Joshua 9

Leaders of the Old Testament Israelites had it rough. When you think of Moses, I wager a strong, yet tired image comes to mind. Certainly, Moses did remarkable things with his leadership. He trusted in God and that provided him the ability to lead a whining nation out of Egypt.

But then came Joshua, the successor in leadership to Moses. No doubt Joshua had witnessed Moses' fatigue with the Israelites. He was there. But when he took over leadership, things changed. Joshua was told to conquer the promise land. Not just conquer, but destroy. In today's world we think of conquering as a brief battle followed by an armistice of some sort. Well that wasn't God's plan for the Israelites. Joshua had a calling. Where Moses was called to lead the people out of Egypt, to the doorstep of the promised land, Joshua was called to take possession of it. This meant those in the land at that time, had to go: all of them.

In no uncertain terms, God told Joshua to destroy all that live in the promised land. Destroy, i.e., kill all the inhabitants. But Joshua wasn't ready for a ruse that the leaders of the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, and others pulled on Joshua and the leaders of Israel. Why? Because the leaders trusted in themselves, not God. After making a sacred oath not to kill these leaders and their people (who looked to have traveled far to be where they were, but actually lived down the street), Joshua and the Leaders discovered they had been fooled. Why?

"The men of Israel sampled their provisions but they did not inquire of the Lord." (v. 14). They trusted in their own assessment of the situation and did not pause to consider what in put the maker of the universe would have. I can't say that I blame the leaders of Israel. Because I know in my fallen heart, I would likely have done the same.

Here's the point. God had given Joshua a specific calling: to take possession of the entirety of the promised land by purging the sinful nations from it. Say what you will about such an occupation, when God gives you a calling, you had better follow it. There is no compromising with God. It's either yes or no, obey or disobey. Here, the leaders disobeyed and the results were catastrophic. While there was no immediate harm (these nations were enslaved because Israel was forced to honor their oath), in the subsequent history of Israel, the descendants of these people influenced the disobedient hearts of the Israelites and led to many spiritual downfalls.

In your day to day living out of your calling, do not stop short of obeying God. Remove the evil from your heart and surroundings as God calls you to do so. Do not give an inroad for a latent plunge into sin. Remove it. In living out our calling to follow Christ obedience to the Truth must be our standard.