Page 85 - Overcoming Addiction

Canaan. It was His will that they should ALWAYS seek Him to know how the
battle was to be fought. The tendency to judge things by appearances is deeply
ingrained in our flesh. This was the cause for Israel’s first failure. They went and
looked things over, and decided that they would attack according to the way that
seemed most reasonable. We are not to judge things by appearance, nor make
decisions according to our natural reason. We are called to be a people of the
Spirit. “All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”
We see how deeply ingrained this tendency was in the hearts of the Israelites
in an event that occurred next. Dwelling right in the middle of the land of Canaan
was a group of people called the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites had heard how Israel
had destroyed Jericho and Ai, as well as all that God did in bringing them out of
Egypt. They trembled in fear at the approach of Joshua and his people. Knowing
they could not defeat Israel in battle, they thought to defeat them through
deception.
The Gibeonites appointed key men to go and ask Joshua to make a treaty of
peace with them. They knew Joshua would not do so if he discovered that they
dwelt in the midst of the land God had promised to Israel, so they made it appear
as if they came from a far land. They put on worn out clothes. They put moldy
cheese and dry bread in their bags. They chose worn and patched water flasks to
carry. Through these means they sought to deceive Israel into thinking they came
from a far land.
These men came to Joshua and the leaders of Israel and told them that they
had come from a land far away from Canaan where the fame of Israel had been
heard, and they asked for a treaty of peace with them. The leaders of Israel
questioned them concerning where they had come from, and asked if they dwelt in
the land of Canaan. The Gibeonites denied doing so, and they showed them their
food and clothes and water bags as proof that they had journeyed a long way.
Once more the leaders of Israel neglected to consult with Yahweh. The
Gibeonites appeared to be telling the truth. Consequently, Joshua made a treaty of
peace with them. A few days later their deception was uncovered, but it was too
late. A treaty had already been made and the oath had to be honored. Israel was
not able to dispossess this people due to the treaty. This enemy dwelt in their land
throughout all their days when God desired for them to be conquered.
In the book of Isaiah there is a prophecy of Christ that declares that He
would not do as the Israelites did. He would not judge things by appearances.

Isaiah 11:3-4
And He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what
His ears hear; but with righteousness He will judge...

How do we make decisions if we are not judging by appearances? We do so
by pressing into the presence of God and seeking His counsel. This is how
Yahshua discerned what He was to do in every instance. We see this same
diversity in the actions of Christ as we observe in Yahweh’s battle instructions for
Israel. Christ healed a number of blind men during His ministry. Following are a
few examples.