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Mouldy Bread,  Sympathetic Hearts, and a Terrible Decision (Joshua 9) · (Un) Common thoughts of Christ

• 0:00
  Bernard: Podcast title: Mouldy Bread, sympathetic Hearts, and a Terrible Decision Joshua 9 records one of the most unusual failures in Israel’s entrance into Canaan.
• 0:10
  Bernard: There is no battle or army advances or walls to fall like they saw at Jericho.
• 0:16
  Bernard: Instead, a group of men arrives with worn-out clothing, old shoes, patched wineskins, and mouldy bread.
• 0:23
  Bernard: And Israel is overcome by a story.
• 0:26
  Bernard: The danger in Joshua 9 is not military strength.
• 0:29
  Bernard: The danger is sympathy as a primary motive.
• 0:33
  Bernard: The Gibeonites know what has happened at Jericho and Ai.
• 0:37
  Bernard: They know Israel is moving through the land under the authority of the Lord.
• 0:42
  Bernard: They also know that they themselves are among the inhabitants of the land whom Israel has been commanded to judge.
• 0:49
  Bernard: In Joshua chapter 9 and verse 4 tells us:“They did work craftily.” They construct a deception.
• 0:57
  Bernard: They take old sacks for their donkeys.
• 1:00
  Bernard: Their wineskins are torn and patched.
• 1:03
  Bernard: Their shoes are worn.
• 1:05
  Bernard: Their garments appear old.
• 1:07
  Bernard: Their bread is dry and mouldy.
• 1:09
  Bernard: Everything about their appearance supports one message:“We have come from a very distant country.” When they arrive, they say:“We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.” At first, Israel hesitates.
• 1:26
  Bernard: Later in the 7th verse we read:“Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?” That question is important.
• 1:36
  Bernard: Something did not completely add up.
• 1:39
  Bernard: There was enough uncertainty to stop.
• 1:42
  Bernard: Enough uncertainty to inquire.
• 1:44
  Bernard: Enough uncertainty to seek the Lord.
• 1:47
  Bernard: But they continued listening.
• 1:49
  Bernard: And as they listened, the Gibeonites began to work upon their hearts.
• 1:54
  Bernard: They say:“We are thy servants.” That sounds humble.
• 1:59
  Bernard: It removes some of the sense of threat.
• 2:02
  Bernard: Then Joshua asks:“Who are ye?
• 2:04
  Bernard: and from whence come ye?” And their answer is carefully chosen.
• 2:09
  Bernard: In the 9th verse we read:“From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God.” Now the appeal moves beyond circumstance.
• 2:21
  Bernard: It becomes spiritual.
• 2:23
  Bernard: They have heard of Jehovah.
• 2:25
  Bernard: They know what He did in Egypt.
• 2:28
  Bernard: They know of the victories over Sihon and Og.
• 2:31
  Bernard: They present themselves as people who have heard of the Lord’s power and have been affected by His name.
• 2:38
  Bernard: Think about how powerful that appeal would have been.
• 2:42
  Bernard: Israel is newly established in the land.
• 2:45
  Bernard: The nations around them are enemies.
• 2:48
  Bernard: And suddenly a group appears saying, in effect:“We have heard of your God.”“We recognize what He has done.”“We have travelled a great distance because of His name.” Their words sound humble.
• 3:03
  Bernard: Their condition looks pitiful.
• 3:05
  Bernard: Their story appears credible.
• 3:07
  Bernard: Then they show Israel the evidence.
• 3:10
  Bernard: And in verse 12 we read:“This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy.” The bread supports the story.
• 3:25
  Bernard: The wineskins support the story.
• 3:27
  Bernard: The clothing supports the story.
• 3:30
  Bernard: The worn shoes support the story.
• 3:33
  Bernard: And sympathy begins to take control.
• 3:35
  Bernard: That is where Joshua 9 becomes very searching.
• 3:39
  Bernard: Because sympathy is not evil.
• 3:42
  Bernard: Compassion is not wrong.
• 3:44
  Bernard: A tender heart is something Scripture values.
• 3:47
  Bernard: But sympathy becomes dangerous when it begins to overrule what God has already said.
• 3:53
  Bernard: And that was the deeper problem here.
• 3:56
  Bernard: Israel had already been given a principle concerning the inhabitants of the land.
• 4:01
  Bernard: In Deuteronomy 7:2, the Lord had said:“Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them.” That is remarkably direct.
• 4:11
  Bernard: “Make no covenant.” And then:“Nor shew mercy unto them.” God was not teaching Israel to become hard-hearted.
• 4:20
  Bernard: He was teaching them that human sympathy could never be allowed to overturn divine judgment.
• 4:27
  Bernard: There are moments when compassion must remain subject to truth.
• 4:31
  Bernard: There are situations where kindness, separated from obedience, ceases to be true kindness.
• 4:37
  Bernard: Israel now had a group of people standing before them who appeared needy, humble, exhausted, and spiritually interested.
• 4:45
  Bernard: And everything in the natural heart said:“Surely we should help these people.” But God had already spoken.
• 4:53
  Bernard: That is the conflict at the center of Joshua 9.
• 4:57
  Bernard: What happens when the heart feels one thing, but the Word of God has established a principle?
• 5:04
  Bernard: Which one governs?
• 5:05
  Bernard: For Israel, sympathy began to carry more weight than Scripture.
• 5:10
  Bernard: And once that happened, dependence upon the Lord weakened with it.
• 5:14
  Bernard: Joshua 9:14 gives us the great turning point:“And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.” Notice the connection.
• 5:26
  Bernard: First, they were affected by what they saw.
• 5:29
  Bernard: Then they began evaluating the evidence.
• 5:32
  Bernard: Then sympathy rose in their hearts.
• 5:35
  Bernard: And finally they felt sufficiently persuaded that they did not need to ask the Lord.
• 5:41
  Bernard: They had the bread.
• 5:43
  Bernard: They had the wineskins.
• 5:45
  Bernard: They had the worn-out shoes.
• 5:47
  Bernard: They had the testimony.
• 5:49
  Bernard: They had their own impressions.
• 5:52
  Bernard: What more did they need?
• 5:54
  Bernard: They needed the Lord.
• 5:56
  Bernard: And that is the lesson.
• 5:58
  Bernard: We may have evidence and still lack discernment.
• 6:01
  Bernard: We may have compassion and still lack direction.
• 6:05
  Bernard: We may feel strongly and still misunderstand what is happening.
• 6:09
  Bernard: The great danger is when emotion gives us a sense of certainty that makes dependence seem unnecessary.
• 6:16
  Bernard: Sympathy can do that.
• 6:18
  Bernard: We feel the pain of another person.
• 6:21
  Bernard: We hear the urgency in their voice.
• 6:24
  Bernard: We see circumstances that seem to confirm what they are saying.
• 6:28
  Bernard: And suddenly the desire to relieve the situation becomes stronger than the desire to wait upon the Lord.
• 6:36
  Bernard: That is not spiritual discernment.
• 6:38
  Bernard: That is emotion becoming authority.
• 6:41
  Bernard: Joshua and the princes then make the covenant.
• 6:44
  Bernard: Joshua 9:15 says:“And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.” And only three days later, the truth becomes known.
• 6:59
  Bernard: They were not from a distant country.
• 7:02
  Bernard: They lived nearby.
• 7:04
  Bernard: The presentation had been designed to create a conclusion.
• 7:08
  Bernard: Israel's sympathy had been manipulated.
• 7:11
  Bernard: But the deeper failure was Israel's own.
• 7:14
  Bernard: The Gibeonites were responsible for deception.
• 7:18
  Bernard: Israel was responsible for allowing sympathy to take the place of obedience and dependence.
• 7:24
  Bernard: That distinction is important.
• 7:26
  Bernard: We cannot always control whether someone deceives us.
• 7:30
  Bernard: But we can remain before the Lord.
• 7:33
  Bernard: We can measure what we hear by His Word.
• 7:36
  Bernard: We can refuse to let emotional pressure force a decision that has not been tested in His presence.
• 7:43
  Bernard: There is a powerful New Testament principle in Philippians 1:9–10:“And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent.” Notice that Paul does not pray that their love would become smaller.
• 8:03
  Bernard: He wants it to abound.
• 8:05
  Bernard: But he wants love joined with something.
• 8:08
  Bernard: Knowledge.
• 8:09
  Bernard: Judgment.
• 8:10
  Bernard: Discernment.
• 8:12
  Bernard: That is vital.
• 8:13
  Bernard: Christian love is not blind sentiment.
• 8:16
  Bernard: Biblical love does not say,“Because I care deeply, whatever I feel must be right.” Love must be intelligent.
• 8:24
  Bernard: Love must be discerning.
• 8:26
  Bernard: Love must be governed by truth.
• 8:28
  Bernard: And sometimes love must say no.
• 8:31
  Bernard: Sometimes love must wait.
• 8:33
  Bernard: Sometimes love must refuse to act until the Lord's mind becomes clear.
• 8:38
  Bernard: The tenderest heart may still need to restrain itself.
• 8:42
  Bernard: That is why sympathy should never become the highest authority in a believer's life.
• 8:48
  Bernard: Christ is the highest Authority.
• 8:49
  Bernard: He is Head of His church.
• 8:52
  Bernard: His Word is the highest authority.
• 8:55
  Bernard: Christ's will should be the highest authority in a believer's life.
• 8:59
  Bernard: And our emotions, even good emotions, must remain underneath that authority.
• 9:05
  Bernard: Another helpful principle comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:21:“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” That is very different from suspicion.
• 9:16
  Bernard: Scripture does not teach us to become cynical.
• 9:20
  Bernard: It teaches us to test.
• 9:22
  Bernard: To examine.
• 9:23
  Bernard: To prove.
• 9:24
  Bernard: There is a difference between having a tender heart and having an unguarded heart.
• 9:30
  Bernard: A tender heart is willing to love.
• 9:32
  Bernard: A discerning heart asks whether the course before it is consistent with the Lord.
• 9:38
  Bernard: Israel examined the bread.
• 9:40
  Bernard: They should have examined the matter before God.
• 9:44
  Bernard: They inspected the evidence.
• 9:46
  Bernard: They should have tested the conclusion.
• 9:49
  Bernard: They listened carefully to the story.
• 9:52
  Bernard: But they failed to ask the most important question:“What has the Lord said?” That is where the failure occurred.
• 10:01
  Bernard: And perhaps there is a very practical lesson here for us.
• 10:05
  Bernard: Some of the most difficult decisions in life are not choices between something obviously good and something obviously evil.
• 10:13
  Bernard: They are choices involving compassion.
• 10:16
  Bernard: Choices with compassion regarding Relationships.
• 10:20
  Bernard: Choices of compassion concerning Needs.
• 10:23
  Bernard: Compassion about people we care about.
• 10:26
  Bernard: Compassion with stories that move us.
• 10:29
  Bernard: Situations where saying no feels harsh.
• 10:32
  Bernard: And that is precisely when discernment becomes necessary.
• 10:36
  Bernard: Because strong sympathy can make a principle from Scripture feel inconvenient.
• 10:42
  Bernard: It can make waiting upon the Lord feel unnecessary.
• 10:45
  Bernard: It can even make obedience feel unloving.
• 10:48
  Bernard: But God's principles are never in conflict with true love.
• 10:53
  Bernard: Philippians 1 does not separate love from discernment.
• 10:57
  Bernard: It joins them.
• 10:58
  Bernard: “That your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment.” That is the safeguard.
• 11:06
  Bernard: A warm heart under the control of spiritual judgment.
• 11:10
  Bernard: Compassion governed by truth.
• 11:12
  Bernard: Love that remains dependent upon the Lord.
• 11:15
  Bernard: Joshua 9 shows us what happens when those things become separated.
• 11:20
  Bernard: Israel's heart was moved.
• 11:22
  Bernard: Their sympathy was awakened.
• 11:25
  Bernard: Their conclusion seemed reasonable.
• 11:27
  Bernard: But Scripture had already spoken, and the Lord was never consulted.
• 11:32
  Bernard: So perhaps the question Joshua 9 leaves with us is not:“Should we be sympathetic?” Certainly we should.
• 11:41
  Bernard: The better question is: Who governs our sympathy?
• 11:45
  Bernard: Does emotion govern the decision?
• 11:47
  Bernard: Does another person's story govern it?
• 11:50
  Bernard: Does pressure govern it?
• 11:52
  Bernard: Or does the Lord Jesus govern our sympathy?
• 11:55
  Bernard: May our hearts remain tender.
• 11:58
  Bernard: May our love abound.
• 12:00
  Bernard: But may that love always abound, as Philippians says,“in knowledge and in all judgment.” Because sympathy is a wonderful servant.
• 12:09
  Bernard: But sympathy is a dangerous master.