Counterfeits! Text: Joshua 9:1-27 Series: The Venture and Victory of Faith [Book of Joshua, #8] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl April 26, 2015

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1 Counterfeits! Text: Joshua 9:1-27 Series: The Venture and Victory of Faith [Book of Joshua, #8] Pastor Lyle L. Wahl April 26, 2015 Theme: Always seek and rely on God s guidance. Introduction Counterfeit! Counterfeits! When we hear the word counterfeit we often think of money, fake money. But there are many other kinds of counterfeits. In 2009 Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for the largest single-person ponzi scam in which he stole $65 billion from investors. 1 There are countless kinds of telephone scams. and social media scams such as the well-known and still successful Nigerian letter scams. False Facebook friend request scams. Online user reviews that are faked. All of us can be victims of counterfeits. Joshua chapter 9 records Israel meeting some counterfeits and being deceived. They had just put their house in order after Achan s sin and the defeat at Ai. God then gave them victory at Ai and they renewed their relationship with Him. But right after this they were deceived a deception that had long term consequences. Why? Verse 14 tells us they were deceived because they did not ask for the counsel of the LORD. The positive point of this is that God s people are to always seek and rely on His guidance. This applies to all areas of life. It is vital to the everyday spiritual battle we are in because Satan and his forces attack with fraud as well as force. As we walk through Israel s experience of being taken in by counterfeits, let s learn how not to be deceived by always seeking and relying on God s guidance. The Gibeonites deception. Chapter 9 opens with a group of city states in Canaan taking a united stand to fight together against Israel. But the account shifts to Gibeon in verse 3. Gibeon was located southwest of Ai and northwest of Jerusalem. The Gibeonites had their own strategy for dealing with Israel, which was to deceive them.

2 Why use deceit? After their deceit was exposed, Joshua asked them, Why have you deceived us? They told him, verse 24, Because it was certainly told your servants that the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you; therefore we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. They had heard about God s command that Israel could not make peace treaties with any people who were in Canaan. 2 The Gibeonites motive was to save themselves. They decided it would be better to live under the rule of Israel than be dead. It was the opposite of the Cold War era phrase, Better dead than red, that is, better to die than to live under Communist rule. The Gibeonites knew about Israel s victories east of the Jordan, crossing the Jordan and annihilating Jericho and Ai. There was no fight to the last man thinking here. Knowing Israel was not allowed to make a treaty with them no matter what they offered, they decided to run a con, a scam to deceive Israel and save their lives. So what was their scam? Let s walk through the major parts of their plan. Their scam, like all good scams, was built on some facts. The Gibeonites started with a full measure of facts. They knew what Israel had accomplished. Back in chapter 2 Rahab told the spies that Israel s escape from Egypt and victory over the people east of the Jordan River was common knowledge (v. 10). Chapter 5 tells us that the Canaanites heard of Israel s miraculous crossing of the Jordan River (v. 1). They also knew of the victory at Jericho, and chapter 6 notes that Joshua s fame was in all the land (v. 27). Now here in chapter 9, verse 1 tells us all of Canaan had heard of Israel s victory at Ai. The Gibeonites knew what Israel had done, that they did it following God s orders and that they would probably be the next target because they were close to Ai. Verses 19 and 20 point to the Gibeonites having some understanding of the sacredness of any oath Israel made in God s name. So, if they could con them into making peace Israel would not, could not kill them. So they could safely say, verse 25, we are in your hands; do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us. The Gibeonites had done their homework. Their scheme was based on a full measure of facts. We need to remember that Satan and his forces do their homework and know the facts. Satan was aware of God s command to Adam and Eve about the one tree in the garden. James tells us the demons believe, and shudder (2:10). Satan s forces know Scripture, they know our nature, they know God s power, they know God s final victory and their own final defeat and punishment. They use and distort the facts in their attempts to defeat and destroy people. 2

3 Then the Gibeonites blended in a generous amount of lies. Look at the description beginning in verse 3. When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, they also acted craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled. They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us. (v. 3-6) They were crafty. A form of this word is used in Genesis 3:1, Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. They carefully prepared their props to make it look like they had come a great distance over a long time. When asked, Who are you and where do you come from? they simply said from a very far country (v. 8-9), then immediately slid into praising Israel and its God: We came because of the fame of the LORD your God. That deception and lie of omission worked. Joshua did not follow up by asking them to be more specific. They went on to add to the story, pointing out the evidence of dry and crumbling bread, torn wineskins, worn out clothes, all because of their very long journey, which actually was only a few days. In your daily spiritual battles always remember, as Jesus told us, that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. 3 Remember that Scripture tells us the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, that he disguises himself as an angel of light, that false teachers disguise themselves as servants of righteousness and apostles of Christ. 4 So, always seek and rely on God s guidance based on the truth of Scripture to test and unmask lies and deceit. And then the final touch. The Gibeonites topped it off with a subtle appeal to pride. Look again at what they said to Joshua and the other leaders. Verse 6, We have come from a far country, and, verse 9, from a very far country. We ve come all this way to see you! And, also in verse 9, we are your servants. The appeal was subtle because on the surface they said they came because of the fame of the LORD your God. They were stroking the egos of Israel s leaders. And it worked. The leaders let their guard down and were deceived. Satan used the same strategy of appealing to pride with Eve in the garden. God knows that if you eat this fruit you will be like Him. Think of it you will be like God! Think of how great that will be, how great you are! 3

4 Satan and his forces still appeal to pride to deceive. You re really not that bad, in fact look at all those other people you are better than they are! Or, You deserve a break. You ve done a lot of good and right things. A little diversion isn t that big a deal. The Israelites being deceived. Now let s move from the Gibeonites and their deception to Joshua and the other leaders being deceived. Even though they blew it here, they did some things right. Look at the initial conversation again. Joshua and the other leaders were not so naive as to take the Gibeonites claim that they came from a far country at face value. Look at verse 7. The men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we make a covenant with you? The Gibeonites did not give a straight answer. Verse 8. But they said to Joshua, We are your servants. So Joshua put a direct question to them, Who are you and where do you come from? Then, after the Gibeonites spun their tale, we read in verse 14, So the men of Israel took some of their provisions. They took a closer look at the dry and crumbling bread, cracked wine skins, worn out clothes and sacks. They did an up-close inspection. Paul instructed us to test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good (NLT). 5 His immediate reference was to spiritual teaching and experiences, but it applies across the board. Test, examine everything carefully. That brings us to what Israel s leaders did that was wrong. Joshua s objective description tells us what He and the rest of the leaders did wrong. Look at the last part of verse 14. They did not ask for the counsel of the LORD. Trusting in their own observations and wisdom, verse 15 tells us, Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. This was an important matter. Yet they did not look to God, pray for His wisdom and guidance. Joshua did not follow God s instruction for finding His direction, which was that he was to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will use the Urim one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord to determine his will (NLT). 6 They did not look to God, seek and rely on His counsel. What an important lesson for us! Always seek and rely on God s guidance. After all, God tells us through King David, I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. 7 Through King Solomon He says, Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways 4

5 acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. 8 Through James He assures us, But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 9 Question: Have you looked to God and asked Him for direction today? Did you do that consistently in the last week? Can you spot times in the last week where you went ahead without seeking and relying on God s guidance? One of the tests of truly trusting God is consistently seeking and relying on His guidance. The Israelites living with the consequences. The scheme worked. Israel made a binding treaty with them. Three days later they heard the Gibeonites were neighbors, living in Canaan. They went to the Gibeonite cities and verified the reports. Now what? They had been deceived. They made a bad decision. How should they respond? How do you live with the consequences of a bad decision? Should they tear up the treaty that was based on fraud and destroy the four towns? What about the treaty being sealed by an oath to God? The leaders response teaches us two important lessons. First, they openly and honestly told the people what they had done. The people were not happy campers when they heard that their leaders would not attack and destroy the Gibeonites. Verse 18 tells us the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. Does that sound familiar? Three days after God delivered Israel from Egypt crossing the Red Sea on dry land and not finding any water, they finally found some. But it was not drinkable. We read, So the people grumbled at Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 10 God made the water drinkable but then they became hungry and grumbled against Moses and Aaron about not having food. 11 God provided for their hunger with the daily miracle of manna. But, later when they were out of water again, they returned to grumbling against Moses. 12 Joshua and the rest of the leaders did not respond to the grumbling and pressure by rationalizing their mistake. They openly and honestly explained the situation. Go to verse 19. 5

6 We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them (NIV). When we make a bad decision, we can compound it by trying to cover it up or rationalize why it wasn t our fault. Instead, we should admit to ourselves what we did and that it was wrong, and then be open and honest with others who are affected by it. Another important lesson is to keep true to God despite the personal cost. The leaders protected God s name at the cost of their own. They told the people, We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now (19, NIV). You see, they knew using God s name in the oath to seal the treaties with the Gibeonites meant they had to keep that treaty. They knew keeping the oath was more important than keeping their own popularity or support. The third commandment is You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 13 Today we may think of it mostly as swearing using God s name, but it was and is much broader than that. Just as it is critical to keep vows or promises we make to God, so it is important to keep what we say in God s name. 14 The leaders also limited the damage of these people with their man-made detestable religion by making them servants. Joshua and the leaders made them Israel s servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water (ESV). 15 Earlier the Gibeonites identified themselves as your servants, 16 and that is what they became. Over 900 years later when Nehemiah led the rebuilding of Jerusalem s walls the work crews included Gibeonites alongside the Israelis. 17 But in making them servants they also placed these deceivers and their descendants in a position where they could learn about God. Drop down to verse 27. But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day (ESV). Wherever the place of worship and sacrifice was in those early days in the land, and then later in Jerusalem at the Tabernacle and then the Temple, the Gibeonites were there serving and seeing Israel worship God. The Gibeonites now were protected and were not to be destroyed. Because of the oath, God now was their Protector. Over 400 years later King Saul killed some of the Gibeonites and planned to exterminate all of them. Later, in the latter part of King David s reign, God sent a famine for three years. God told David, It is for Saul and his bloody house, because 6

7 he put the Gibeonites to death. David made sure that atonement was made and the treaty of Joshua was honored. 18 So when we blow it, when we make a bad or foolish decision it is important to keep true to God despite the cost that might have to ourselves. Conclusion. Always seek and rely on God s guidance. As we wrap this up, there is an important application that may not have crossed your mind. The writer of the book Almost Christian tells us that many people are passing on a self-serving, imposter faith to our children. What is the writer talking about? In-depth interviews with 3,300 teenagers revealed that most teens who call themselves Christian don t have much interest or concern about the faith, and that many feel that God simply wants them to feel good and do good. 19 You see, the challenge of counterfeits is not just from outside, from the cults and thinking of our culture. We have the challenge and wonderful opportunity to develop relationships with our children that have God and faith at the center. This enables us to naturally and clearly share and pass on a genuine, vital faith to our children. We can then see them, by God s grace working in them, have the opportunity and reality of coming to true and meaningful faith rather than an almost faith, rather than a counterfeit faith. Thank God that He does instruct and teach you in the way you should go, that He counsels you with His eye on you in every step, every problem, every heartache, every joy. Thank God that as you trust Him with all your heart rather than your own understanding, He will make your paths straight, even when they seem to be anything but straight. Thank God that when you need wisdom and ask Him for it in faith, He will give it to you generously so you can guard yourself and guide others. Determine to always seek and rely on God s guidance. 7

8 1 Diana B. Henriques. Madoff Is Sentenced to 150 Years for Ponzi Scheme. NYTimes.com. < 30 June, Accessed 14 April Deuteronomy 7:1-2; 20: John 8: Corinthians 11:3, Thessalonians 5:21, NLT. 6 Numbers 27:21, NLT. 7 Psalm 32:8. 8 Proverbs 3: James 1:5. 10 Exodus 15: Exodus 16: Exodus 17:3. 13 Exodus 20:7. 14 e.g. Ecclesiastes 5: Joshua 9:21, 23, 27, ESV. 16 Joshua 9:8, 9, Nehemiah 3:7; 7: Samuel 21: John Blake in article about book Almost Christian by Kendra Creasy Dean, Author: More teens becoming fake Christians. < 27 August Accessed 22 April Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois All rights reserved 8