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- Apr 25, 2006
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Take a break from the past
'The people of Gibeon had come to terms with Israel and were living as neighbours.' Joshua 10:1
The Gibeonites were a bunch of people most definitely going against God, so God told Joshua to kill them (check out Joshua 9 for the story).
They realised soon enough that they were on the wrong side, and about to get done over - so they disguised themselves, and conned Josh into promising not to kill them by saying they'd be his servants. When Josh found out he'd been tricked, he stuck to his promise. He didn't kill them - he even fought to protect them. But they did end up as the lowest servants, chopping wood and carrying water for the rest of their lives.
We can learn two things from the Gibs:
1) When you choose to follow God, you have to make a break from the past. 'This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!' (2 Cor 5:17 NLT). For the Gibs, staying as they were would have meant certain death the way Josh was going; so being a servant was a better option. For you, it may mean you have to stop hanging around with that old crowd who keep making you do stuff you know you shouldn't be doing.
2) It's OK to ask for help. Don't leave it as long as they did before you admit you're struggling. There's power in asking your Christian mates to help you and pray with you.
written by Bob Gass
'The people of Gibeon had come to terms with Israel and were living as neighbours.' Joshua 10:1
The Gibeonites were a bunch of people most definitely going against God, so God told Joshua to kill them (check out Joshua 9 for the story).
They realised soon enough that they were on the wrong side, and about to get done over - so they disguised themselves, and conned Josh into promising not to kill them by saying they'd be his servants. When Josh found out he'd been tricked, he stuck to his promise. He didn't kill them - he even fought to protect them. But they did end up as the lowest servants, chopping wood and carrying water for the rest of their lives.
We can learn two things from the Gibs:
1) When you choose to follow God, you have to make a break from the past. 'This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!' (2 Cor 5:17 NLT). For the Gibs, staying as they were would have meant certain death the way Josh was going; so being a servant was a better option. For you, it may mean you have to stop hanging around with that old crowd who keep making you do stuff you know you shouldn't be doing.
2) It's OK to ask for help. Don't leave it as long as they did before you admit you're struggling. There's power in asking your Christian mates to help you and pray with you.
written by Bob Gass
