In the book of Joshua, we learned how the men of Gibeah attempted to deceive Joshua and the people of Israel, and “Joshua called for them, and he spoke unto them, saying, Wherefore have you beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when you dwell among us? Now therefore you are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God”, and in chapter nine and verse twenty-four of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told your servants, how that the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land”, where we read,
And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told your servants, how that the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
The verse reads, “And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told your servants, how that the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and they answered Joshua” which means “and they, the men of Gibeah, began to speak and responded to Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation”, “and said” or “and uttered, declared and proclaimed”, “because it was certainly told your servants” which means “since and on account that the following was declared, announced and expounded to your, Joshua’s, slaves, bondmen or men of servile condition”, “how that the LORD your God” or “the way that Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “commanded his servant Moses” which means “charged and ordered his, Jehovah God’s, bondman and man of service condition, Moses whose name means drawn out and was the prophet, lawgiver and leader of the exodus” “to give you all the land” or “to grant, bestow and assign to you, the people of Israel, each, every and the whole of the territory, region, district and country”. Joshua or the writer shared how the “men of Gibeah” told “Joshua” the reason they deceived him and the people of Israel was on account that they knew Jehovah God ordered “Moses” to grant and bestow upon them the promise land.
The verse continues, “… and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and to destroy” which means “and to exterminate, annihilate and devastate” “all the inhabitants of the land” or “each, every, the whole and everyone of the people who lived and dwelled within the territory, region, district and country” “from before you” which means “separate and apart from you, the people of Israel”, “therefore we were sore afraid” or “wherefore, then and on this account we, the men of Gibeah, existed as exceedingly and abundantly in reverence, awe, dread and fear” “of our lives” which means “for our, the men of Gibeah’s, remaining alive and breathing” “because of you” or “since and on account of you, the people of Israel”, “and have done this thing” which means “and have performed, fashioned and accomplished this act or deed of lying”. Joshua or the writer shared how the men of Gibeah also knew that Jehovah God instructed the people of Israel to completely annihilate everything including the people who lived in their territory, and this caused them to be exceedingly fearful and became the reason they lied to the people of Israel.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Joshua or the writer how the “men of Gibeah” understood that Jehovah God gave them their territory, and for that reason, they were afraid. God was at work of behalf of the people of Israel, and when He said to destroy the land and the people, the “men of Gibeah” were exceedingly fearful. In contrast, consider the difference today. God wants us all to be in a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth all the days of our lives. (See John16:13; Acts 1:8)
Next time we learn how the men of Gibeah said, “behold, we are in your hand”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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