Grounded in truth…..
Back in Deuteronomy 27, Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people –
When you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool on them. Build the altar of the Lord your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God. And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up. Deuteronomy 27:4-8
Now they have crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land, Joshua remembers this command and obeys it all to the letter.
He did exactly as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites.
He did exactly what was written in the Book of the Law of Moses.
Half the people stood on Mount Gerizim and half on Mount Ebal to deliver the blessings and the curses.
Every single word was read.
Every single person was present.
No corners cut.
Nothing overlooked.
Joshua knew how important it was to trust and obey.
To the letter.
And yet….
in the very next chapter…….
the Israelites fall for a ruse because they ‘did not enquire of the Lord’ (Joshua 9:14).
It’s a good ruse, I’ll give you that. A delegation of Gibeonites went to the Israelites with donkeys loaded with worn our sacks, old wineskins and mouldy bread. They wore worn out sandals and clothes. They gave the impression they had travelled from a distant land.
When we left home, these sacks and wineskins were new. Our bread was fresh. Our clothes were in good condition. Look at us now!
Joshua believed what he saw. He was taken in. He didn’t take a moment to step back and ‘enquire of the Lord’.
Instead, ‘Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live’ (v15)
And once a treaty has been made and has been ratified by oath, there is no going back.
The Israelites had been well and truly had.
Even when they find out that the Gibeonites are actually close neighbours, there is nothing they can do.
They cannot attack them. They cannot take their cities.
In the end, they decide to make the Gibeonites wood cutters and water carriers for the house of God.
That’s fine by them. It’s better than being wiped out, after all.
So on one day, Joshua does everything by the book.
And next we hear how he forgets to consult God and is duped.
It just shows how easy it is to get it wrong.
To let your guard down, to be distracted from what is right.
Here’s a little recent example. I was chatting to a teacher at school about how we intend to take Jordan and Nicola out of school for a day in June. We know that holiday can no longer be requested and granted in school time, but I wondered if there was a mechanism for giving the school a heads up about an unauthorised absence. Our kids are getting on well at school. They have a good attendance record. And Nicola has tickets to see Arianna Grande in Manchester on a Thursday night (which was her main Christmas present!). We decided one day off school was not the end of the world.
Anyway, back to the story. Guess what the teacher said? In front of Nicola.
Just say that she is ill. That would be easiest.
Really? Easiest maybe. But not right. I don’t lie. I don’t encourage my kids to lie.
It would have been easy to be lulled into thinking ‘well, if that’s what the teacher says is best……’, ‘I don’t want to cause complications or trouble….’, ‘if this is the easiest way, then so be it…..’, ‘it’s no big deal….’.
I will not be saying that she is ill. My radar was switched on. I was amazed a teacher would even suggest that in front of a student.
It’s just one small example of all the little things every day that can so easily distract us from what is right.
That’s why reading and celebrating and writing and remembering and speaking aloud God’s truths are so important.
Staying grounded in God’s teaching is the only way to flourish and grow and bear fruit and live life to the full.
