People Prepared by God (Joshua 9:3–10)
People Prepared by God (Joshua 9:3–10) 12/7/2025
For God’s saved people, nothing is a greater blessing than gaining people. Even in business, those who succeed gain people, and those people become your strength in ordinary moments and in crucial moments. (As the novel Sangdo says: “Business is not about profiting money but about profiting people.”)
It is the same in ministry. We have already gained God Himself. If, on top of that, we gain the people God has prepared, that is everything.
The same is true for world evangelization. We must enjoy the five powers given by the Holy Spirit, and one of them is manpower. In the book of Joshua, the conquest of Canaan represents our conquest of the world. The final barrier to that conquest was the war with the united Canaanite coalition.
According to verses 1–2, all the peoples of Canaan gathered to fight Israel. The key people who helped in this moment were the Gibeonites in today’s passage. Seeing Israel’s wars against Jericho and Ai, they approached Israel in fear and made a covenant of peace. They became Israel’s allies, and not only that, they became servants of God’s temple, taking on the tasks of the Levites. Later, until Solomon built the temple, the ark of the covenant was kept at Gibeon, where the people served God. There, Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings and received God’s great wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:3–6).
Encounters with people prepared by God produce such results. May you live within this blessing. Through the way Joshua and the Israelites gained the Gibeonites, we learn at least three lessons.
- When did this blessing come to the Israelites?
As we shared in the previous Wednesday service, it came after they experienced failure at Ai, renewed everything, and challenged again. What was the conclusion of the failure at Ai?
It confirmed who the people of Israel, the people of God’s covenant, really were.
1) The healing of God’s people Though shameful, God exposed everything and healed the remaining nature, greed, and pride from the wilderness. Because God saved us while we were still sinners, He continues to heal us (Romans 5:8; Romans 8:26; Romans 8:34). Through painful and embarrassing times, God shapes us into vessels He can use.
2) They did not remain in failure or give up. They challenged again and experienced restoration and re-creation. In the end, Ai fell, proving that God’s covenant people ultimately gain victory.
3) All the nations saw the evidence, and through it, Israel gained the Gibeonites.
Though the Canaanites formed a coalition against Israel, the Gibeonites chose to join the people of God. This is why believers must see every problem, conflict, and crisis as an opportunity for God’s answer and blessing.
- These Gibeonites were people prepared by God.
At the believers’ field (school, workplace, business, evangelism field), there are people whom God has prepared.
1) Some people are simply desperate and seeking help. All the peoples of Canaan trembled after seeing the victories of Jericho and Ai. Thus, they formed a coalition. In the field there are many dying, desperate, crying out for help. But we must discern whether they are people truly prepared by God. If you try to rescue a drowning and clamoring person without discernment, you may drown with them. You must either have the strength to restrain them or wait until they lose strength. This is why we must pray and wait earnestly when trying to save someone.
2) There are certainly people prepared by God. He leads us to them through prayer.
① We preach the gospel to all because we are searching for those whom God has appointed and prepared (Acts 16:31).
② There are many prepared disciples in the field. Regardless of their status, background, or condition, we must meet those whom God has prepared. God converted Paul and then connected him to Ananias, saying, “He is My chosen instrument” (Acts 9:15). When Paul, as an evangelist, faced closed doors and prayed deeply, he met Lydia (Acts 16:13–15), and the Church of Philippi began.
③ When we face crises, God enables us to meet people who risk their lives to help.
When Israel faced annihilation, what did Queen Esther say after hearing from Mordecai? “Who knows whether you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14),
“If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). During King Ahab’s idolatrous rule, Obadiah risked his life to save 100 prophets (1 Kings 18:4). When Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathea secretly cared for His burial (John 19:38).
3) Those whom God prepares humble themselves. This is God’s absolute grace.
① Cornelius, a Roman centurion, knelt before Peter to receive the message (Acts 10:25–26). This cannot happen by human effort.
② What is the humblest posture before God? It is to acknowledge our sin, weakness, and powerlessness, and receive the gospel. The Gibeonites did this, and God accepted them and set them to serve the temple.
③ They accepted the role of cutting wood and drawing water for the congregation in the temple. Before God, being utterly humble is no problem. We have already gained God and are His children. The lower we become, the more God exalts us (James 4:6), and the works of darkness fall. Satan himself fell because of pride (1 Timothy 3:6).
- The future prepared by God
1) God knew the plans of the Canaanite coalition that would oppose Israel.
And God had already prepared helpers for His people (Jehovah Jireh). Satan uses every scheme to destroy us (Ephesians 6:12), but God prepares everything for the believer who holds onto the covenant. This is why we must stay awake, meditate on the covenant, and build our watchtower of prayer (Isaiah 62:6–7).
2) Our salvation was prepared in the same way.
① God knew humanity would fall by Satan’s deception, so He prepared Christ before the ages began. That is why the gospel is called “the secret hidden for long ages past” (Romans 16:25).
② In Christ, God predestined us before the foundation of the world to receive heavenly blessings, be justified, and become His children (Ephesians 1:3–5). We are the people God has prepared, so we must quickly discover who we are in Him.
3) God now sends us to save those He appointed for salvation before long ages past. Our evangelism and missions are part of God’s eternal plan prepared long ago. Therefore interpret everything through evangelism and missions, and make the conclusion for your life and the world there (Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:18–20; Acts 1:8).
Conclusion – God knows everything about us and has prepared everything for us. He takes responsibility for our past, present, and future, turning all things into testimony. May you enjoy the blessing of being God’s prepared person, and of meeting the people He has prepared for your life.
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