By Dean Kelly

One of the great men of the Bible is a man named Joshua. He had been second in command behind Moses as they wandered in the wilderness. 

Because of some mistakes in the life of Moses, he was not allowed to enter the promised land. Leading the people into the promised land was a responsibility given to Joshua after Moses died. But even a good man like Joshua could be fooled into making a mistake. 

In Joshua 9 we read of a group of people, the Gibeonites, who were residents in the land that God had commanded the Israelites to conquer. The Israelites were supposed to kill and drive out the inhabitants of the land that God intended for his people. The Gibeonites saw the destruction that the Israelites were bringing so they devised a plan. They pretended to be from a far away place. They had worn clothes, sandals and sacks, as well as moldy bread.

They came to Joshua and the Israelites as “ambassadors” of a very far off place. Joshua was fooled by them and made a covenant with them. That covenant was made before God, and the Israelites could not break it, even though they had been deceived. 

The worst part of it, however, is stated in verse 14, “Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but they did not ask counsel of the lord.”

As we live our lives, we need to look to God and ask His counsel. We need to go to His word and follow it to live the best life, and to spend eternity with Him in heaven. We need to pray and ask God for wisdom in all that we do, from the most mundane daily decisions to the major ones: who will I marry; what job will I pursue; how can I live my life for Him, etc.

If we have met Him at the cross in obedient faith, we can put our trust in Him, and we can approach Him for the wisdom we need (James 1:5). Please don’t make the same mistake Joshua made: always ask the counsel of the Lord!

Dean Kelly is minister at Highland Home Church of Christ.