Misplaced Self-Confidence

When we put confidence in our abilities to discern errors in popular Christian teaching, identify the character of strangers, or know the right choices for our lives, we're on dangerous ground.

In Joshua 9, God gave His people strict orders to make no treaties with people in the Promised Land.* 

Then a group of strangers (the Gibeonites) approached asking for a treaty and claiming they were not residents of the land. 

God's people used their abilities to check out their story and decided they were telling the truth. But they "did not inquire of the LORD" (v.14).

Because they trusted themselves, they didn't find out until later that the Gibeonites were lying, and they'd made a treaty against God's warnings.

God's people spent a great deal of time and resources protecting the Gibeonites whose presence must have been a constant reminder of their misplaced self-confidence

Let's learn from their mistake! Let's put confidence in the Lord, not in ourselves.
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* God had already given these people ample opportunity to turn from wickedness and they'd refused. It's sometimes hard for us to understand the violence of the Old Testament, but Genesis 15:16 tells us that God (who knows all things) gives nations opportunity and time to repent. And we know from the story of Rahab that God will rescue true seekers in the midst of an evil city. It's also important to remember that God knows the heart of every individual, and when it comes to children before the age of accountability, they would have been spared great harm by coming to the Lord before growing up in such a wicked culture.

If you're struggling with this, I think this article will also help: Why Did God Condone Such Violence in the Old Testament