The Hardest Battle

Sometimes in life, we manage to make things more difficult than they need to be. Have you ever had a job or assignment in which you somehow increased the level of difficulty?

In Joshua 9, the Israelites made an alliance with the Gibeonites without seeking the Lord for wisdom. There is a danger in aligning ourselves with worldly and ungodly people. Paul warns believers not to be unequally yoked with non-believers (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Five other Canaanite Kings, fearing this alliance, prepare to attack Gibeon. The Gibeonite King calls on the Israelites, their new ally 22 miles away, to come and defend them. 

This is where we see how Israel's foolish alliance made things much more difficult for them. They took on one city at a time in each of their previous battles, but now they would be facing five armies at one time. This would be their hardest battle and unless the Lord was with them they would surely find defeat.

This Sunday we will be in Joshua 10 as we consider how to fight the hardest battles.