How can we avoid being deceived by the world? Joshua 6-10

How can we avoid being deceived by others?  It is doubtful that most of us have people actively trying to deceive us.  In the normal day-to-day functions of life most people are honest and trustful.   But, this is not true of the world in general.   We might live among friends and family and should be able to trust both.  But, the world's system is one of deceit.   Advertisements for products are the most obvious form of deceit that we see each day.   Seldom does a used car salesmen tell you "everything" about the car you are about to buy.   People selling things color it, perfume it, reshape it and disguise it so that we think we are getting something better than we are.  Marketing is the legal art of deception.   Politicians also are masters at the slight of hand.  They believe we are slow to catch on to their deception.   And, we are. We vote for what we think we hear not what we know we will probably get.   In Joshua's day, even though he was a man of God, he was not exempt from deception.   The Gibeonites tricked Joshua and the nation of Israel into thinking that they had come from a far land and wanted to be "partners" in their religion.   Even though God had told Joshua to NOT make a covenant with any nation in the land they were to conquer, he made a covenant with the Gibeonites ... a covenant that couldn't be broken.   What went wrong?   Note the following:

Joshua 9:14

So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord.

Joshua, again in haste, like the first battle with Ai, failed to talk to God about the proposed agreement with Gideon.   Haste makes waste, as they say.  In this case it caused an unholy union with the very people they were commanded to destroy.   The failure of Joshua and the Nation to slow down and seek God's face caused a relationship forbidden by God.   Solomon warns us that those who are fools are those who "do not know" or "do not ponder" and think through their choices (Proverbs 5:6; 7:23; 9:18).   If we fail to consult with God we will often walk off the cliff of deceit.   Satan is trying to deceive us.   The World is a system of deceit.  The only way we can really be safe in this world is to consult God and go to Him first, before we make a decision.   Reading His Word each day; praying each day; and consulting God's people each day will prevent a Gibeon from leading us into an unholy union.   God wants to guide us.  But, if we want to avoid deception we have to invite God into the decisions we make.  Only God can keep us from being deceived by the world.