By Princess Arira

Joshua was a perfect man but there was a snare in his life. The snare in the life of Joshua is a great lesson to all believers. They took old wine bottles. These are old men, old natures that came to associate with the people of God to cause division and spoil the work of God. That was the reason why they deceived Joshua and his congregation. Anytime you don’t seek God’s counsel you will fall for their deception, you will be beguiled. The cure from the deception is to seek counsel from God. The snare of deception was opened in the life of Joshua because he did not seek God’s counsel. Joshua and his congregation were deceived because of victuals. You need discernment for you not to be deceived. When God starts to bless you with spiritual gifts, you will begin to attract all kinds of people. You need discernment to detect deception. As a believer, anytime you go out of discernment you make mistakes. You will escape deception when you always take counsel from God and the man that God had called.

Those that came to deceive Joshua and his congregation came to Joshua with the following; old sacks, old wine bottles, old shoes, old garment, bread (dry and mouldy)

1. Old sacks:- This represents their journey which is not genuine. They don’t have genuine work with God. 

2. Old wine bottles:- They can’t carry the Holyspirit , they pretend as if they have the Holyspirit, they can’t receive the HolySpirit because they carry the old wine skin. 

3. Old shoes:- It means they don’t have the gospel of peace. When they come, they break every where that there is peace. Their gospel tampers with the unity/peace of the church. 

4. Old garment:- It represents the spirit of heaviness, their identity is not contagious. People cannot pattern their lives after them because they don’t have the garment of praise. 

5. Bread (Dry and mouldy):- this talks about their doctrine. There is no life in their doctrines, they can’t add to God, they are always removing from God because there is no life in them, what they stands for and believe. 

Bible references;

Josh 9:1-14, 22, Mark 2:22, Eph 6:15, 

Isa 61:3.