In Joshua 9 Joshua and the Israelites make a foolish and sinful covenant with the Gibeonites, people of the land. Had Joshua sought the Lord, he would not have been so easily tricked and God's people would have avoided much heartache. Here's my question: why did God allow them to be tricked?
He could have revealed the truth to Joshua. He could have struck the Gibeonites dead. He could have done an infinite number of things to stop this from happening. Instead He taught the Israelites (and us) an important lesson: a right response to God is more important than acts of obedience.
In other words, God's priority wasn't that Israel just obey, but that they remember to rely on Him for wisdom. God will allow His people to make huge messes of their lives in order to teach them to respond rightly to Him. The painful consequences are often an ongoing lesson - we must turn to God for direction and guidance.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says it like this: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
