Didn’t Ask
How often do we all blame God for all our troubles and trials in our daily lives that so regularly implode our way, for all those predicaments that we land up in, and for other things, when we so often did not firstly ask God’s permission, council and advice in the very first place? Where should I go? What do you want me to do? How do you want this situation handled God? We so often rush about without God’s council and advice, we so often do it singing, I did it my way, and when all fails, as it usually does, we lash out at God and blame him. Here is a Bible story to clarify this for us.
Joshua 9:1-27 tells the story in full, but here is the critical piece as found in Joshua 9:12-15 “This our bread we took hot [for] our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: and these bottles of wine, which we filled, [were] new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. And the men took of their victuals, and asked not [counsel] at the mouth of the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.” But the critical piece is found in Joshua 9:14 “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not [counsel] at the mouth of the LORD.” God had warned them before they left their Egyptian captivity about deception and the wickedness in the Promised Land that they were about to possess Exodus 23:32 “Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.”
Numbers 27:21 “And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask [counsel] for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, [both] he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” The High Priest had two large stones on the “Breast Plate,” called the Urim and the Thummim, and these gave God’s answers to any questions. Quote; “At the right and left of the breastplate were two large stones of great brilliancy. These were known as the Urim and Thummim. By them the will of God was made known through the high priest. When questions were brought for decision before the Lord, a halo of light encircling the precious stone at the right was a token of the divine consent or approval, while a cloud shadowing the stone at the left was an evidence of denial or disapprobation. {PP 351}
Here in this situation, Israel made agreements with a group of people that portrayed that they allegedly lived very far away, mouldy bread and ragged cloths and such, yet they actually lived right in the middle of Israel’s new homeland, just round the very corner. A couple of days later Israel turned the corner, and there right before them were huge cities, many people, and then Israel uncovered the deception, but their word was their bond, they were trapped, all because they did not ask God before they did anything. King David regularly asked the Priest with him to talk to God for him to tell him whether to attack, or to retreat in battles, where to go and what to do, all through his early life and when trying to outrun and to escape a vengeful King Saul, King David sought divine directions on pretty much everything he ever did.
King David, when obedient and seeking divine guidance, was saved from vast quantities of disasters, mayhem and death, all because he asked first. Often latter in life, he at times forgot to “Ask God,” scripture records many stories of what happened when he forgot God, and many more stories when he stopped and asked, listened and then heeded, heavenly council, and by following God’s recommendations, many wonderful things were achieved and great peace and happiness in many lives, the blessings of heaven flooded down through the people and the Nation as a whole and usually out to the surrounding nations, all because King David asked God first.
So when are we each going to finally stop running blindly through life, and to actually stop and to really talk to God, ask for heavenly guidance and council, read the Bible, Pray continually, and then go out heeding the word and living a victorious life in Christ Jesus our Lord, obedient to wise heavenly council. God can see the end from the beginning, all things are open to him, so why then are we so slow at asking God? This scripture should be something that we do automatically, moment by moment, 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” How often do the recording Angels have to write beside the many disasters recorded accurately in our life’s record, “Didn’t Ask,” and then on the next page, we have all the victories in our life, and there recorded is “Asked God’s advice and followed it.”
Back to the key text, Joshua 9:14 “The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn’t ask God about it” MSG. Proverbs 16:25 “There’s a way that looks harmless enough; look again – it leads straight to Hell” MSG. Proverbs 3:5 “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own” MSG. Joshua 9:14b repeated, “But they didn’t ask God about it” MSG. When will it stop being written against your name as a Testimony against you? They Didn’t ask God.
