You’re in a pickle. Quite the conundrum.
You didn’t want to believe the rumors.
Had to see for yourself.
The entire ten-hour journey, you hoped
and prayed it wasn’t true.
But now, there they are, caught red
handed. You see them with your own eyes, and know that you’ve been duped.
They were so sincere, so kind. You
trusted them, made a lifelong covenant with them.
But they lied. Purposely put on an act
to deceive.
You feel so stupid.
You were warned. God clearly
commanded, to utterly destroy them, make no covenant with them, show no mercy
to them, definitely don’t get married to them. They will corrupt you, turn you,
to follow their gods; then, His anger will rise against you, to destroy you.
(Deuteronomy 7:2-4).
But you didn’t pay attention. You got drunk off flattery, touched the forbidden fruit. Now it’s too late. Now you’re
in a place, a relationship, you were never meant to be in.
What do you do?
Well, for starters, know that you’re
not alone. That’s exactly where we find Joshua and crew—and they just got back
from a wonderful worship retreat so they should’ve known better, they never
should’ve been so easily duped.
But, people have a tendency to be
human—in other words: do stupid stuff.
Let’s peak in on their situation,
expose the markings of ungodly covenants, and then, see how they handle it, and
how God responds.
Joshua 9:15
So Joshua made peace with them,
and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of
the congregation swore to them.
Godless Covenants
Are High Maintenance
Who is the focus of that verse?
As we’ve seen over and over in our
walk together through the Bible, God has a wonderful way of making His point,
simply by repetition.
With that in mind, who’s the focus of
the above verse? Not God, or Joshua, or Israel, or the rulers, or the
congregation…but, them, them, them.
Them strangers show up unannounced, uninvited, and
suddenly become the center of attention.
Notably; there’s no communication, to
or from, God, through the entire chapter.
Them silver-tongued-devils, were of the silver-screen
type, and put on an award-winning act that duped Joshua and crew into a lifelong
covenant with them.
It’s just like them silver-screen
types to grab the spotlight and keep it, always wanting to be the center of attention.
Always taking, ever needy.
Godless covenants take many shapes. That
person. Those people. That group, that team, that gang. Or, it may be something.
That drink, that smoke, that food, that place, that show, that online site, that
thing you do…
No matter what shape godless covenants
take, the result is the same. God less. Them more.
They steal focus, kill time, destroy purpose.
John 10:10.
Which exposes our first characteristic
of a godless covenant.
Godless Covenants Are High Maintenance.
It’s sweet perfume, flowers and wine
and roses, sugar and spice and everything nice, at the start, but before long, the
stench penetrates the perfume.
Joshua 9:16
And it happened at the end of three
days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that
they were their neighbors who dwelt near them.
Surely your sin
will find you out. Numbers 32:23.
Sin stinks. Can’t be hid.
After three days, mold colonizes,
becomes visible to the naked eye, it stinks. After three days, dead bodies,
stink.
After, they made their bed, and slept in it, after
the covenant, after the vows, after getting drunk on flattery,
they woke up, and something stunk— what have we done?
Joshua 9:17
Then the children of Israel journeyed and came
to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon,
Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim.
Godless Covenants
Have Heavy Consequences (baggage)
Israel didn’t only make covenant with
a few Gibeonites, but their entire family, the whole clan, all Gibeon, and its
suburbs.
Your covenant vows, may be said to
one, but they come with the whole clan; baggage and all.
It’s not just a loan from some guy, it’s
a covenant with the godfather, instead of God the Father. The godfather will
kill, steal, and destroy, to take what you owe. God the Father gave His very
own, to pay what you owed.
That show, that site, that place, with
skin, and sin, the one you just can’t miss—it isn’t just innocent
entertainment, but an invitation, to every foul spirit associated with it, into
your head, your heart, your home, your soul.
Before you know it, you’re yoked to
it, can’t get away from it…you have become its slave.
2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?
And what communion has light with darkness?
Now that the
godless covenants are exposed, what do we do about them?
Thankfully, God has made a way, to not
only escape, but to have victory, over the yoke of a godless covenant.
Just the other day, our mailman drove
on our yard, and crushed the solar spot light that shines up at a beautiful wooden
cross with a prayer box attached to it.
I wasn’t even sure if it was him, but
my neighbor’s security camera captured the whole thing—even the sound of
crunching plastic and glass.
I gathered crushed pieces from all
over our little front yard, and put them in a pile in front of the cross.
The mailman drove by day after day; he
never said a word.
Finally, I stopped him, asked him.
To his credit, he didn’t deny it. Said
he didn’t see it, but he heard something crunch.
So, there he sat; caught red handed. What
do you do?
I tried to respond to him, like Israel
responded to them.
Their response (and God's) may surprise
you. It broke the yoke, and believe it or not, honored God, even
in the midst of what started out as a godless covenant.
We can, and should, follow their example.
Lord willing, next Sunday we’ll
examine their response, God's response, (and mine to the mailman).
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
No comments:
Post a Comment