Deception, Promises, Problems, and Choices… Pt 4

​The Choices…
Joshua 10 gives the conclusion to everything that has happened between Israel and Gibeon up to this point.  Gibeon tricked Israel into making an alliance with them and Israel decided to honor their alliance, even though it was made from deception.  The problems that were sure to come have made their way into the scene in Joshua 10.  Five Kings have come together to punish the Gibeon, who has called to Israel for help.  Israel had a decision to make.  They had told Gibeon that they would defend them, but now it was time to step up to action.  Israel could either honor their word, or decide this is the appropriate punishment for a city that lied to them.  
We are often in very similar situations throughout our life.  We have choices of honoring our word, more importantly God’s Word, or to believe people are getting what they deserve.  We have the choice to follow through and actually DO the things we talk about at church and among our Christian friends, or to simply talk and never put our words to action.  Unfortunately many times we choose to talk rather than act.  In churches we talk about God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and all the good things the church does, but when it comes time put feet to the talk, there are very few willing to do the walking.  
This was the situation for Israel.  They had done the talking, and now it was time to act or not.  Israel decided to act and follow through with their promise.  But the amazing thing is what God did because of Israel’s loyal obedience to Him.  Because Israel was faithful and put action to their words, God showed up in a massive and undeniable way.  During the course of the battle Israel was winning, but running out of daylight.  God responded by causing the sun to stand still.  That’s right; God altered the laws of nature to help His people.  Israel trusted God and He didn’t fail them.  I can’t help but read this and think of us today.  
What if God is waiting for us to follow through, so He can show up in a big way…