In Joshua 9 we read of how Joshua, using human wisdom and human counsel instead of God’s wisdom and God’s counsel entered into a covenant of friendship with people he later realised were inhabitants of Canaan and under God’s judgement.
It proved to be a wrong decision, involving the sin of not seeking God’s counsel on Joshua’s part, and in no small measure the deception of Gibeonites.
What if we have made the wrong decision? If we were wrong, what if those we trusted deceived us? Does it mean we don’t have to follow through?
In answering we should note that God certainly counted the treaty as wrong, despite the ignorance of the Israelites. He did not believe ignorance was an excuse then, and He doesn’t now. Sin done in ignorance is still sin, and must be repented of.
But what of the Gibeonite deception? Did the Gibeonites’ lie make the oath and covenant void? No. Many people today would say that they wouldn’t have to keep a promise if it was based on a deception. But God held Israel to their oath. They knew that breaking their oath would simply be another sin. Instead, they repented of their oath-taking, while dealing with the consequences.
Our sins have consequences – and we must deal with them, not sin more trying to negate them. When we are brought face to face with a consequence of a sinful act, the proper response is repentance and then facing the responsibility of dealing with the consequences. Sin will never right a wrong. Only humble obedience will.
The lies of the Gibeonites showed their character. Joshua’s refusal to break his oath showed his.
But of course the better way is to make the right decisions in the first place, an that means knowing and prayerfully applying God’s counsel, His Word.
‘God uses the better way of serious and constant consideration of God’s Word (Ps 1; 19:7; 2 Peter 1:19). The more you know the Scriptures, the more direction you will have in your life (Psa. 119).’ (Stuart Scott)