No matter how careful we are, we can sometimes be duped. For one, we easily trust. For another, it’s tough to tell deceivers from honest people.
To my deep dismay, I have been had a few times by glib-talking salesmen, financial advisers, and hyperbolic advertising: “miracle” devices that don’t work as explained; insurance that promised big returns that never came; “cheap” goods that are actually much cheaper elsewhere; designer outfits that turned out to be fake; yadda, yadda yadda.
Of course I have learned my lessons and I am more careful now; still, sometimes I am caught off guard and victimized anew. Scammers on the Net are on the loose; I need to be extra vigilant.
In the Old Testament, Joshua was scammed big time by the Gibeonites (Chapter 9). Fearing that they will soon be destroyed, they went to Joshua pretending they had come from a distant land to request for a peace treaty with the Israelites. Joshua asked them many incisive questions, but they had all the “right” answers.
Through all these, the Israelites failed to consult the Lord. “Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath (verse 15 NLT).”
Three days later, however, they discovered that the Gibeonites had deceived them. Joshua confronted the Gibeonites about their deception. But because they had a peace treaty in the name of God, the Israelites could not attack their towns nor kill them. They instead made them woodcutters and water carriers for the Israelite community and for the altar of the Lord.
May we always seek God’s grace for wise counsel whenever we make a decision.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV)
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