The Gibeonite Mistake

April 14, 2017

It doesn't take much for a leader to make a bad decision that can affect people for years. The tragedy is, that for a Christian leader, it doesn’t have to be this way.

Joshua found this out the hard way. He and his leaders were having great success as they conquered the enemies in the Promised Land.

They were so successful that the Gibeonites knew they would be next. So, they deceived them by putting on old clothes, going to the Israelites and telling them they came from a far land and wanted to strike a covenant of peace. Israel made a deadly decision which allowed the Gibeonites to become a thorn in their side for decades.

THE FATAL STEP

""So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord."" (Joshua 9:14)

God was waiting and would have exposed this lie if the Israelites had just taken time to ask Him. They assumed that things were fine and underestimated their enemy.

A leader can't afford to assume anything. He is charged with the responsibility to oversee his home and all those entrusted to his care. It is a serious and sacred task.

God has made Himself accessible to any leader who will take the time to listen to Him. He has given us His Word, His Spirit, and His church as a three-fold means of discovering His will.

He will give the leader excellent direction if asked. Not only are the lives of people, but also God’s glory is at stake.

Are you making some assumptions right now? Headed into a place of blind defeat, simply because you are not asking for the counsel of the Lord?

Also in Graceful Truth

A NEAR SIX-DECADE TESTIMONY OF THE VALUE AND JOY OF SIMPLY READING THE BIBLE EVERY DAY

January 01, 2025

So this morning, January 1, 2025, I rise early once again. I will enter into the throne room before the Father, because the Son has made a way for me to come into this “grace in which I now stand.” I will open the Word God has written and preserved for me so I could have it in my hands. I will ask the precious Holy Spirit to teach me, showing me things which “eye has not seen and ear has not heard” that have been prepared for me. And I will have the glorious privilege, once again, of communing with God.