by Tim Hall

The people standing before them looked like weary travelers. Their clothing was dusty and worn; their sandals were barely holding together; even their provisions had the appearance of age. Bread which they claimed to have taken hot from their oven on the day they began traveling was now dry and moldy. Certainly these people had come from a great distance.

One suspicious soul raised a caution: "Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?" (Joshua 9:7, NKJV) It was a valid concern. After God led the Israelites out of Egypt, He told them about the land He would give them. One thing God made clear was that they were to make no treaties with the occupants of Canaan. "...For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods" (Exodus 23:31,32). The religions and lifestyles of the Canaanites were extremely immoral. God wanted His people to have no contact with such ungodly people.

Joshua committed a serious mistake on this occasion. As a man with good leadership skills, he carefully listened to these strangers as they asked for terms of peace. One thing, however, he forgot: "...they did not ask counsel of the Lord" (Joshua 9:14). Had they asked the Lord for wisdom, God would surely have pulled the disguise off these Gibeonites. Since no one asked, though, God allowed them to make a pact with people who had been designated for destruction.

You can't say Joshua wasn't thinking that day. You can say, though, that he was thinking with his eyes rather than with God's counsel. And that's always a mistake.

Paul warned against the same tendency in his day. In speaking of false teachers already at work among the Corinthian Christians, he wrote, "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:13,14). Judging solely by the senses, this teacher appears to be trustworthy. He looks friendly; his words are smooth and non-judgmental; his handshake is firm, and he looks you in the eye. Surely this man is teaching us things upon which we can rely.

But wait! Has anyone thought to "ask counsel of the Lord"? How can we do that? Here's the test Paul prescribed: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8,9).

Imagine one of the apostles coming to speak at your church this Sunday. Or maybe an angel descends with a stirring message. "We can believe that!" some might gush. "These are holy messengers." Paul would disagree. He would ask, "Is it the message that has been preached to you? There is no other gospel. If it's not what was delivered in the first century (i.e. revealed in the New Testament), don't believe it."

The messenger before you sounds and looks authentic. Yes, his message is a little different from what you've been taught in the past; ... Okay, it's a lot different. But he assures you that his message is true, based on the best scholarship of the day.

Just one question before you accept what he's saying: Have you sought counsel from the Lord?