March 6

“He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.’ Psalm 15:4

Whatever the nature of the contract, when the word of a Christian has been given, the promise must be honored. Because God keeps his word we have salvation; he is true to his pledge. The Gibeonites craftily deceived Joshua, and he made peace with them before discovering their plot (Joshua 9:19). Nevertheless. God insisted that the terms of the covenant be honored, and later withheld rain because King Saul went back on that undertaking.

God will not permit us carelessly to destroy a covenant. He who insisted that Joshua should spare the Gibeonites, and later that King David should avenge the wrong done to them, expects us to be true to our word, even if it be to our own disadvantage.