Joshua 9:3 – And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,

Joshua 9:4 – They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;

Joshua 9:5 – And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.

Joshua 9:6 – And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.

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Joshua 9:14 – And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.

Joshua 9:15 – And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.

Joshua 9 today dear readers. They had made it to the promised land, most of us never even make it to the promised land, but those that do, well they realize that there are more battles to be fought. There are those left in Egypt, then there are those that waste out in the wilderness, then there are those which as the Bible says of Caleb and Joshua, have a different spirit in them, and they enter because they believed in God. But in Joshua 9 we are about to see some epic deception. Today we are thinking about deceiving and being deceived, because the Gibeonites, a nation God had said to utterly destroy, instead of the rest of the nations who gathered to fight, they decided to do things another way.

There are a lot of battles to be had in the promised land. Ok, you got saved, you repented of your sin and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ with heart belief as your Lord and Saviour. But you are saved now, and there is a life to live. And there are enemies that need to be destroyed, there is a war on. There are strongholds to conquer, lands to possess, promises to obtain, and you need the captain of your salvation, Jesus Christ, leading at the forefront, otherwise you won’t make it. However, if he is with you, you will make it, you will endure, you will continue, you will fight the good fight and finish the course, you will keep the faith… as Paul did.

The Gibeonites came up with a plan, the Bible says they did work wilily. They were smart, this was a good plan. They were going to form a league with Israel before Israel knew what he was dealing with. And in this life, many Christians get into bad leagues, all because they were sold by some moldy bread and empty bottles. Think of what you believe, how much absolute rubbish you have been sold by the enemy, and you now believe. Christians so lost when it comes to new doctrine, they don’t know what’s true and what’s not, because they did not check it out with God. All that happened in Joshua 9 would’ve been prevented had they simply asked counsel at the mouth of the Lord. We can and should check what we believe, what we do, how we live, who we listen to, the friends we have, the people we keep company, everything and anything at the word of the Lord. Read your Bible, it’ll help you.

Jesus said his burden is easy and his yoke is light. But Christians today get bogged down. They make bad leagues, they have many “passengers” in their lives, just as Israel got here. They were in a league with a pagan nation that would bring much grief. The sons and daughters would intermarry, their beliefs would steep into Israel’s belief, and they would be lead astray. Their walk was crippled, all because they got fooled by a believable story.

Perhaps the worst of all, are you getting fooled by other Christians, so called Christians? These Gibeonites did not have the birthright, they were not Jews, and there are many spiritual bastards today in churches, they claim the name of Jesus, they profess to be saved, but they are not the children of the king, they are the children of the devil, they have not been born again. The Gibeonites had moldy bread and empty bottles. All because of a long journey. Well in this life, God’s true bread does not go moldy, and the bottle of salvation never runs empty. Jesus said in John 4:14 – But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. You can make many bad leagues which you will regret, you may marry an unsaved person, that’s a bad league, you may believe a whole lot of hocus pocus not found in the Bible your whole life destroying your faith, you may keep the wrong company, do the wrong things… all because you walked by your own sight, rather than according to God’s word. As soon as you abandon the book, you are in trouble. God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, it is our vision. Every creature is naked and open to God, and manifest in his sight, God sees the future, he made the future, God is God, so why not live according to the word of the faithful Creator?

Are you weighed down in your Christian walk with clutter and junk? Check what you know and believe and do, and check it against God’s word, not because someone else told you so. Because hey, people lie. The Bible says let God be true and every man a liar. Check it out in the Bible. Acts 17:11 – These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Read 1 Kings 13, it’s a warning to the man or woman of God. 1 Kings 13:18 –  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. It doesn’t matter the name, the position, the prestige, take God at his word, and settle for nothing less.

Do you want an alliance based off moldy bread and empty bottles, or an alliance based on the unchanging, eternal, never moldy, never empty word of God? Do you want your life, your leagues, your alliances based on truth or on lies? What would you prefer? Light or darkness? Truth or lie? Good or evil? Surrender to God, surrender everything you know, are, believe and do to God’s word. When heaven and earth pass away, God’s word will still not have, it is eternally sure. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Word of God, and the Bible is the word written down for all to read. It is available to you today? As the old hymn says, what more can he say than to you he hath said? Why are you looking for God when God’s already spoken?

How many passengers do you have in your life, things, beliefs, all which you’ve subscribed to, all the junk that you believe, all the things weighing down your life and walk? So let’s, as the Bible says, Hebrews 12:1,2 – Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. God’s bread doesn’t mold out, Jesus is the bread of heaven, and he is alive forevermore, eternally victorious over sin, death, hell, and the gifts he give are not empty, eternal life doesn’t run out, his blessings have no end, his gifts are permanent. Are you tired of bad leagues you have in life? Lay aside the weights, believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the simplicity that is in Christ, the common salvation, the great hope that is communicate with great plainness of speech. The only way you will never be deceived is by getting in God’s word, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, you will by knowing the truth, be set free from all the lies and deceptions of the devil. It’s high time to awake out of our sleep!

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