The incident recorded in today's Scripture could have played out very differently if the Israelites had done what might have made sense to them to do instead of doing what they knew was right. They could, perhaps, have seen the attack of the Jerusalem coalition (v. 3) as a golden opportunity to solve the problem created by the Gibeonites by simply failing to defend them; they could even have reasoned that they shouldn't have agreed to defend them in the first place. But that would be violating their oath (however misbegotten an oath it was); and, in this instance at least, they were smart enough to realize that the Lord wouldn't help them if they did that. So, they went ahead and helped the Gibeonites, no matter how much they probably wanted not to - and the Lord rewarded them by intervening in amazing ways (vv. 12-14) to make it possible for them to defeat the coalition.

Several times, I have found myself in situations in which I had to counsel people, "Don't do what you think will lead to the outcome that you desire! Do what you know the Lord wants you to do no matter what the consequences might be! You stand a much better chance of getting him to help you, rather than hinder you and frustrate you, if you do things his way."

Don't "do your own thing" - do the RIGHT thing!

John H. Roller