CHECK IT OUT
Text: Joshua 9:1-15
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.
15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
1. Directives (Josh. 9:1-15)
- A directive is an order or
God gave the nation of Israel a directive before crossing over into the Promised and concerning the pagan peoples that populated the land. (cf. Dt. 20:16)
Joshua and the leaders of Israel looked at the provisions of the Gibeonites and took it as proof as to who they were and that they (Israel) were doing what God had commanded them to do.
The bible says, they did not inquire of God, i.e. they didn’t check it out with God. If they had inquired of God they would have been informed that these people are actually their enemy. They are not a people to make peace with. Joshua and the people were not obeying the directive of the Lord. They were actually disobeying the directive of the Lord.
Lesson: We must constantly refer back to our compass, the Word of God, to make sure we’re heading in the right
2. Dreams (1 Chron. 17:1-12)
David had the dream of building a
Are our dreams in line with God’s will? Let’s inquire of God. Check it out!
3. Determinations (1 Chron. 21:1-8)
- Dreams are what we want to do and may be accomplished some time off in the future. Determinations are things we can do right now simply because we can.
- Determination is a good quality but it can be applied the wrong way, therefore we must inquire of God.
Have you ever been dead set determined to do something, and nothing was going to stop you? Did you do it and then think, “Oh, why did I do that?”
David determined to something. He was dead set on taking a census.
- What David didn’t understand at the time was that he was being provoked by
What should David have done? He should have inquired of God. He should checked it out with God.
Let’s take every determination before God and check it out.
4. Doubts (1 Chron. 14:8-12)
- Sometimes we have dreams. Sometimes we’re determined to do something. And sometimes we have doubts.
- When the Philistines came up to do battle with David, David wasn’t sure what to do, so he inquired of God. (v. 10)
The lesson: When in
When we don’t know what to do, should we do nothing? No. Do something - inquire of God. (cf. Phil. 4:6-7)
5. “Dunks” (1 Chron. 14:13-18)
Slam dunk is a term meaning a
vs. 13 – The Philistines came up for battle again. David could have thought this was a “slam dunk” and rushed right back into battle again. However, David inquired of God even about what appeared to be a “slam dunk,” and God gave him a