Ungodly Alliances

Ungodly Alliances
Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. —Joshua 9: 14-15
God specifically told the Israelites that they were not to make any covenant with the people in the land, but were to utterly drive them out. God knew that if the inhabitants remained, their practices would ultimately destroy His people. The Gibeonites realized they couldn’t stand against the armies of Israel, so they devised a scheme to make it appear that they had traveled from a far country in order to make a covenant with Israel.
Joshua’s mistake was that he examined the evidence but didn’t inquire of the Lord. God would have warned him about this ungodly alliance, but Joshua didn’t seek God’s counsel. He just sized up the situation by what was before him. Some things seem so obvious. You shouldn’t have to bother God about those things; right? You can just go ahead and use your common sense.
Wrong. The Scriptures tell us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3: 5-6).
**We can avoid tragic mistakes by: (1) Always allowing God’s Word to guide our decisions. (2) Never making a decision until you have first sought God’s guidance through prayer.
Isn’t it rather foolish to trust my own judgment when I have the advantage of going to God for counsel?
Lord, help us to pay attention to the warnings in Your Word. May we seek You to help us in making every decision. Amen.