Evening Sermon

November 11, 2007

The error of walking by sight

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Steve Green, who sang six years with Bill and Gloria Gaither, tells about getting to know some of the work crews in the large auditoriums where their concerts were held. The Gaithers prefer concerts in the round, which means extra work for the "riggers", who walk the four-inch rafter beams--often a hundred feet above the concrete floor--to hang sound speakers and spotlights. For such work, understandably, they are very well paid.

"The fellows I talked to weren't bothered by the sight of looking down a hundred feet," says Green. "What they didn't like, they said, were jobs in buildings that had false ceilings--acoustical tile slung just a couple of feet below the rafters. They were still high in the air, and if they slipped, their weight would smash right through the flimsy tile. But seeing those false ceilings, their minds seemed to play tricks on them, lulling them into carelessness."

Such is the deception that Satan uses in our lives. Satan's business is not so much in scaring us to death as persuading us that the danger of a spiritual fall is minimal. In Joshua 9, the nation of Israel was deceived. Their example is extremely valuable for us, for this chapter provides a very appropriate warning for us. It is a warning regarding the danger of deceit and deception.

The warning begins in a straightforward and obvious way.

I. BEWARE OF THE DECEITFULNESS OF GOD'S ENEMIES. The Gibeonites show us what deceitfulness is all about. v.4 The NIV puts it well, "They resorted to a ruse." "They worked craftily." They acted with guile, deception.

So what is a ruse, or a wile? It is a trick, a deceitful attempt to mislead someone else. It means to be crafty, tricky. It also means to be skillful, which is a good thing when the skill is used correctly. But what it means here is the skill to effectively deceive Joshua and the Israelites.

I learned all about that when I worked as a prison chaplain, for I knew many men who were very skillful in deception. I knew what it is to expose and resist that deception, and I knew how it felt to be had. At times, I certainly was the victim of deception by some very skillful inmates.

The Gibeonites were brilliant in their deception, and so we must also be warned from their example, because it is always true that,

A. God's enemies will imitate the ways of Satan. The craftiness of God's enemies is a skill learned from the master deceiver, Satan himself. Satan's whole approach is one of deception. And it has always been so.

Gen. 3:1 "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" ?There is it. The same Hebrew word. Translated cunning. But why was this so crafty? Because it was subtle. Satan cleverly raises a doubt in the minds of Adam and Eve. Did God really say that? They were forced to defend God, they were put on the defensive.

Satan, in the form of that serpent, continued his crafty temptation: Gen. 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

And it worked. Gen. 3:6 "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate."

God's enemies, which here includes the Gibeonites, simply imitate Satan. v.1-6

The motivation was fear. The resulting action? Lies. Deception. A shrewd and clever plan. Since they came from a far place, Joshua wasn't obligated to put them under the ban, and completely destroy them. They came in an attempt to save their own lives.

And as they talked with Joshua more and more, they had to lie more and more. v.12-13

Deception will always produce more deception. One lie will always produce another lie. It is just the nature of the beast. And it comes from the devil.

Jesus challenged many people during his life, but perhaps none quite so directly as the hypocritical and deception self-righteous Jews to whom he spoke in John 8.

John 8:37 "I know that you are Abraham's descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 "I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father." 39 They answered and said to Him, "Abraham is our father." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 "But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father--God." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 "Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

Let me repeat Jesus' words in black and white. These words are universally true, this is absolute truth. Lying is the language of the devil. Deception is the work of the devil. And we need to be warned, because God's enemies will imitate their father, the devil. God's enemies will use deception to reach their goal. And one of the reasons that they do that is because,

B. God's enemies will recognize, but not honor, God's authority. Many of God's enemies will recognize his authority. Many will recognize his power and even his sovereignty. But they won't submit to it wholeheartedly. They won't honor that authority. Instead, they try to overcome it.

That is certainly the case for the Gibeonites. Their motivation wasn't all bad. They know God was powerful. They just didn't want to die. v.8-11

Sometimes, flattery will get you everywhere! For the Gibeonites, it got them the covenant of peace they desired. v.15

But they were found out, and they were confronted with their deceitfulness, and their answer revealed that they did indeed recognized God's authority. They just couldn't submit to it willingly. v.22,24

To their credit, at this point they offered no excuses, and no further deception. v.25

These verses ought to warn us, because we, too, are easily deceived. We, too, are easily deceived by the wiles of the devil. And that deception begins in our minds.

Paul writes with a deep burden for the church at Corinth. 2Cor. 11:2 "For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it!"

A similar burden for the church in Thessalonica. 1Thes. 3:5 "For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain."

And God's work on this earth won't be completed until that tempter is finally, and eternally put to death. And that will happen:

Rev. 12:9 "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down."

How easily we are led astray by the tempter when our minds are not filled with God's word. How easily we are led astray when we fail to discern the deceitfulness of God's enemies. And so this warning is so very appropriate:

Eph. 6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

My friends, perhaps the greatest deception that Satan could ever bring is the failure to recognize that we are involved in a spiritual battle. And if you fail to realize that your whole life is a spiritual battle, then you will be complacent, and you will be lazy, satisfied with a certain external form of religion that demonstrates no real power to change your life. And Satan will leave you alone. And he will deceive you into thinking that you are living in peace.

So know your enemy. And know his strategy. Beware of the deceitfulness of Satan. Beware of the deceitfulness of all of God's enemies. And a second warning,

II. BEWARE OF THE DANGER OF MAKING CARELESS VOWS. Joshua' real error was agreeing to this covenant with the Gibeonites. v.15

It was a careless vow. It was rash, quick, and un-thought-out. Joshua himself had reservations about the people, and but didn't react with caution. v.7

What was the error? The error of walking by sight.

The Scriptures warn us about that error many times, perhaps never so clearly as in: Prov. 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

Such a significant verse. Lean not on your own understanding. For if you do depend on your own understanding, you will find yourself making the same error as Joshua. You will make careless vows and promises. You will make a commitment or an agreement, only to find out later that it was a very unwise thing to do.

Many people enter marriage with very little idea of what they are doing, and with very little idea of the level of commitment they have made. Many people enter marriage carelessly, and many make unwise decisions. Some people join the church carelessly, or accept responsibility or leadership carelessly, and make unwise decisions, ending up hurting people greatly. Sometimes it is a job commitment, or some other life changing decision. We lean upon our own understanding, and we fail.

So how can we avoid this error? There is a very obvious answer demonstrated in this story, an answer revealed by something that Joshua did not do.

v.14

Despite the initial concerns, Joshua and the other leaders did not inquire of the Lord, they did not seek the Lord's counsel. They did not pray about this decision. They just looked at the food, saw that it was old and dry, and drew their own conclusions. The message for us is clear.

A. To avoid error, you must continually ask God for wisdom. Before you make a decision, before you make a commitment, pray.

How often do you pray before making a large purchase or spending a lot of money? Do you pray before you buy a house, or before you buy a car? Or before you make an investment? Do you pray before making a commitment or a promise? Do you pray before signing a contract?

If we would avoid error, we must continually ask God for wisdom. You will find that that will drive salesmen crazy, especially car salesman. The world says, "Buy now." The key to effective sales and the key to effective advertising is the appeal to our impulsive nature of making decisions. Salesman don't want you to walk out the door in order to think about a purchase, because they assume they will never see you again. So they push to close the sale. So does Satan.

If you want to avoid the deception of the devil, then stop, think, and pray. You must continually ask God for wisdom.

I expect that most of us could identify a very foolish decision that we made quickly, a decision made without before we took the time and effort to pray. You are looking for trouble when you do that, and you are opening the door to the dangers of the deceitfulness of Satan.

Joshua made a terrible error of judgment because he failed to pray first. May we beware of that danger.

Let me mention one other way to avoid the danger of making careless vows, described by Jesus himself.

Matt. 5:33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' 34 "But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 "nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 "Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

Understand to whom Jesus is speaking. He is confronting the false teachers and the false teaching that came when the OT law was misunderstood and misapplied. Jesus is not contradicting the OT law in this chapter, rather he is explaining it and even expanding its application. Here, he says, let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. In other words,

B. To avoid error, you must maintain our integrity. Jesus is saying, don't take careless vows. Don't swear by heaven or by earth, which, by the way, we do all the time, swearing "in heaven's name" or ask a question in the form of, "Why on earth did you do that?"

Jesus says don't swear by anything that is part of creation. That is perfectly consistent with Biblical law. Oaths and vows, when taken, ought to be taken only in God's name. And God himself even takes oaths in his own name. But Jesus says in Matthew 5, that in the normal course of daily life, don't even take vows. Just maintain your integrity. Say what you mean, and mean what you say. If you make a promise, keep it. If you say you will do something, do it. If you make a commitment, fulfill it. If you accept an obligation, meet it. Let your yes be yes and your no, no.

The one word I have chosen to define this idea is integrity. For a Christian, your integrity ought to be one of your most important values. Your character matters. Your good name.

Thus from the wisdom of, Prov. 10:9 "He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known." And, Prov. 11:3 "The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them."

Why don't we talk more today about integrity and character. Why are even Christian leaders seemingly unconcerned about their integrity? Why isn't integrity a significant part of the education of our children? Well, it must be, for personal integrity is an essential part of true Biblical Christianity. Let your yes be yes and your no, no. And, as a final warning from this passage,

III. BEWARE OF THE TEMPTATION TO BREAK YOUR WORD. It is a terrible sin to break your word. It is a terrible sin to violate the integrity of your word. It is a terrible sin to fail to keep your promises and to fulfill your obligations. Joshua certainly shows us that,

A. You are obligated to keep your word at all costs. Joshua may have sinned when he made a careless promise to these Gibeonites, but he certainly didn't sin again by breaking that promise. Joshua knew that two wrongs don't make a right. And how often have we heard that.

Once that covenant with the Gibeonites was made, Joshua was obligated to keep it. Once the promises were given, even though they were given under false pretenses, they had to be honored. Anything else would have been a sin deserving God's wrath and justice. That shows just how much value God places upon our integrity.

v.16-20 The people grumbled, but the leaders held their ground. For them, this was an issue of character, and they would not fail. And they did not fail.

v.20-21a, v.26

This is a dramatic story. Don't pass lightly over it's significance. We are obligated to keep our word at all costs. It doesn't matter what the other person does. We must maintain our character. In this regard, the church of Jesus Christ faces two opposite dangers today. The first danger are the people who make promises and commitments, and fail to live up to them. Certainly the church of Jesus Christ suffers because there are people who have made commitments and are not living up to them. As do many marriages.

But the church suffers from an opposite danger, too. Many would listen to me up to this point, and then decide that, in order to avoid breaking their word, they simply won't make any promises or any commitments. I hear many times, from many people, these words: "I'll try my best, but I won't promise anything." Or, "I'll do what I can, but I won't make any commitment."

In our day, we fear commitment because we fear responsibility. And then we measure our obligations by our own feelings and pleasure. Indeed, commitment is a dirty word today.

But the Scripture doesn't give us the option of avoiding our responsibility. The Scripture calls us to commitment, the commitment of keeping our word and fulfilling our obligations.

Let Joshua's faithfulness to his word be a shining example for you. Beware of the temptation to break your word. There is one further lesson to be gained from this story, and that is that,

B. Keeping your word is necessary to promote God's purposes. Remember, God is sovereign. God works out all things according to the purpose of his will. And one of the reasons that God calls us to keep our word is because that is the way in which he brings about his purposes.

He had a purpose for the Gibeonites. Despite their sin of deception, they were allowed to live. But they didn't get off free. They had to bear the responsibility for their sin, which they did willingly.

They became slaves, the lowest of all the slaves, performing menial labors unfit even for other slaves. v.21,23 v.25-27

Let me end by reminding you what happened to the Gibeonites. First of all, Israel kept its word. The Gibeonites were allowed to live. Nearly 400 years later, Saul attempted to break this covenant, and the nation of Israel was disciplined by the Lord. The Lord brought a famine.

2Sam. 21:1 "Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites." 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah."

There had to be justice and restitution. 2Sam. 21:3 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?" 4 And the Gibeonites said to him, "We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us." So he said, "Whatever you say, I will do for you." 5 Then they answered the king, "As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, 6 "let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose." And the king said, "I will give them."

For their part, the Gibeonites also remained faithful. They never betrayed Israel by joining forces with the other Canaanite nations. They remained faithful servants of Israel, working near the altar. And, in time, they became part of the people of God. In fact, when Nehemiah returned to Israel after the exile, he returned with some of the Gibeonites. According to the book of Nehemiah, the Gibeonites helped in the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem, and remained part of the remnant of God's faithful people.

The point? God accomplishes his purposes through our obedience. You might think to yourself, "The Gibeonites were deceitful, and they didn't deserve to be protected. Joshua should have looked out for his own people, and not be as concerned about the Gibeonites."

But that isn't God's way. God's way is for his people to keep their word, whatever the cost.

Beloved, beware of the deceitfulness of God's enemies. Beware of the danger of making careless vows. And beware of the temptation to break your word. Instead,

Eph. 6:10 "...be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

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