Daily Encounter: A Week-day Devotional by a staff of ACTS International.

Monday, August 17, 2015

"The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord."¹

After the days of Moses when the armies of Israel, led by Joshua, were conquering the Promised Land marked out for them by God, the surrounding kings and nations were understandably terrified. This was because God was with the Israelites giving them great victories wherever they went.

However, the men of Gibeon, a nearby country, resorted to trickery and outsmarted Joshua. They sent a delegation to Joshua with the appearance of having come from a distant land so they could deceive Joshua into making a treaty with them. Their donkeys carried worn-out sacks and old wineskins that were cracked and had been mended. They wore old clothes, and worn and patched sandals, and the bread they carried with them was dry and moldy.

Their ruse worked. Joshua signed a treaty with them and only afterwards discovered they were a neighboring people among those countries God had told Joshua to destroy because of their wickedness. They had to live with the consequences as a result.

Joshua's mistake was that he made this treaty without praying and inquiring of the Lord! An extremely valuable lesson for all of us to learn!

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank You for including this story in Your Word, the Bible, as a graphic reminder for me to seek Your guidance and direction for every aspect of my life, so that I will continuously live in harmony with Your perfect will. Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus's name, amen."

1. Joshua 9:14 (NIV).

<:))))>< 

2. To Know God and be sure you're a real
    Christian click on:

3. Donate: To help send Daily Encounter
    without charge to people around the world
    click on:

4. To send today's Daily Encounter to a friend
    click on:

5. To share your faith in a simple, attractive
    way with a friend click on:

6. For today's featured article click on:

7. This week's chuckle as seen "On the Lighter
    Side"  on Weekend Encounter click on:

8. Change Address of your subscription to
    Daily Encounter click on: