Rev. Don Campbell
Joshua 9-11
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, March 25, 2019
“SO LONG AS THE SUN SHINES AND THE GRASS GROW”
When Jericho and Ai had been captured by Joshua and his army, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites formed an allied army to fight Joshua and Israel (Joshua 9:1-2). In contrast, were the Gibeonites who acted with cunning to prevent their own destruction. They took worn-out sacks, torn wineskins, worn-out clothes, and dry crumbly provisions and went to Joshua and said, “We have come from a distant 9-country, so now make a covenant with us” (9:6).
When questioned as to their country of origin, they pointed to the fabricated evidence. The evidence was accepted at face value, so Joshua made peace with them and a covenant with them to let them live. The leaders of the congregation swore to them. Three days later, it was discovered that they were neighbors who lived among them. The people wanted to attack and destroy them, but the leaders said, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them” (Joshua 9:19). The situation was salvaged by making them perpetual servants to draw water and cut wood for the Israelites (Josh 9:21-27).
Fast forward some 450 years. There was a famine in the land for three years and David inquired of the Lord as to the cause. “And the Lord said, ‘There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death’” (2 Samuel 21:1). Covenants made in the name of God have no expiration date.
The problem could have been avoided had Joshua taken counsel of the Lord (Joshua 9:14). “Taking counsel of the Lord” meant more than praying. God had provided a way to ascertain the truth in doubtful matters such as this: “So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.’ And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses” (Numbers 27:18-23).
One might wonder why God didn’t just speak to Joshua and warn him. God had given them the means and expected them to use it rather than rely on their own judgment. God is not a modern helicopter parent, hovering over adult children to make sure life’s highway is smooth for them (Think “college admission’s scandal.”)
CONNECTIONS
1. The U. S. Government has made over 500 treaties with Native America tribes, almost all of which have been broken. The words “As long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the rain falls” were used to show the permanency of the treaties. “In 1868, the United States entered into the treaty with a collective of Native American bands historically known as the Sioux (Dakota, Lakota and Nakota) and Arapaho. The treaty established the Great Sioux Reservation, a large swath of lands west of the Missouri River. It also designated the Black Hills as “unceded Indian Territory” for the exclusive use of native peoples. But when gold was found in the Black Hills, the United States reneged on the agreement, redrawing the boundaries of the treaty, and confining the Sioux people—traditionally nomadic hunters—to a farming lifestyle on the reservation. It was a blatant abrogation that has been at the center of legal debate ever since” (Smithsonian.com). Almost always these treaties referenced “The Creator.” God sent a famine on Israel for violating a treaty made in his name. Will he do less for America?
2. David said that one of the characteristics of the person who can sojourn in the Lord’s tent and dwell on his holy hill is the man who “swears to his own hurt and does not change” (Psalm 15:4). Does this mean that if we have not sworn to something that we can go back on our word? What does James say about this (James 5:12)
