Dealing With The Devil

Problems in the land of Israel have been nothing new since Joshua showed up on the shores of the Jordan. Although the weapons have changed the basic problems have stayed the same. In Genesis 12:1-3 God gave Abraham a promise to give his descendants a land. Fast-forward 400 years or so we find the children of Israel in slavery to Egypt. After God gave the Egyptians ten very good reasons to allow Israel to leave, and after forty years of wandering the children of Israel found themselves at the banks of the Jordan.

The Israelites were willing and ready to claim that promise The Lord had given them. The one problem was that God had promised them the land, but they had to work to claim it. Under Joshua the Israelites made short work of Jericho and Ai. Then we come to Joshua 9:3, “And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai” The news of the Israelite army work at Jericho and Ai had traveled to the next city. The inhabitants came up with a plan to save themselves. They sent ambassadors dressed very poorly to meet Joshua and they lied to Joshua.
Joshua indeed to make a pact with them to spare them, this was a direct contradiction to what God had commanded them to do in Deuteronomy 7:1-3:

Deu 7:1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
Deu 7:2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:
Deu 7:3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
The inhabitants of Gibeon continued to be a thorn in the side of Israel hundreds of years afterward. Just as a side note God commanded them to be destroyed because God knew that the Canaanites would cause the Israelites to wander from the God’s Word and His commandments, and that is exactly what happened.

Today there is talk of another treaty, there is talk of peace. The problem is that this talk is about peace at any price. Former President Jimmy Carter is meeting with Hamas leaders this week. According to Fox News Carter even hugged and kissed Nasser Shaer, a top Hamas leader. Shaer is quoted as saying, "Carter asked what he can do to achieve peace between the Palestinians and Israel ... and I told him the possibility for peace is high.” The price for peace according to Hamas is the destruction of Israel.

Mr. Carter has given credence to Hamas and their gospel of hate by meeting with them. He also has adopted an Israel is the problem approach to Middle East diplomacy. This is a mistake, politically as well as Biblically. God has promised to bless those that bless Israel, and to curse the nations that curse them. God is not finished with Israel, and peace with the devil is not peace that nobody should have to live with.