Jos 9

To read this in Vietnamese, please click here.

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Sincerity in Deception...

I. Click here to READ Joshua 9 first.

II. One thing the Bible teaches (the people of Gibeon fabricated a story to deceive the Israelites' leadership to enter a covenant with them to save their lives. When Joshua asked about their background...)

9 They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord your God; for we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt, 10 and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth.

III. Reflection

* Questions: What was right and what was not right in the response of the Gibeon to Joshua?

IV. Application

Dear Lord God, I thank You for showing me the sincere part of the Gibeonites' deception. They heard about the fame of the Lord and all that He did for His people in Egypt and on the way to the Promised Land through the wilderness. All these were true. Also true was the desire on their part to have a peace treaty with the Israelites to save their lives from the impending conflict. I am sorry, Lord, for hastily discounting the whole thing as a big deception just because of the initial falsification of the Gibeonites out of fear. I thank You, Lord Jesus, for taking me to this point to remind me that I must "think no evil"  (1 Co 13:4-5). Please help me today to take precautions in life, but, at the same time, to think no evil of people. May this be evidence of my loving people in the community, especially in the community of faith. Please help me, Lord. Amen

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Note: If you want to reflect on other books and chapters of the Bible, click here.

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