Joshua: Wisdom for Decision Making

18 years ago, I had this amazing curly-headed friend.

She was my friend girl.

She wasn't my girlfriend.

So let's make sure we understand the distinguishment there.

Friend girl, not girlfriend.

I was becoming more and more curious about her, right?

Like these feelings were starting up inside of me, and then came a big decision.

I mean, this is one of those huge decisions in life, one of the most difficult transitions known in the human experience.

Would I try to transition from friend zone to boyfriend zone?

That's a tough decision.

It's close to an impossible transition.

And so I decided I was going to go for it.

So one day I just blurted out, not smooth.

Let's make sure we understand that.

Not smooth.

I just said, hey, what do you think about dating?

She quickly said, that's great.

And I said, great.

And then we were off and going.

It was not smooth.

It was not, you know, it wasn't Ryan Gosling in the notebook.

There was no, you know, scene in the rain and me lifting her up.

None of that.

That was not the scene.

It was a little awkward.

It was abrupt, but it worked.

And it was a decision, right?

And that's the point.

That's my point.

It was a decision.

I made a decision.

She made a decision.

We made decisions.

And decisions actually affect the trajectory of our lives.

You have decisions.

You've made decisions.

You made a decision about your life, a good one or a bad one, to date that boy, to go to that school or that college, or you made a decision to have too many drinks, or you made a decision to say that thing or not say that thing.

You made a decision to get married.

You made a decision to move, to take that great job, take that horrible job, to spend that money, save that money, to give that money.

We've all made decisions, and the decisions we make affect the trajectory of our lives.

Now that's not to say God's not sovereign and he can't work in our bad decisions.

It's not to say that God doesn't redeem bad decisions, but it is to say that our decisions affect our lives.

Now that can be a scary thought for many of us, but as we unfold this story, I think we'll see the good news in it.

So we're in Joshua chapter 9 as we make our way through this epic Old Testament story.

Joshua 9 · chapter mention

And so these people of Israel, they were enslaved in Egypt.

They come out of that, they're wandering around for 40 years in the desert.

They finally cross the Jordan River, they conquer Jericho, they conquer I.

They're finally, they're up in the mountains.

They have this great position to take over the land of Canaan.

And then five city-states in the lowlands, they make a Confederacy to try to fight Israel.

And so they're joining up the five of them, but then there's this other city-state, Gibeon, hasn't joined the Confederacy.

And so these five decide they're gonna go and attack Gibeon to kind of set a message to all the other city-states.

You better join the Confederacy or you got a price to pay.

We got to join up, we're gonna fight Israel.

But Gibeon decides to come and try to align with Israel.

Now Israel didn't really care to align with Gibeon.

Israel didn't need Gibeon, but Gibeon shows up.

And the way that they show up is they get together this ruse and this trick because they want to trick themselves into a partnership, a treaty, a covenant, relationship with Israel.

And see, this story is all about a hasty decision made with a rushed heart.

A hasty decision made with a rushed heart.

We all know what that feels like.

So if we read Joshua 9, verses 3 through 6, but when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to I, they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and wineskins, worn out and torn and mended with worn out and patched sandals on their feet and worn-out clothes, and all their provisions were dry and crumbly, right?

Joshua 9:3–6

They're really putting on the act here.

Verse 6.

And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.

Now this was a ruse because they didn't come from a distant country.

They came from 30 miles away.

They didn't come from, you know, Tennessee, they came from Cartersville, so they're not that far off.

And just a macro level point to start us out with, point number one, is that we need God's wisdom for this life.

That's just the beginning point here.

We need God's wisdom for our life.

Verse 4 is the key here that these people show up with cunning hearts.

Tricky behavior.

And the word here, crafty, that's the word here, cunning could be crafty.

It's the same word from Genesis 3 when Satan shows up.

The devil, the liar, the slanderer shows up to deceive Adam and Eve.

Same word, same thing's going on here, to deceive.

And life contains people who show up into our lives with desired intentions that are selfish, manipulative, and maybe even harmful.

And we need God's wisdom, as much of it that we can get, we should want God's wisdom to navigate these circumstances and these relationships.

So the Gibeonites come and they bring all that old moldy bread and the old sandals, the old everything.

I think it's five or six references here is to worn out, right?

Like the guy making sure that we understand this text.

It is worn out.

This is a real act being put on here.

And Joshua probes a little bit in verses 7 and 8.

He asks, you know, kind of a question, he probes a little bit, he gets an answer back.

He's actually satisfied pretty quickly.

That's what the text is showing.

He's like Joshua's just sort of gullible, he's kind of rushed in this decision making.

The Israelites sample some of their food, they're satisfied pretty quickly.

There's no contemplation over time.

There's no seeking of the Lord.

There's no seeking of God's wisdom with a slow and unhurried heart.

They just do a quick check.

Let's get this decision made.

Let's get this over with.

Let's move ahead.

Right?

It would be like marrying somebody because you like the same NBA team.

Right?

Like, like, okay, you got one thing in common, but a whole bunch of people root for the hawks.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to marry somebody just because you like the hawks.

Now, it could work out that you're aligned in the core values of your heart and soul, or it could be that you both just like the hawks, right?

It requires a little more investigation and contemplation before you enter a covenant.

And point number two is that it comes around that problem that we have.

Point number two, rushing with decisions is a human problem.

I do that.

We do that.

We want to make a decision.

Right?

It's our problem when it comes to shopping.

Right?

You just make the decision to purchase too quickly.

You just didn't think about it for a little bit.

Maybe you don't really need that thing, or maybe you already have it and you forgot about it, right?

I've done that before.

Or decision and romance or friendship or career.

All of our relationships are affected as we react and relate out of a hurried, rushed heart to make a decision.

And we rush.

We rush because we don't like uncertainty.

And we rush because we want to be our own power rather than seeking God's wisdom for what He might have to say into this decision.

See, there's a feeling of uncertainty when it comes to decisions, and one of the ways that we try to make our way through uncertainty without relying on the Lord is just to make a decision and be done with it.

But really, the feeling of uncertainty should put us on our knees before the Lord to seek his wisdom, to seek guidance.

Proverbs 28, 26 says this whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.

But he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Now that doesn't mean that you're not creating the image of God, it doesn't mean that you're not a smart person, it doesn't mean you don't have valuable thoughts or your feelings are important.

There's none of that.

But it's to say you're not an island.

And if you think your mind holds the full knowledge that is needed to navigate this tricky world, you're a fool.

Two months ago, I was getting my haircut.

So that's two haircuts ago, if you're keeping track of me talking about haircuts and sermons, just in case you are not meaning to do a lot of haircut illustrations.

It just worked out this way.

And so I was in the barber's chair at 3 p.m.

on March 12th.

So at the same time, Governor Kemp had a press conference at 3 p.m.

to talk about coronavirus.

And I can remember all this because my barber and I were talking about how real is this whole you know pandemic issue, you know, what an insane conversation that looked like now, looking back on it two months ago.

But we were having that conversation.

Governor Kemp makes his announcement by 4, 4:30.

I'm on the phone with the six other elders of our church, and we have a 15-minute conversation, and in 15 minutes, we made the decision to cancel all in-person gatherings of our church.

I have never, in 40 years of being in churches, I have never been a part of that decision or been a part of a church that just cancels everything indefinitely.

We made that decision in 15 minutes.

30 minutes later, I send out an email to the entire church saying just that.

Now I say that, I say this.

That felt fast.

But it wasn't hasty.

And there's a difference there.

It felt fast because the situation demanded a fast decision, but that decision was been based upon years and years and years of not just me, but seven people on that call, their experience in life and family, relationships, and health and medicine and businesses and church.

And then we have to make a decision.

So it's a fast decision, it's not a hasty decision.

So sometimes you're gonna have to make fast decisions.

We're not gonna say that a contemplative, slow, unhurried path is gonna always fit for all decisions.

But here's what can happen.

The mistake is to categorize the majority of decisions in life that can be made in a slower, contemplative seek the Lord process as a fast decision just because you want to be done with it.

That's the mistake.

And that's what the scriptures speak to over and over again about seeking the Lord.

Don't make a hasty decision.

Verse 14 gives it to us in this passage, in this direct story.

Verse 14, so the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord.

So they never slowed down.

They never took it to the Lord to consider.

God, what is your wisdom?

This is a big deal to make a covenant with another people group.

And they never even took it to the Lord.

Point number three is this the grace of time, and time can be a real grace for us, a real gift.

The grace of time gives us space to seek the Lord.

So on Tuesday of this week, I woke up, and as soon as I woke up, usually I walk my dog, and that's sort of like my time and my time with my dog, my dog's time.

But Christy came up to me, she said, Hey, can I go on, can I go on the walk with you?

And that's abnormal.

I mean, she never goes on my morning walk with me, very, very rarely.

And so I was like, okay, what's up?

Let's go.

You know, so we went for a walk together, and we walked, and she started talking because something had popped up at work, and so she starts talking and she just talks to me, and I just listen.

I'm trying to get better at that, just listening because I like to solve the problem.

And so I'm just listening, and she's just talking, which is really what she needed to do, is just process all of this out.

And finally she stops talking.

I talk a little bit, we get back to the house, and she's gonna have to go and seek the Lord on her own for her decision when it comes to this.

But the point is, it took time.

She could have made the decision 45 minutes earlier when the thing popped up, but she pressed pause.

Let me just go talk to somebody else.

Let me process a little bit, let me let me figure out what I think about this, let me figure out what I feel about this, let me seek the Lord, let me let me put all that together and then I'll make a decision.

So here's perhaps what a sort of a patient approach to decision making might look like.

And I say might look like because I don't know exactly how it might fit into your life, but maybe some part of this could fit into your life.

Number one is this learn whether the scriptures speak directly to your situation.

Learn whether the scriptures speak directly to your situation because you could just have your answer right there right away, and then you're done with it, right?

Like it's clear.

It's a right or wrong issue, and you just know, okay, I gotta make that decision no matter how I feel or what I think or what somebody else says.

It's right or wrong, boom, decision made.

Number one, learn what the scriptures say.

But sometimes stuff falls into this other way of life.

You're like, well, I could go this way, or I could go this way, I could go to this school, or I could go to that school, I could take this job, or take that job.

You know, so there's lots of other types of decisions.

Number two, contemplate how you really feel and think.

That matters.

I was never told that in church growing up.

For me to contemplate how I feel and think, if the Holy Spirit's inside of me and I'm a child of God, then that matters.

And oftentimes we're just living reactionary.

So for us to sort of slow down and process through how I think and how I feel, is this a wound acting out, wanting to make this decision?

Is this an idol driving this decision?

So you've got to be in touch with that personal narrative and where you've been and where you want to go and how you think and how you feel.

Number three, and these all kind of combine together.

These aren't separate categories, they mesh together.

Number three, take time to seek the Holy Spirit's leading in you.

You're welcoming the Holy Spirit into those thoughts and feelings.

But you want to be alert to God maybe closing a door or opening a door, or God creating a leaning in you.

And this is not the God card, right?

Like God told me to break up with you, God told me to whatever, God told me, let's not play the God card.

Don't blame things on God, right?

But let God into the decision and then you own the decision.

You can own the decision.

I am making this decision.

I believe this is the right decision.

You own it, and you're also open to the reaction that decision might have and whatever God does with it.

Last kind of point in this sort of like maybe approach that might fit into your life.

Number four, seek the advice of wiser and older mentors.

Seek the advice of wiser and older mentors.

Be a learner from those who have gone before you.

Build out a board of directors for your life, of people you respect, that you look at their life and you know they are older and wiser and they've been through it.

And go and talk to them, ask them, shoot them a text, shoot them an email.

What do you think?

Now, this is not a Ways GPS to get to Panama City Beach.

It won't work like that.

This is much more of an invitation into relationship with the father, where at times you're making decisions you feel very secure about, and at times you're making decisions that you felt like it's a complete step of faith.

And either way, we have to make decisions.

It's not about perfect decision making, it's about patient decision making, seeking God's wisdom.

Now, within three days, these Israelites they realized their mistake, what they had done.

They had made a covenant to not be broken with a people group that they didn't need to make.

So now they got a partnership, a people group partnership.

They are in alliance with these people, they are embedded with these people, and then it's to no gain to them.

It's a bad deal to them, but Joshua honors the covenant, even though they are the ones that lied to Joshua.

And this is where we get our last point, point number four.

God works in our good decisions and he redeems our bad decisions.

God works in our good decisions and he redeems our bad decisions.

So the Gibeonites, the story continues.

It's a really amazing story.

The Gibeonites, they become helpers inside the temple.

These people are listed with the people of God returning from the Babylon exile.

I mean, these people just become intertwined with God's people.

They help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah's reign.

And this is all because Joshua holds his word.

See, in Joshua, we catch a glimpse of the character of God.

We catch a glimpse of the faithfulness of God to his covenant, his relationship to us.

Let me tie all this together with two passages.

Psalm 85, verse 34.

I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

Once for all I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David.

His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me, like the moon, it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.

So God's saying, I won't violate my covenant because I made that promise.

It's based on my faithfulness.

I mean, this brings us back to Hebrews 8, which we talked about a few sermons ago.

Hebrews 8, verse 6.

Hebrews 8:6

But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better.

It's talking about the covenant of law and the covenant of grace.

The covenant of grace is better because it is not us performing up to a standard to be accepted and loved by God.

It is God's faithfulness to us and the work of Jesus.

We're absolved and we're forgiven, we're righteous, we're accepted.

He delights in us.

It is much more excellent than the old, as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second, verse 13.

And speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete, and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The law is in service to the covenant of grace, the relationship we have.

And that relationship we have for God, that relationship with God based on his faithfulness and his word that empowers us to live for him.

You see, we're absolved of sin and made righteous by his word, God's word, his faithfulness to us.

He holds the relationship secure.

That's why we're secure.

He puts the Holy Spirit in us and promises to never pull his spirit away from us.

He loves us, he delights in us, he's committed to our relationship we have with him, like a father is to a child.

I close with this quote because I can't say it any better than this quote that I read this week.

I was reading a Francis Schaefer commentary on Joshua 9, and I'll just close with this.

I can't say it any better.

If God will not tolerate the breaking of an oath made in his name, how much more will he never break his own oath and covenant made to us on the basis of the shed blood and infinite value of Jesus Christ?

How secure are we who have cast ourselves upon Christ as our Savior?

May we cast ourselves upon Christ and be those of a completely quiet heart.

Let's pray together.

God, we thank you that you teach us about decision making, what it means to be slow and contemplative, what it means to seek you.

God, we thank you that you have given us the law of how we should live, and that it is holy and it is righteous.

And God, at the same time, we know we do not perform up to it, and we need a covenant beyond perfection, a covenant beyond our performance.

We need a covenant where you are gracious to us.

Thank you for providing it.

And that you are committed to us, you are committed to continue to be gracious to us forever.

We thank you.

The work of Jesus is enough for us.

He is the mediator of the better covenant based on better promises.

We get the hope that you are a redeemer of all of our bad decisions.

For so many of us, we have made bad decisions, those that we regret, those that we still live in shame, and that you are the redeemer.

We don't have to redo it, we don't have to replay it, we don't have to come back from it, that you redeem it, you restore it.

We are reconciled to you.

We thank you for that great work that you do as the holder of the covenant, the holder of our relationship.

It is in that, in your faithfulness, your redemption, that we rest.

In the power of Jesus' name, amen.