Joshua 9:7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you
All warfare is based on deception, so says the book The Art of War. It seems obvious enough when you think of any conflict that deception is one of the main weapons. In fact, it might be the main weapon of all warfare.
In Joshua 9, Israel is moving into the land of Canaan. The first verse says there was a collection of kings that gathered together for the purpose of fighting Joshua and Israel. There was one group of inhabitants however, the Hivites from Gibeon, who decided to do something different. They decided that instead of fighting Joshua, they would fool Joshua. The Bible says they clothed their ambassadors with old garments and gave them old provisions to make it appear they came from a great distance when in fact they had come from close by.
When they came to Joshua and wished to make a treaty, Joshua agreed because he thought they were from far away and did not realize they were part of the land to which God had led them. So, they made a covenant with these people. Verse 14 says, “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.” Joshua and his princes took the scant evidence presented them, swallowed the lie, and did so by not asking for God’s counsel.
There was great frustration. The nation of Israel later murmured against the princes, and Joshua asked the Hivites, “Wherefore have you beguiled us?” What kind of a question is that! You talk to the people who are either going to fight you or fool you and ask them why they deceived you? The answer is obvious.
The point is that deception comes unsolicited, but counsel comes by request. Oftentimes we do not ask counsel from God for what we consider no-brainers. When Israel went first to Ai, they were considering what they should take, and contrary to trusting God they said, “There are just a few people. We don’t need to take a very big force to go to Ai.” That wasn’t trusting God. That was confidence in their own military might, and they suffered for that.
The truth is that falsehood is unsolicited. Think about all the mail, email, and texts you get giving you something free. What is free is the advice and there is always a hook. God’s wisdom comes by asking. I Peter 5:8 talks about our warfare with the devil. It says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” One of the major ways he does this is by deceit. He will fool you. An enemy that can fool you need not fight you. Ephesians 6:11 tells us, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
I think about Wile E. Coyote, who you will know if you grew up watching Looney Toons. I don’t quite know how that works because Wile E. Coyote was supposed to be both sneaky and, forgive me, stupid. Usually it is not that way. It is not usually the stupid who are sneaky. It is the clever who are sneaky. Make no doubt about it, the enemy of your soul, the devil, is wicked, but he is smart, wily, and clever. He has had centuries to figure people out and to learn how to deceive them.
The answer is that we do have a counselor and guide, and that is God. James 1 says, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God.” God will give you the guidance and wisdom you need, but you have to pause long enough to realize that. Oftentimes we think we do not need God in decisions that seem small. A decision that is big enough to cause you trouble in the future is big enough to cause you to ask God’s counsel in the present. So, ask for God’s wisdom. The Israelite people later became frustrated because they didn’t ask counsel of God when they had the opportunity.
An enemy that can fool you need not fight you. Today, God wants to give you guidance and wisdom for the decisions you make in the life you live.