What those inhabitants did was to deceive Joshua, telling him they were from a far away village, but that they wanted to be Joshua's servants. Joshua agreed not to harm them - before learning they were actually from one of the villages in the land God had instructed Joshua to capture.
What is Joshua to do now?
He keeps his promise.
At the risk of merely repeating my reflection from last night's gathering, I could not ignore the irony of this being the appointed lesson for today. When I opened my bible this morning, it hit me square in the face. Interesting, isn't it, how things happen in a pattern?
Hopefully, there is a pattern here which can be established in our lives, and in the community we share. A pattern of knowing that God's word is kept, regardless. No action on our part can separate us from the love of God. That pattern then instructs us on how we are to interact with others. Our word, should also be dependable and unbroken; maybe even particularly when our promises were offered in good conscience while deceit was the aim of the other. Perhaps this is what happens to God, when the promises of God are met with half-hearted responses (even deceit) on our part.
God will never change his promises to you. As a servant of God, we are to do the same. While there will be many disappointments in our lives, we can always depend upon God's presence and God's support. We can turn to God's servants for expressions of these gifts from God.
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