Joshua 9:14 "The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn't ask God about it." Joshua even made a covenant with them to guarantee their lives. But they were enemies who happened to live next door. "Never mistake the enemies in Canaan for only those things that are wrong in the world around you...your worst enemy is in you." (66 Love Letters). Wonder what was going on inside of Joshua's heart that he didn't ask God about it? Wonder what is going on in my heart this day where I might be ignoring God? Maybe a little disinterested. Maybe a little detached. But Joshua dealt with the fray of his heart and he came out fighting the right battles. I love Joshua 10:12 "The day God gave the Amorites up to Israel, Joshua spoke to God , with all Israel listening:
"Stop, Sun, over Gibeon;
Halt, Moon, over Aijalon Valley."
And Sun stopped,
Moon stood stock still
Until he defeated his enemies.
Joshua 10:14 - There's never been a day like that before or since—God took orders from a human voice! That's amazing! And Joshua "didn't leave incomplete one thing that God had commanded Moses." Here's an extremely deadline-driven hard worker but the story ends today with Joshua never being too busy anymore to follow and love his God.
"Stop, Sun, over Gibeon;
Halt, Moon, over Aijalon Valley."
And Sun stopped,
Moon stood stock still
Until he defeated his enemies.
Joshua 10:14 - There's never been a day like that before or since—
Those two things stood out for me today also:
ReplyDelete1. "But they didn't ask God about it." Evaluating things based on my own understanding, particularly something rather obvious and they got tricked by the enemy. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In ALL your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight."
2. Proof: " He did everything that God had told Moses. Then he parceled it out as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribes.
And Israel had rest from war."
With obedience comes God's blessings of a straight path, of peace.
I have not read today's section yet, but I have to tell you that I have been praying about a situation and when I looked at my dashboard and the blogs that I follow - your blog title was an answer. I love, love how God does that! So thank you for being used by God today.
ReplyDeleteI wonder too about Joshua. The episode with the Gibeonites seems so out-of-character for him. Why didn't it cross his mind to ask God since there was a very specific command by God to not make peace with anyone in Canaan? Was he at a point where he felt confident in his own leadership, even in his relationship with God?
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a warning to me, who easily falls back into self-reliance. If I don't continually acknowledge my utter dependence on God for everything, I start doing what I think is right.
On the other hand, I have been in a very difficult situation recently in which I did seek the Lord. His direction for our family was villified by others because by my evaluation, they were looking at the "evidence" and not seeking God.
I pray that I am never too busy to follow and love my God, as Bev pointed out.
"And Israel had rest from war."
ReplyDeleteLORD, strengthen my tender heart to battle against evil in my life. It is hard to visualize all this death and not see it as an act of purification needed in my own heart. Father, destroy pride in me. Destroy whole-heartedly fear. Put Your foot on the neck of my own greed and selfishness. Destroy carnality. Destroy my straddling the fence between wanting to be on Your side and yet clinging to my old side. Destroy any "god" in my life that comes before You. Give me a holy fear for You. Don't let me be too tender-hearted and let evil have a foothold on my life. I slam the door on that foothold! Oh, Lord, how I want to choose righteousness! How I want to gain back every inch of my inheritance! And, Father, I am so tired of these attacks. But I will not give up. I will stand by You, Commander of GOD's Army! I take my shoes off for this is Holy Ground...
The battle must be fought.
I thank You for the Victory I have in Christ.
In His Name.
Amen.
Praying for you, Deborah, this evening for the battle that brings peace. Love, Annette
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