puppy. - Joyce
“Dear Lord, thank you that we can come to church today and thank you that no one got their head crushed or lost their arm on the way here.
Dear God, Please send me a pony. I never asked for anything before. You can look it up. -Bruce
Dear God, I want to be just like my dad when I get big, but just not with so much hair all over. -Sam
Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love all the people in the world. There are only four people in my family and I can never do it. - Nan
Dear God, Of all the people who worked for you, I like Noah and David the best. -Rob
Dear God, If you watch me in church Sunday, I'll show you my new shoes. - Mickey
Dear God, We read that Thomas Edison made light. But in Sunday School, we learned that you did it. So I bet he stole your idea. - Donna
Dear God, I didn't think orange went with purple until I saw that sunset you made on Tuesday. That was cool! - Eugene
Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel wouldn't have killed each other if they had their own rooms. It works with my brother and me. - Larry
You know some of these sound too ridiculous to ever be taken seriously. Especially to be read during a Worship Service. But then I am reminded of the Words that Jesus spoke in the Gospel of Luke.
17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
You know maybe we should pay attention to the prayers of a child. This morning we will be reading in Joshua Chapter 9. This chapter gives us a glimpse of the fallout and consequences that occur when we do not take our situations & circumstances before the Lord.
1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. 3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the Lord thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. 14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
Let’s Pray
The title of the message this morning is, “Deal with It”.
Joshua 9 is an account of 2 groups of people. The 1st group we are going to label are the deceivers.
Dealing With Deceivers
Dealing With Deceivers
3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
The 1st point we can draw from God’s Word this morning is what it looks like when you are Dealing with Deceivers. In our text this morning, much like Rahab from Chapter 2, Gibeon had heard about the triumphs of Israel. While other nations were busy banding together in an effort to stand united against Joshua & Israel, Gibeon felt that a different approach might be more effective. Gibeon surmises that lying to Israel would result in them not being conquered.
Every single person in the house this morning has had to deal with deception. Rather you were the deceiver or the one being deceived. In our text this morning we can see how to deal with those who are dishonest with us . We also read how we personally can go on if we find ourselves in the position of the deceiver.
Doing a simple word study on deception or deceiver you will find plenty about it. Satan the greatest deceiver of them all for by his encouragement sin enter into this world.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Satan has people strategically placed to deceive consider
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
Along those same lines Jesus warned us of those who would come forth with prophecy & those who would teach whose purpose was to deceive.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
Often times it is simpler for us to identify the work of Satan, to discern those who preach & teach heresy, & to pinpoint those who are not serving with the right heart. But more often than we care to admit we can deceive ourselves.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Deception is more prevalent than we admit. But the deceitfulness displayed by the Gibeonites was next level. Look at the extent they went to lie to the people of Israel. They altered their appearance by wearing old & tattered clothing, they carried shabby belongings, & food that was stale which most of us would probably dispose of. But they did not just stop at how they looked.
You see the Gibeonites had the hustle down. They explained that they had come from a far off land so no doubt they would have been traveling for awhile. Just to make sure that their story lined up they mentioned the battles that Israel won prior to crossing the Jordan without a mention of Jericho or AI. Everything about their presentation seemed to be on the up & up.
I went to elementary school right up the road here at Trevilians. I remember when I was in 2nd or 3rd Grade the school librarian, Ms. Rayburn, pulled this book of the shelf. The book was this dull gray color, with strings hanging from its spine, and very small black font on the front. If you were browsing to look for a book you would have passed this one by because it lacked color, it was void of any enticing lettering on the front, there just seemed nothing special about it. Then Ms. Rayburn opened the book up and displayed these vibrant & beautiful pictures. Then what do you know, every kid wanted to check that book out. I learned the meaning of the cliche, “Don’t Judge a Book By the Cover”, on that day. God’s Word tells us something very similar in the Gospel of John.
24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
That righteous judgement means that we cannot allow our own opinions, personal disagreements, or personality clashes determine our judgement of a person. Rather we are to rely on God’s standards which is found in His Word. Long story short, see if the person & their life match up to God’s Word, only then will you gain true perspective. That means you have to take this to the Lord & and ask Him for understanding.
125 I am thy servant; give me understanding, That I may know thy testimonies.
Unfortunately for Israel they did not exercise righteous judgement. They did not seek God out for understanding.
14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
You have to seek God’s counsel to determine if you are being deceived & then on how to deal with the deceivers.
Dealing with Decisions
Dealing with Decisions
16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. 18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. 19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
I can remember my Dad sharing a the story with me of when he told my grandfather that he was going to marry my Mom. You see my Dad was 17 & my Mom was 18. They had decided that once my Dad turned 18 in December that they were going to be married. So, my Dad at 17 went to my grandfather to share the news. He said that my Grandfather did not appear angry, did tell him he was messing his life up, none of the things you would imagine a Father would say to their teenage son who said he was getting married. Dad said that my Grandfather looked at him and said when you make your bed, you have to lay in it. Less cryptically put you have to live with the decisions you make no matter the outcome or consequence rather good or bad.
The 2nd point we can get from God’s Word this morning is what its like Dealing With Decisions. As Edwin Blum & Trevin Wax comment, “...Joshua established peace with the Gibeonites demonstrates his own complicity in the actions. The reference to “peace” and the swearing of an oath by the leaders of the community bound Israel into a treaty relationship with the Gibeonites that could not be broken.”
How often do we make decisions & act upon those decision without taking it before the Lord. Then, how many times do we commit to those decisions to find out we have made a mistake. I do not believe there is a single person in here that can say they have never made a mistake that had a substantial impact to their life. We spend time in some cases agonizing on what is the right thing to do. There have been many hours of sleep lost, gatherings with others avoided, & needless worry all because we try to make decisions on our own. Henry Blackaby once said, “God doesn’t want people to do what they think is best: he wants them to do what he knows is best, and no amount of reasoning and intellectualizing will discover that.”
We are told in Joshua that the decision was made without counsel from God. Once the people realized that they had been deceived they now have to live with the decision that they made. Yet they were upset & felt that they still should attack these people. After all it was the Gibeonites who entered this agreement under false pretenses.
God’s Word even says that there was murmuring or grumbling amongst the people of Israel because they were frustrated with the agreement made. Blum & Wax comments, “The two references to the oath that the leaders had made surround the statement that the whole community grumbled against the leaders. The verb grumble and this refers elsewhere almost exclusively to the complaints of the Israelites against Moses’s leadership and against God. Its appearance here may suggest the same negative attitude of Israel as that in the wilderness generation. However, this grumbling against the leaders had a point because the present leadership did not seek God’s counsel, and they thereby foolishly bound Israel to a treaty with a Canaanite people group.”
Despite the grumbling & murmurings & the 2nd guessing of the people there is one thing that all of us should take away from this? No matter what takes place as a Follower of Jesus Christ you should always keep your word. By not keeping your word you dishonor God which is far worse then any other outcome.
That is why when it comes to entering into a business partnership, or choosing a spouse, choosing where to worship, choosing who you keep company with, should never be decided without going to Lord. Joshua did the right thing by honoring the commitment made to Gibeon. Why is it so important?
23 That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.
What you have promised to another person you have not just promised to them, but you have promised to God to.
Dealing with Disrepute
Dealing with Disrepute
21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. 22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? 23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. 24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. 26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. 27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.
You may recall that I said we are going to look at 2 groups. We have spent our time looking at God’s Word from Israel’s perspective. Looking at these scriptures as the one who has been deceived. But now let us look at this from the Gibeonite. They made the mistake of lying to Israel. They did this for personal gain & the hopes of self preservation. The 3rd thing we can take away from God’s Word is what its like when dealing with Disrepute.
According to the Oxford Dictionary disrepute means, “the state of being held in low esteem by the public”. You see after taking issue with the Gibeonites, Joshua explains that due to their deception they will be a cursed people. Joshua kept his word & the treaty that Israel made. However, he describes what their future would look like. They would always have a low status place in society as servants of Israel. Their contribution to Israel would be restricted to inferior work.
You see when we practice deceiving others it will most likely be found out. When that happens your reputation, your relationships, your word will all be negatively impacted. You see because of their lies the Gibeonites were at odds with Israel. We see this continued to the days of Saul. They were practically slave labor because of their actions. They had to deal with disrepute.
Conclusion:
So how does the Follower of Jesus Christ avoid deception? Its simple, by studying the truth. Preacher Brian La Croix told the story of how he heard that bank tellers are trained to be able to immediately spot counterfeit money. Curiosity was killing him so he decided to do some research which landed him on the United States’ Secret Service website.
He explained, “On the Secret Service website, you can learn how to spot counterfeit money. It tells you what the real stuff is supposed to look like and then some ideas of how the counterfeit [money] differs. The point of the web page is that if you know the real [money] well enough, you won’t be fooled by the fake [money]. It’s the same with knowing truth from falsehood.
The best way to spot & deal with deception is to be in tune with God. You do this by studying His Word, praying, & having a relationship where the Holy Spirit guides your every move.
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
This morning it is my hope that you have just that, the Spirit of truth dwelling within you that will guide you to truth & show you things to come. I hope that every one of us has the desire to be led by the Holy Spirit. Because when we do, no matter what we face it, we can most definitely be able to Deal with It. It does no matter if you are in the war of your life or if you have a simple question like the ones I shared of the kids at the time we started. Take it to Jesus.
Let’s Pray.
Hess, R. S. (2017). Joshua. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 334). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
