Beware.

Have you seen anyone wearing hobo costumes recently?  Israel met a bunch of vagabonds once—and it cost them: 

“When the people of Gibeon heard about Jericho… they gathered worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended.  They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and ragged clothing.  Their bread was dry and crumbly. They went to Joshua and said, ‘We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us….  We have heard of your God and all He did to Egypt…. This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses on the day we left.  But now it is dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new, but now they are cracked.  And our clothes and sandals are worn out from our extremely long journey.’

The men of Israel … DID NOT SEEK THE LORD’S COUNSEL. And Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and his leaders swore an oath.  Three days later, they discovered the Gibeonites were their neighbors” Joshua 9:3-16.

God commanded Israel to destroy the idolators in the Promised Land. Their wickedness had reached that of the men of Noah’s time—they had “filled up the full measure of their sin,” and God was ready to move them from this life to the next.  But Israel was deceived, conned, tricked.  Is that their fault?

Yes. Israel failed because they “DID NOT SEEK THE LORD’S COUNSEL.” 

I know you think you have the gift of discernment.  EVERYONE thinks they have the gift of discernment, until circumstances prove that they don’t.  We all think we are shrewd, too smart to fall for it.  You’re NOT.  All of us have been or will be fooled.  The book THE CONFIDENCE GAME says the smarter you are, the more likely you are to fall for a con.

ALWAYS SEEK THE LORD’S COUNSEL!

God, remind us to seek you BEFORE we trust people. Humble us and teach us that we need your guidance at all times and in all situations! Help us slow down and pray about it!

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