Joshua 9:14-21: a reflection

14The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from the LORD’s mouth. 15Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live. The princes of the congregation swore to them. 16At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they lived among them. 17The children of Israel traveled and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18The children of Israel didn’t strike them, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. All the congregation murmured against the princes. 19But all the princes said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Now therefore we may not touch them. 20We will do this to them, and let them live; lest wrath be on us, because of the oath which we swore to them.” 21The princes said to them, “Let them live.” So they became wood cutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the princes had spoken to them.

The Gibeonites, fearing Israel, come in disguise, pretending to be travelers from a far country, and trick Israel into a treaty. And the passage names the root of Israel's mistake in a single telling phrase: the men sampled their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. They relied on their own assessment, examined the evidence before them, and made their decision, all without seeking God's guidance; and so they were deceived. Their error began in not consulting God.

Notice where Israel's mistake began: they did not ask counsel from the LORD. They were not lazy or careless; they examined the Gibeonites' provisions, weighed the evidence, made a reasoned decision. But they left God out of it, relying on their own assessment without seeking his guidance; and their own assessment was deceived. The root of their error was not a lack of effort, but a failure to consult God before deciding.

That failure is one we can easily share, for we often make our decisions on our own assessment, without seeking God's guidance. We examine the evidence, weigh the options, reason it out, and decide, all without asking God; and our own assessment, however careful, can be deceived, missing what we could not see. But God sees what we cannot, and offers guidance to those who seek it. Do not make your important decisions on your own assessment alone, without seeking God's counsel; Israel's careful reasoning was deceived because they did not ask counsel from the LORD. Seek God's guidance before you decide, rather than relying only on your own assessment of the evidence, however careful. Ask counsel from the LORD, who sees what you cannot, before making your decisions; do not leave him out, as Israel left him out, relying only on your own reasoning, and so be deceived. Consult God before deciding, and let his guidance, not only your own assessment, direct your choices.

Lord, the Gibeonites tricked Israel into a treaty by disguise, and the passage names the root of Israel's mistake: they sampled their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD; they relied on their own assessment, without seeking your guidance, and so were deceived. Show me where their mistake began: not in a lack of effort, but in a failure to consult you before deciding. That failure I can easily share, for I often make my decisions on my own assessment, without seeking your guidance. I examine the evidence, weigh the options, reason it out, and decide, all without asking you; and my own assessment, however careful, can be deceived, missing what I could not see. But you see what I cannot, and offer guidance to those who seek it. Keep me from making my important decisions on my own assessment alone, without seeking your counsel; Israel's careful reasoning was deceived because they did not ask counsel from you. Help me seek your guidance before I decide, rather than relying only on my own assessment of the evidence, however careful. Help me ask counsel from you, who see what I cannot, before making my decisions, Lord; keep me from leaving you out, as Israel left you out, and so being deceived. Help me consult you before deciding.