Daily Post for July 25, 2014

Today's Lesson is from Joshua chapter 9 verses 22 through 25:

22 Joshua summoned [the Gibeonites] and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 

I was talking to a pastor friend the other day about a situation at a church we both know.  Things aren't good there and haven't been good there for a long time.  The church has gone through a lot of conflict and turmoil in recent years and several pastors have ended up as casualties. This has all been quite embarrassing for the church because it has a long and proud history.  But that's just the problem. The church is too proud.  "They just aren't desperate enough yet," my pastor friend said.

That goes for a lot of churches and organizations and people.  Pride gets in the way; and they won't change because they just aren't desperate enough.  In the end they may not be desperate enough to change until its too late.

I love this story from Joshua because it shows how getting desperate can save us.  When the Israelites came into the Promised Land the Gibeonites, who lived on the land, knew they would be killed lest they pretended to be from someplace else and made a covenant of peace with the Israelites.  By the time the Israelites figured it out that they had been deceived they had already made covenant with the Gibeonites to let them live so keeping their word they made the Gibeonites cutters of wood and drawers of water.  When the Gibeonites were asked why they would deign to such a lowly station they responded by pointing to the alternative - certain death.  

In other words, the Gibeonites got desperate enough.

There is an old saying, "Beggars can't be choosers."  When  we get desperate enough we'll get humble.  We'll put away our pride and get ready really work for our salvation - even if it means chopping wood and hauling water, sizing down on the house, loosing the country club membership, taking a second job, cleaning our own bathrooms, closing a store, closing a whole division, or simply accepting responsibility for past failure.  That's when we'll be ready.

Let's just hope it's not too late when we do it.