Bible in 90, Day 16: Sampling the provisions

Joshua 1-14

*image courtesy of sveini at www.sxc.hu

Well we’re into some exciting stuff now aren’t we?!  Flooding rivers drying up, cities crumbling, battles, executions, there’s all kinds of stuff going on!  In the midst of it all is a story that has always intrigued me.  In Joshua 9, the Gibeonites hear about what God had done through Israel.  Instead of rallying together for war like the other nations did, they decided to try and make peace.  But they made peace through a deception.  The Gibeonites sent a delegation dressed and loaded as though they had traveled from a far land to make a treaty with Israel.  The extent of their deception is remarkable, including their clothes, gear, and even their food rations!

And Israel fell for it.

Now, it’s no great sin to be duped.  However, the narrator makes a point to say that “the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.”  You see, Israel took stock of the situation.  They investigated.  The men of Israel interrogated the Gibeonite delegation.  They took a posture of suspicion, asking how they could know that the delegates were indeed from a far country.  Lastly, they sampled their provisions.  They got hands on and felt the cracks in the wineskins, saw the patches on the clothing, and smelled the mold on the bread.

And Israel fell for it.

They used all their wisdom, all their investigative wit, and all their collective deliberation skills.  The one thing they did not do is the one thing they should have done – they did not inquire of the Lord.  They had seen God’s direct intervention and manifestation in their lives.  Recall the Jordan drying up, Jericho falling, and let’s not forget the manna that had only recently ceased being their daily food!  And yet, they presumed to be able to handle this situation without God’s input at all!  More amazingly, they could have not only prayed and hoped for some leading of the Spirit of God, they could have gone to the High Priest and inquired of the Urim and Thumim as Joshua had been instructed (Numbers 27:15-23).  We don’t know exactly how the Urim and Thumim worked, but we know that Joshua had been instructed to use them to determine God’s will when needed.

Before we get to hard on Josh and Israelites, let’s look at the log in our own eye (Matthew 7:1-6).  How often do we approach a situation (whether it be crisis, a simple decision, or a question of deception) with much the same attitude?  We examine the evidence, weigh the options, create a benefits/cost analysis, and make our decision after merely sampling the provisions.  Shouldn’t we rather inquire of the Lord?  We chide Joshua for not using the Urim and Thumim to discern God’s will, and yet we ignore an even greater Source of guidance (John 16:13-14).  The very Spirit of the Living God indwells us, and yet we sample the provisions.  He stands ready to answer our questions, to guide us into all truth, and to shine the light of Christ into the darkness of sin, and yet we do not inquire of Him.

And we fall for it.

We follow the latest fad in Christianity, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We listen to anyone standing behind a pulpit, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We listen to the logic of boyfriends or girlfriends in the heat of the moment, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We talk about “what this passage means to me,” and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We debate about life and choice, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We follow the banner ads one click too many, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We buy into the culture of looks, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.  We leave our spouse and family, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.

We believe all the lies, and we don’t inquire of the Lord.

We sample the provisions, but we don’t inquire of the Lord.

Well I, for one, am done with it.  I will inquire of the Lord.  I will seek His kingdom and His righteousness above all else (Matthew 6:25-34).  I will examine the evidence, but only in light of the Truth (John 17:17, 14:6).  I will not believe the lies just because they seem logically sound.  I will not base my decisions on the half-truths offered as proof.

You can keep your bread, I’m not hungry anymore (John 6:25-40, esp. 35).