Tag Joshua

Don’t Be Duped by the Enemies Ruse

Allen Frederick 4 Comments

“The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD” (Joshua 9:14).

The Israelites Leaving EgyptWhen Joshua and the Israelites entered the Promised Land, they fought many battles. In fact, they fought 39 battles in the Promised Land compared to only two in their exodus from Egypt. God instructed them to wipe out all their enemies completely.The very reason God was giving the land to the Israelites was because of the sin of these nations Israel was to now occupy. God said he was going to drive out all the inhabitants of this land because they had a long history of sin against God. God had instructed Joshua to not make any compromises with these people because God had rejected them and wanted them defeated not befriended.

The more battles the Israelites won under the direction of God and Joshua, the more their reputation preceded them as they entered new territories. The enemies knew they were toast if they came against the Israelites. The enemies knew God was marching with the Israelites and their demise was eminent. Success was on the side of the Israelites.

Such was the case when Joshua and the people came into the land where the Gibeonites lived. The Gibeonites knew they were as good as dead if they didn’t do something. So, they dressed up in old, worn clothes and posed as foreigners passing through. They asked Joshua and the people to make a peace treaty with them.  They pretended to be wanderers from a far off country and was seeking refuge among the Israelites. The feigned to be interested in working with their opposition to infiltrate the opposing camp and then work from within to weaken the Israelite’s resolve,

The scriptures tell us that Joshua and the people made a treaty with them because they did not inquire of God about these people. They assumed what they said was true. The leadership along with the people made a fatal mistake by not seeking out the true intentions of those who were seeking to make a treaty with them. They did not inquire of God to see what the TRUTH was behind the Gibeonites actions. They took them at their word, they trusted that they were being truthful, they trusted the Gibeonites had pure intentions.

They were wrong!

They had been deceived. They now had to pay the consequences. Those consequences resulted in having to work to avoid cross-tribal marriages while they had to make an entire people their slaves. This was something God never intended them to have to do. The relationship was a source of compromise for the Israelites that made them susceptible to future compromises. Trying to keep the infestation contained to only the Gibeonites was next to impossible since the enemy was now living within their own ranks. This day-to-day contact with the opposition weakened the Israelites position since now they had to constantly monitor their own ranks to watch for compromise among the ranks and file.

This initial compromise weakened the position of the entire nation because now their message was no longer pure and their mission was now distorted. How could they drive out and defeat the remaining enemies of the land after having made a COMPROMISE deal with one group? How could they justify continued annihilation of the remaining occupants of the land while they had in their own ranks survivors of that culture?

Thus is the problem with making deals with those who are opposed to your viewpoints or way of life. If the Gibeonites were honorable people they would have begged for mercy based on their TRUE IDENTITIES and admit their true intentions and offer to change their position and embrace the beliefs and pursue the same purpose as the Israelites. But they did not do that, they pretended to be someone they were not to play upon the mercy of the Israelites. They tricked them into believing they were not the enemy but were somehow mistreated by others and were seeking the sympathy of the Israelites.

We see this RUSE today in our own country as foreigners move in among us pretending to be victims of some injustice in other parts of the world. These modern-day Gibeonites play upon America’s compassion to help those who are less fortunate, but these folks have no intentions of conforming to the American way of life, nor adopt the American traditions and customs, instead they adhere to their own identities and infiltrate our institutions to corrupt them and get them to compromise and gradually accept the foreigner’s world view and agendas.  This weakens the county.

Israel today is being asked to COMPROMISE with an occupying force the Palestinians while the Palestinians have no intentions on compromising their position or intentions. They are intent on eliminating Israel and taking over the country for themselves. Therefore it would be a fool’s errand to make a treaty with these enemies of the state. And yet that is exactly what they are being asked to do. And that is exactly what the enemies of the American way of life want us to do as well.

Let us not make the same mistake Joshua made, instead let us inquire of God and seek out the TRUE identities and intentions of these strangers among us.

That is the way I see it! What say you?

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Redeeming Time: Tick tock goes the eternal clock

Allen Frederick 6 Comments

Insight for your “Journey across the Sky”
A View from the Nest www.eagleviews.org

At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, “Sun, stand still at Gibeon, and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation took vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord obeyed the voice of a man, for the Lord fought for Israel. Josh 10:12-14 (ESV)

Take care then how you are living, not as unwise, but as wise; Making good use of the time, because the days are evil. Eph 5:15-16 (BBE)

The Big Ben, London, view from across the Thames.
Image via Wikipedia

“There is an old tale of a village that bought a fancy tower clock. Some time after it was installed, a visitor to the town discovered that all the people were sleeping during the day and working at night. When he questioned them about this, they answered, “We have the most unique town in America. After we got our new clock, we began to notice that the sun kept rising earlier and earlier every morning. Finally the daytime hours were dark and the night hours were light. We are petitioning the President for special recognition as the only town in America with such a situation.”

As it turned out, of course, the new clock had been running slower and slower, all because sparrows were roosting inside it. The people allowed themselves to be controlled by this manmade device. The tyranny of the clock robs us of our enjoyment of life and sometimes makes us tyrants over others. Daily hassles become the norm “Hurry or we’ll be late! You’ve only got five minutes!” Is this the abundant life Christ offers?” Ruth Ann Ridley, “Learning to Live in the Limits,” Discipleship Journal (Jan/Feb 1983)

ImageTomorrow  night we turn our clocks ahead to accommodate Daylight saving time. I really do not fully understand why we mess with the clocks. I mean does the sun follow our foolish attempts at regulating time? Are our attempts to elongate our lives

Spring Forward The Annual madness of daylight saving time
The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time

changed by manipulating a clock? I mean- for real. Does our changing of the clocks have any affect on life at all? I know this for sure, when the clocks spring ahead one hour I sure could use the hour I lost sleeping. In the fall it is not so bad because turning them back an hour affords me an additional hour to sleep. I am well aware of the fact that there are more important things in life than sleeping, but it still does not change my point. I see no real benefit, nor detriment, to just leave the clocks alone and go with the flow. In fact some reporter somewhere, says the time we waste setting all our clocks back and forth has an adverse effect on the economy. I do not know about all that, but I sure do know it has an adverse effect on my body when it does not get enough rest. Can we not get along just fine by leaving the clocks alone? But what do I know, I do not get paid big bucks to make major life decisions so I will just turn my clock back and forth and deal with it.

Daylight saving time may not be a big deal but time is marching on. No attempts on our part can stop the clock totally. One could argue that Daylight saving time is a biblical mandate considering God made the sun stand still for one whole day after Joshua prayed. Now that my friends is real daylight savings time. At that time in Israeli history the Amorites gathered to

Changing to Daylight Saving Time and Other Absurdities in Life. A Collection of McHumor Cartoons
Changing to Daylight Saving Time and Other Absurdities in Life. A Collection of McHumor Cartoons

battle Gibeon which had made a peace treaty with Joshua. Coming to their rescue, Joshua prayed that the daylight would not falter until they were able to defeat the enemy. God honored that prayer. Our feeble attempts to replicate that miracle, results in, well, nothing really changing. We may feel better because we adjusted our clocks but in the end, time still marches on.

I do not know about you but my internal clock gets all mixed up during the spring ahead- fall back cycle. I no sooner get all set with the time shift in the fall then I have to readjust my eternal clock to the new time shift in the spring. Back and forth I go, resetting the old internal clock. Getting regulated to know just when it is time to arise from sleep and get about the day’s business. This constant setting and resetting seems to be more bother than it is worth. I fail to see any real benefit to all this time shifting.

“No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows. Matt 24:36 (GW)

“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. Matt 24:42 (GW)

As bothersome as it may be to readjust my internal clock, there is a more important clock ticking. God’s eternal clock measures how much time

Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time
The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time

remains until the end. At the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when asked when the end time would come, Jesus answered and said that no one knows that day or hour. He went on to say that you must be ready at all times because you do not know when it will be. God is surely keeping track of all things going on upon the earth. He is watching as the eternal clock is approaching the midnight hour. He and He alone is able to reset the clock to advance the time or delay His coming, but in no way do we have any control over the only clock that matters. Some of us may fall asleep before that time comes. Some of us reading this article may still be alive when He returns but all of us need to be ready, for we do not know when that time will be.

So, last night I reset my clock to give me an additional hour of sunlight this evening. If I am still around come fall I shall advance the clock an hour forward to regain the hour I lost. Perhaps I should pray like Joshua prayed, that time would just stand still until everyone had a chance to get saved. I think that may be something worth fighting for. Don’t you think? Resetting that clock may be of more importance than saving an hour of daylight.

Tick tock goes the eternal clock, Will you be ready when the alarm sounds?

But those who are waiting for the Lord will have new strength; they will get wings like eagles: running, they will not be tired, and walking, they will have no weariness. Isaiah 40:31 (BBE)

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