...they did not ask for the counsel of the Lord

Read Joshua 9 as context for these reflections

Joshua 9:14 leaves me with a bone-chilling word: “So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord” (Josh. 9:14, NASB). And because of this, Israel never fully conquered Canaan. Because they “did not ask for the counsel of the Lord.”

In decision-making, our level of skill, prior experience, knowledge, or strength will ultimately amount to nothing if we do not seek the Lord. Boa et al. (2007) write, “While it’s crucial to make wise decisions, no decision is wise if it’s made independently of God” (p. 268).

We might be tempted to protest—to argue that wisdom can come from human skill and understanding. But James cautions against this arrogance. James writes, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will got to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.’ But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16, NASB…also see James 3:13-18).

I’ve been guilty of missing this deep truth of wise decision-making more times than I care to count. Charging headfirst into a decision—basing that decision on pure intuition (or worse, the ticking clock)—never once truly, genuinely consulting God before I’ve decided.

But that’s one of the main reasons Israel never fully conquered Canaan.

Haddon Robinson writes, “You and I are free to make our decisions, but we are never free from God.”

References

Boa, Kenneth, Sid Buzzell, and Bill Perkins. Handbook to Leadership: Leadership in the Image of God. Atlanta: Trinity House Publishers, 2007.

Robinson, Haddon W. Decision-Making by the Book: How to Choose Wisely in an Age of Options. Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 1998.