Joshua makes a mistake.
They were not to make covenants with the people of the Land but were to
drive them out. The key words here are "did
not ask counsel from the Lord." The
great mistake that allowed them to be deceived by this clever trick was that
they did not seek the Lord's counsel in the matter. They believed the Gibeonites when they said
they had come from a long distance and showed their old bread and their
tattered clothing to prove they had taken a long journey. Once they have discovered the mistake the
leaders limited these people to be their servants in certain capacities.
Peter lacks the courage he thought he possessed. When push comes to shove he isn’t willing to
be associated with Jesus as it looks as though this isn't going to go
well. Certainly people had seen him with
Jesus over this past week in Jerusalem and if not, his presence here and his
Galileean accent would make him suspicious.
Although there is no particular charge proffered against Peter, if there
is to be a charge against Jesus of insurrectionism or if they call him as a
witness against Jesus it won't go well with Peter who has been His
disciple. Jesus is saving Peter but
Peter's only thought is to save himself at this moment. He distances himself from Jesus not only by
denying he knew him, but also by his cursing himself. Finally, on his last denial the cock crows,
just as Jesus had foretold and Peter leaves with what must have been an
incredibly heavy heart.
Jesus didn't please Himself, He didn't live in such a way
that gratified all His earthly desires. He
laid aside a pleasurable life and determined to live for the love of the Father
and for the love of humankind. He could
have had everything on earth but He chose eternal reward. We are always faced with decisions both great
and small that require the Lord's counsel but how often in the course of our
days do we actually seek that counsel? When
we fail to do that we mostly are living for our own pleasure, we make most of
our decisions based on whether it seems likely to us that they will produce
results we find pleasing but what if God would have us choose the other
direction because it will produce something eternal? I am trying to be more sensitive to that
reality, that all things need to be submitted to Him and frequently His
purposes aren't mine.
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