BEWARE OF THE GIBEONITES

Joshua 9

The incident recorded in Joshua chapter 9 makes for interesting reading.  The nation of Israel has crossed the Jordan River under Joshua’s command, and they have seen the walls of Jericho fall.  After dealing with Achan’s sin, the city of Ai fell as well.  Things were going well for them.  The people groups currently inhabiting the promised land were shaking in their boots.  The Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and all the other “ites” were trying to figure how they could possibly stand up in war against a nation that had God on its side.  The Gibeonites decided to try a unique defensive tactic, deception.  They sent an envoy dressed in travel worn clothes, and equipped them with old moldy bread and tired looking donkeys.  “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.”  (Joshua 9:9 NAS)  They were so convincing that Joshua and the leaders of Israel took their word at face value, and made a covenant of peace with them.  The reality was, however, that they lived just around the corner.  They were one of the nations that God had told Israel to destroy, Joshua could not go back on his word.  The Gibeonites were spared and became a thorn in Israel’s side - all because Joshua “did not ask for the counsel of the Lord”. (Joshua 9:14b NAS) 

I’m sure you haven’t encountered any more badly dressed men on tired donkeys with moldy bread lately than I have, but I am sure that you have found yourself in a situation where a decision had to be made.  As one of Jesus’ disciples every decision is an opportunity to be true follower, or to go it on our own.  Will we bring each matter in our lives before the Lord and ask for counsel, or will we like Israel rely on our own wisdom and judge by appearances?  For a true disciple there is only one course – let Jesus call the shots in our lives.  It’s not only what a Christ follower does, it’s the smart thing.  It may save us the pain of a Gibeonite thorn in the side!

SIMPLICITY AND PURITY OF DEVOTION TO CHRIST

But I am afraid… your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2 Cor.11:3)

            In the previous verse Paul refers to the Christians at Corinth as being a pure virgin that he has betrothed to Christ.  And what is required of a betrothed (engaged) woman - simplicity and purity of devotion.  It is going to be a long engagement, but what a wonderful wedding it will be when all of us who belong to Jesus are forever joined with Him, never to be separated again.  The marriage of the church, the bride of Christ, to Jesus is pictured in Revelation 21as a truly glorious event which will lead right into the creation of a new heavens and a new earth.

            However, in the mean time, Jesus waits with the expectant heart of a husband-to-be, and we wait with the expectant heart of a bride-to-be.  Yes, He has given us His Spirit as the comforter; yes, we have His Word; and yes, we have each other (sometimes a mixed blessing J).  But these are all part of a long distance relationship with Jesus.  What we really long for can’t be found on this earth, because He is not here. 

            So what does all this romantic talk about us and Jesus and a wedding have to do with following Him and being His disciples?  Everything.  Being a follower of Jesus can so easily become a matter of doing all the right things, and not doing all the wrong things.  I have found that even that precious time with Him in the mornings can easily lose its glow and become a matter of duty - what I need to read, and the list of things that I need to pray about.  Life has a way of getting complicated, and it isn’t long before what is truly important gets lost.  So I try to keep going back to what Paul said to the brothers and sisters at Corinth.  I keep reminding myself that being a follower of Jesus is first, foremost, and always a matter of simplicity and purity of devotion to Him.

JUST GIVE ME JESUS

I love the words to that old spiritual:

In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus

Give me Jesus, give me Jesus, you can have all this world

Just give me Jesus

However, in the morning when I rise, in addition to Jesus I would add one thing - a cup of medium roast Starbucks coffee.  I like it best freshly ground and pressed, not filtered.  As I’m fond of saying, Jesus deserves my best, and without the coffee, He won’t get it.  But back to the song, it truly captures the heart beat of what it means to be Jesus’ disciple.  We follow Him, because we want to be with Him. 

For me that starts about 15 minutes after I leave the covers.  I make my bed, put on some old clothes, quietly walk to the kitchen so as to not wake Barb, and boil water for my coffee.  I then make my way into the living room to my recliner (we have his and her recliners), pull out my Bible, and open it.  I don’t have to read too many verses, and it doesn’t matter if they are in Leviticus or Matthew, He is there.  The Bible is His Word, a living Word, and as many times as I’ve read through it, it continues to be the voice of my Jesus to me.  Just yesterday I was reading in Psalms, “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” (Ps.5.3 ESV)  I see three parts to this verse that describe my morning times with Jesus.  Firstly, He hears my voice as I pour out my concerns:  a problem at work I’m trying to solve, a difficult person I’m trying to get along with, a decision I need to make, and nearly every day, God’s blessing and protection for my wife and family.  But the joy of being with Jesus goes beyond knowing He hears and cares about all that concerns me.  The sacrifice part of this verse regularly becomes part of our time together taking shape as an offering of worship.  How can I not be grateful for sin forgiven, for eternal life, for His loving care and protection, and for the grace and peace that are mine each day in Christ?  Then there is the third part, watching.  Watching is the quiet in my quiet time, those moments when my attention is actively fixed on Jesus, but I’m not talking or worshipping, I’m just focused on Him.  Often in the quiet He speaks to me.  That still small voice that brings direction or understanding. 

What I do may not work for you, so find your own place and time.  Just don’t miss what truly is more valuable than all the world has to offer – just being with Jesus.

A JOYOUS NEW BEGINNING

And as Jesus passed on from there; He saw a man, called Matthew, sitting in the tax office; and He said to him, “Follow Me!”  And he rose, and followed Him. (Mat.9:9)

            As recorded in the book of Matthew four fishermen have been called by Jesus to follow Him up to this point.  Now He asks Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him.  In the very next verse we see Jesus and His disciples over for dinner at Matthew’s house.  It is a joyous, even raucous occasion.  Matthew celebrates his decision to follow Jesus, by inviting all his friends over for an evening with Jesus.  And his friends are an interesting lot – other tax collectors and “sinners”.  The Pharisees, the religious crowd, are not happy.  How can Jesus possibly associate with people like that.  But Jesus tells them, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mat.9:13)  The message is clear.  It does not matter where we start, who we are, or what we’ve done.  What matters is that we make a clean break from the past, and that we give ourselves completely to a new beginning as a Jesus' disciple.

            The Pharisees were not the only ones bothered by the celebration following Mathew’s decision to become Jesus’ disciple.  John the Baptist’s disciples come to Jesus and ask why His disciples don’t fast.  It is a bit more subtle, but this is another spiritual push back.  Jesus’ brand of religion just doesn’t fit the norm.  It seems that John’s disciples thought that Jesus and His followers should be fasting (like them) and not feasting and enjoying themselves.  Jesus, however, does not give in.  Instead, He puts things in perspective with two parables.  Verse sixteen contains the first, and it is a negative one, an example of what not to do.  Don’t put a patch of new cloth on an old garment, because when it is washed, it will shrink and make a bigger tear.  The point is clear in this context.  To be Jesus disciple we have to start fresh, completely fresh, and throw out all our old religious ideas and practices.  The second parable in verse seventeen makes the same point from the positive side.  When making wine use a fresh, new wineskin, because an old one will lack the elasticity to withstand the fermentation process.  It will break, the wine will be spilled, and the skin will be ruined.  It is the same message.  Following Jesus, truly becoming His disciple, is not a matter of patching up our lives a bit here and there to make them look better, it is a matter of making a completely new beginning.  The price is high, but like Matthew, it is a decision worth celebrating.