In the book of Joshua, we are learned how the men of Gibeon fabricated a story about being from a distant place, “and it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them”, and in chapter nine and verse seventeen of the book of Joshua, we learn how, “the children of Israel journeyed” where we read,
And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day.
Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.
The verse reads, “And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day.” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the children of Israel journeyed” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob, set forward, departed and pulled up their tent-pins to travel”, “and came unto their cities” or “and approached and drew close to their, the men of Gibeon’s, dwelling places and towns” “on the third day” which means “upon the third sunrise to sunset”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring of “Israel” traveled forward and approached the dwelling places which belonged to the “men of Gibeon” after only three days had passed.
The verse goes on to say, “Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “now their cities” which means “their, the men of Gibeon’s, dwelling places or towns” “were Gibeon” or “existed as Gibeon whose name means hill city and was a Levitical city of Benjamin, modern 'el-Jib', which lies 5 miles or 8 km from Jerusalem”, “and Chephirah” whose name means “lioness and was a city of the Gibeonites subsequently assigned to the tribe of Benjamin”, “and Beeroth” or “wells and was a Gibeonite city allotted to Benjamin”, “and Kirjathjearim” whose name means “city of forests and was a city on the northern boundary of Judah and on the western and southern boundaries of Benjamin”. Joshua or the writer shared the names of the dwelling places that belonged to the “men of Gibeon” which were “Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.”
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how only three days went by after the men of Israel made a peace treaty with the “men of Gibeon”, and the people of Israel traveled and arrived at the “men of Gibeon’s” dwelling places which were, “Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.” We can imagine how chagrined the people of Israel were when they realized they had be duped into believing these people were from a distant land, and yet, they were very close to their location. God knew this, and the mistake made by the people of Israel was that they did not go to Him in prayer before they formed their peace-treaty. God wants to have a personal intimate relationship with us, and when we have decisions to make, we should go to Him in prayer. We should remember that He loves us so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son Jesus to be crucified on the cross for our sins and raised Him from the dead so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us to seek Him in prayer so we are not surprised by that which we did not know was soon to be in our future.
Next time we learn how, “the children of Israel smote them not”, 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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