This week in our ‘Facing the Giants’ series, I will be interviewing one of my favorite Bible personalities. This man was not afraid to step into the shoes of a larger than life person because he knew that God was right beside him directing his steps. Today we meet Joshua.
LA: Welcome to The Point General Joshua. What a legacy you left! You stepped into the leadership role vacated by Moses and successfully led almost 2 million Israelites across the Jordan River and through many successful military campaigns. Your faithfulness and courage have been a testimony to me on many occasions.
Joshua: Thank you, ma’am. In truth, God led, I simply followed and obeyed. Although there was that one time………
LA: Sir, would you tell us that story and what you learned from it?
Joshua: It was the golden calf debacle. You remember that from Exodus 33, don’t you? Moses was up on the mountain and Aaron let the people talk him into making them an idol. God would have made us all into kindling if Moses had not intervened. God heard and answered Moses’ prayer to save the nation, yet God warned us that if we made a treaty with the inhabitants of Canaan that it would be a snare or trap among us.
LA: I do recall that. It is a powerful passage.
Joshua: Fast forward a few decades. God led the people and me to conquer several cities in the Promised Land. One day this rag-tag group of ambassadors show up at our tent doors wanting to make a covenant or treaty with us because they claimed to have heard of the fame of our God. They told us that they had traveled from a far country. They had moldy bread and worn out shoes. It all looked pretty convincing and we fell for it, hook, line and sinker.
LA: Joshua, how did that happen?
Joshua: I forgot the number one rule.
LA: What is that, sir?
Joshua: God is in charge, not me. I became too big for my sandals and did not consult God on what He thought.
LA: Hmmm, that hits pretty close to home, Joshua. I think we all are guilty of thinking, “I’ve got this one. I know what to do here.”
Joshua: Well, it was huge mistake for me. We made a covenant with these men, only to discover a few days later that they were Gibeonites from just a few miles away. We,er,um, I had done what God explicitly told us not to do. I was at fault. I take the responsibility because I was the leader. It would have been easy for me to shift the blame to the others but when all was said and done, the bottom line was that I had made a huge mistake.
LA: But…..but, they tricked you into making a covenant with them. Couldn’t you just say that it was not really a binding covenant because it was made by trickery? It just doesn’t seem fair.
Joshua: Ma’am, your people do not understand the seriousness of a covenant. A covenant is a solemn, binding agreement made and sealed with blood. There is no breaking a covenant. God expects a covenant to be kept regardless of the circumstances of its making. God never breaks His covenants and He expects us to keep ours—no matter what.
LA: Wow!
Joshua: I kept that covenant and protected the Gibeonites when their enemies attacked them. I knew that to break the covenant would have more serious consequences than the mistake of entering into it in the first place.
LA: Your legacy, General Joshua, is of being a covenant or promise keeper. That speaks highly of your character. Thank you for being with us today.
MEDITATION MOMENT: As you think about your own life, would you be able to say that you are a promise keeper? Do you keep your promises even when it is difficult? Are you faithful to your marriage covenant? When you make a promise to another person, do you keep it…even when a better opportunity comes along?
Does your legacy include promise keeping–no matter then cost?
