Make peace with God now by Rod Bayley, 26 August 2007, Joshua 9-10
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perhaps even a life threatening choice? A friend of mine went to the
Kiama blowhole a few years ago with a mate. His mate was a bit of a
daredevil. He suggested that they jump into the blowhole from the
rocks above. It's no problem he said, you just jump in when the water
comes up through the blow hole and it's just like jumping into a
pool. Well, my friend's mate soon jumped in as he said, and landed
safely in the water - no problem. He then egged on my friend to do it
- "come on, it's easy, you're not scared are you" - but my friend was
a bit unsure and was holding off. But feeling the pressure, he
finally decided to do it - he had seen his mate jump in successfully -
and it's only about a 5 or 10 metre drop.
Well he jumped, but his timing wasn't as good as his mates, and the
water was receding back through the blowhole as he landed. He landed
in very shallow water on his backside, and broke his tail bone!!!
There is not much you can do for a broken tail bone - he simply had to
wait for the bone to re-fuse, with the problem that every-time he sat
down, he could re-break it. He wasn't able to sit down for several
weeks without pain. But he was very lucky - the blowhole is
unpredictable, and jumping in is dangerous. In fact, several people
have died at the blowhole in the last few years. In 2000 a 20 year
old girl died, and in 1992 seven people from three Afghani families
died in one incident. The local Council has of course since put up
some fencing around it, but it can't stop people jumping in. If you
do a search on 'Kiama blowhole' as I did this week, you'll get two
Youtube videos come up of teenagers jumping in last December and this
January. See, our choices can keep us safe, or they can endanger our
lives. Serious consequences can follow wrong choices, such as when
you oppose nature. How much more dire are the consequences for
opposing the Creator of nature, of choosing to stand against God.
In our passage today we see that the Canaanite nations had a choice
which would have deadly consequences - they could choose to oppose
God, and his people Israel, and face certain judgment, certain death;
or seek peace. The question would be: "Whose side are you on?" In
verses 1 and 2, nearly all the Canaanite kings choose to oppose
Israel, God's chosen people who were being given the promised land.
They had heard about Israel's victories over Jericho and Ai, and so
they decide to unify their forces and oppose Israel and their powerful
God. Notice what verses 1 and 2 state:
"Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things -
those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the
entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the
Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) -
2they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel."
In contrast, in verses 3 to 6, the Gibeonites sought to make peace
with God's people, to sign a "treaty" which ultimately expressed their
fearful submission to God. And so we read in verse 6 that they went
to Joshua and said: "We have come from a distant country; make a
treaty with us." Although they used trickery to establish peace,
their motive in creating a treaty was to avoid facing destruction. It
was certainly self-preservation that drove them to lie, but there is a
true acknowledgment of God's powerful judgment as well; of their
desperate effort to make peace while they can. Notice in verses 9 and
10, that the Gibeonites rehearse Israel's previous victories in
escaping Egypt and defeating two kings on the eastern side of the
Jordan under Moses, and speak of "the fame of the LORD your God." We
also know from verse 3 that the Gibeonites were well aware of the more
recent fate of Jericho and Ai.
The account here is somewhat comical also, as the Israelites are
tricked. As well as its serious point, there are some amusing
elements. You can imagine the Israelites poking around in moldy
bread, and old wine, and holding conversations about the distance
these ambassadors must have traveled. Yet the sad fact is that they
were having the wool pulled over their eyes. Israel's failure at this
point is due to their lack of consultation with God. The writer makes
this clear in verse 14, when he states, that they "did not inquire of
the LORD." Perhaps in their over-confidence following the victories
over Jericho and Ai, they thought that they could work this situation
out for themselves. There is a dependence on their own wisdom, and it
led to them hastily agreeing to a treaty in verse 15.
The fact that their decision was based on their estimate of how far
these Gibeonites had come, makes it obvious that they were aware of
the danger of treaties with Canaanites. The Israelites had been told
long before under Moses, that the central nations in Canaan were to be
completely destroyed - while they could allow some nations on the
periphery to be spared, there could be no peace agreements with
specific groups. Deuteronomy 7:1-2 says: "When the LORD your God
brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out
before you many nations - the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites,
Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger
and stronger than you - and when the LORD your God has delivered them
over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them
totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy." This is
why the writer in Joshua clearly tells us in verse 7 that the people
of Gibeon are Hivites. This failure can't be taken as a mere breach
of protocol. The problem is deeper - there is a negligence that
betrays arrogance. It seems amazing after their initial failure at
Ai, but they had suddenly become overconfident again.
It happens so often in life doesn't it. In 1978 during a fireman's
strike in England, the British army took over emergency fire
fighting. On January 14 they were called out by an elderly lady in
south London to retrieve her cat. They arrived with impressive speed,
very cleverly and carefully rescued the cat, and were about to drive
away. But the lady was so grateful she invited the squad of heroes in
for tea. And so they accepted and had a great time enjoying her
hospitality and praise. Driving off later with fond farewells and the
waving of arms .... they ran over the cat and killed it. As the
saying goes, 'Pride comes before a fall.' Things are going well, and
overconfidence enters with disastrous results. We need to realise
that this is a constant battle in our own spiritual lives - that we
can so easily stray from prayerful dependence on God's grace, to doing
things in our strength. We must always remember that we are clay
jars, fragile vessels, and we'll be reminded of our weakness as we
keep coming back to the Cross.
Well in verse 16 of chapter 9, we see that it only took three days for
the Israelites to discover that they had been tricked and had failed
to obey God's word. How do they react to this situation? Well we see
in verse 18 that the Israelites were unhappy, and grumbled against
their leaders. You can imagine them saying things like, 'How could
you have signed this treaty - they're our neighbours just down the
road - what were you thinking?' We might perhaps have expected the
leaders to say, 'well they tricked us, so the treaty doesn't count,
lets attack them and wipe them out.' It certainly seems that the
people were wanting this sort of action. But it is made clear
throughout this second half of chapter 9, that you do not make a
treaty and make sworn oaths by "the LORD, the God of Israel"(v18a)
lightly - such an agreement cannot be annulled, or undone. And so in
verses 18 to 21 we see that Israel keeps its vow, its treaty with the
Gibeonites, despite their deception.
However, although the treaty cannot be undone, the deception is not
ignored, and the Gibeonites are still judged as a result of their
actions. In verse 21, the leaders state that the Gibeonites will
become servants of Israel, and gather wood and water. Joshua confirms
this in verse 22, and the ongoing fulfillment of this judgment is
given in verse 27.
Well in chapter 10, we return to the decision made by the other
Amorite kings to make war on Israel and oppose God's purposes. In
verses 1 to 5, we see five kings combine their forces to attack Gibeon
and teach them a lesson about their choice of allies, their decision
to make peace with Israel. The king of Jersualem was the ringleader
in verse 1, as this city was only 10 kilometres south of Gibeon, which
is why they were "very much alarmed" in verse 2. In verse 5 they have
taken action, and have seemingly been successful in creating a unified
opposition which would topple the city of Gibeon.
However, in verses 6 to 8, Israel is called to the aid of their new
treaty partner, and they respond swiftly in order to rescue the town
of Gibeon which is under siege. God was going to give them victory in
this battle, and they were not to fear this combined opposition. As
God had done in the defeats of Jericho and Ai, He announces victory
over Israel's enemies before the battle even commences. Notice that
verse 8 says: "The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I
have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to
withstand you."
This sets the scene for a monumental battle on the longest day in
history. In verses 9 to 15 the writer provides an overview of the
battle and Israel's decisive victory through God's power. After an
all-night march in verse 9, the Israelites take the Amorite kings by
surprise and God throws the opposition into confusion. Verse 10
records a summary of Israel's victory up front - the opposition is
routed and flees westward, only to be pursued by the Israelites in a
crushing victory. Notice that it is made clear throughout this
emphatic victory, that it is God who is defeating their enemies,
bringing His creation itself to bear upon the Amorite kings through
miraculous events. In verse 10, God throws the opposition into
confusion - in verse 11 "the LORD hurled large hailstones down on
them" - in verse 13 the daylight hours are lengthened to ensure the
victory is completed as "the sun stood still." The writer underlines
the fact that Israel was just the instrument of his judgment upon
these idol-worshipping Amorites. Verse 14 states, "Surely the LORD
was fighting for Israel." It's at this point that the Gibeonites
decision to make peace with God's people is seen to be the right
decision - they had chosen the winning side.
When Christine and I got married in 1996, it was the day before the
Rugby League Grand Final. We had stayed at Wollongong on our wedding
night but were flying out from Sydney on Grand final day, and had to
drive back through Campbelltown where our parents lived. My team, the
mighty Manly Sea Eagles were in the Grand final, and they were playing
my father-in-laws team, the St George Dragons. We decided that we
would drop into Christine's parents on the way to the airport, and
reached their place mid-way through the first half of the grand
final. As we pulled up, I thought, 'Perhaps this is a bad decision -
will I be on the winning side?' The question seemed all the more
crucial when we entered and found Chrstine's father had invited half
the street, who were all mad Dragons supporters, and had the game
playing through a data projector onto the lounge-room wall. However,
when the final siren went we had won - my decision to stand against
the tide had been vindicated. I may have lost sight of the damage it
might do to my relationship with my new father-in-law, but I was on
the winning team.
Well, the Gibeonites had decided to make peace with God through his
chosen nation Israel, and their decision was overwhelmingly
vindicated. In the second half of chapter 10, further details of the
battle are given. In particular, we hear about the fate of the five
Amorite kings. And what a stark contrast is created with regard to
their initial confidence in teaching Gibeon a lesson at the start of
the chapter. In the great flight of their armies from Israel, the
five kings hide in a cave, which Joshua hears about, and so their
refuge becomes their gaol. In verse 18, "large rocks" are rolled in
front of the cave and the cave guarded, while their armies are
pursued. In verse 25 Joshua drives home that this victory was God's
judgment, "This is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you are
going to fight."
Well, we have seen today two opposing options in the story of the
Gibeonites and the five Amorite kings. We can oppose God and face His
judgment, or seek peace with God while we can, before His judgment
overtakes us. We too have an opportunity to get right with God now,
but time will run out. 2 Peter 3 tells us that the end of the world
will come one day, unexpectedly and judgment will follow. The only
reason this world continues to turn is that God is patiently allowing
more time for people to be saved. 2 Pet 3:9-10 states: "He (God) is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come
to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The
heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by
fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." Peter
goes on to say in verses 14: "So then .... make every effort to be
found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him."
Well, what about you? Will you reject God's offer, and face death on
your own terms, or have you made peace with God? A true story has
been told by a Dr Edwards, a surgeon in Tennessee in the U.S., of a
patient of his, Blanche Bennet. Her husband had died, her two
children were giving her problems, finances were tight, and life was
very hard. She wasn't a Christian. One day she came to the doctor
with physical problems, and he diagnosed cancer with multiple organs
involved. No treatment was available given the advanced stage, and
she was very bitter. The doctor was a Christian who belonged to the
Gideon organisation that distributes bibles, and he wanted to talk
with her about the Lord Jesus, but she wouldn't allow him to share
with her. She did however, accept a small New Testament bible. A few
weeks later the doctor learned from the newspaper obituary that she
had died. He sent a card to the family, telling them he had donated
some bibles in her memory. The woman's daughter called him, asking
"Could you please send us a Bible like the ones you donated in memory
of our mother. We don't have a bible in our home. The last six days
she was alive, her whole life changed. She was no longer bitter, she
wasn't afraid to die, and she said something about knowing Jesus. But
she asked that her bible be buried in her hand, and we couldn't keep
it. Would you please send us a bible so that we can find what Mum
found in that book?" .... The doctor sent them a bible, and the
daughter, the son, and one sister made peace with God also.
Have you made peace with God? Have you placed your faith in Jesus,
trusting in Jesus' death on the Cross to pay for your sin and win you
forgiveness? Have you traded facing God's judgment, eternal separation
from God, for eternal life with God? The consequences for standing
opposed to God are great and he calls you to cross over to His side
today. In John 5:24, Jesus states that we can cross over and that the
ball is in our court: "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and
believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned -
he has crossed over from death to life." Please talk to somebody today
if you would like to know more.
But what if you have crossed over from death to life already? Then
you need to heed the failure of Israel in this episode and not move
from prayerful dependence on God's strength. Our danger is that we
can so easily shift to relying on our own strength, which is no
strength at all. We can't afford to take our eyes off the author and
perfecter of our faith, Jesus, for one moment. In Hebrews 4:14-16 the
write states: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has
gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to
the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is
unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been
tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. 16Let us
then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." This is
how we should continue - firmly holding to our faith, because we know
we have a high priest who can help us in our weakness and intercede
for us.