The Great Deception

Deception is a theme of any mystery you see in the world. It’s even found in literature for the very young. One such book is The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka. The wolf was caught and had to mount a defense. His defense was that the entire episode was a misunderstanding and his allergies. That was his side of the story; but the pigs who were the victims, were unable to confirm or deny that story.

In the book of Joshua, there is the account of a large-scale deception. In the Book of Joshua, we see Joshua leading the children of Israel to possess the land. Their activities invoked fear in the surrounding nations. One nation decided that they would not be a casualty of Joshua and his troops, and they devised a plan. “But when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins.” (Joshua 9:3-4 NLT) They approached Joshua and the leaders to make a treaty with them.

When they looked at them, they appeared to be from a far country. Joshua asked, “How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.” (Verse 7) The used everything they had to make their deception convincing. They talked about their provisions when they left their home country. They even embellished the story to stroke Joshua’s ego; they said, “Your servants have come from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt.We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth) (Verses 9-10)

The leaders were concerned that they might be deceptive but chose to use their own wisdom to decide the matter. Verse 14 says, “So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.” Three days later, they realized that they had been tricked. The enemy will do whatever he can do to deceive. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

 Thought for Today: Friend, when in doubt, seek God.

Have a blessed day and walk in faith and victory.