After the final destruction of Ai by Joshua and Israel (see Joshua chapter 8), the surrounding kings on that side of the Jordan, out of fear of the same thing happening to them, gathered together to fight Israel with one accord.
“And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon—the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite—heard about it, that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.”
Joshua 9:1 & 2
But there were also the people of Gibeon.
”Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites.”
2 Samuel 21:2
These were part of the people groups, whose very land God had promised to give to Israel. For the Angel of the Lord had spoken to Moses from the burning bush.
“And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.” So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am. Then He said, ‘Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.’ Moreover He said, ‘I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. And the LORD said: ‘I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.’”
Exodus 3:2-8
The Lord also said to them,
“Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My Angel will go before you and bring you in to the Amorites and the Hittites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will cut them off. You shall not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their works; but you shall utterly overthrow them and completely break down their sacred pillars.”
Exodus 23:20-24
It is the Same for us Today Concerning the Things of His Judgement.
These men of Gibeon also heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. But instead of confronting the Israelites openly, they worked craftily instead. Pretending to be ambassadors, they came to Joshua and the men of Israel, saying to them,
“We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”
Joshua 9:6
- They pretended to be something they were not – They pretended to not be a threat.
Wishing to know the truth, Joshua questioned the men about these things. But instead of replying truthfully, they deceitfully replied,
“From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt”
Joshua 9:9
- They used flattery to gain their trust
Repeating the same words as Rahab in Joshua 2:10, they continued,
“And all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan—to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.”
Joshua 9:10
It may Look the Same but it’s Not
The words they spoke may have been the same as Rahab’s, but the intent behind them was not. The intent was to deceive them into thinking the words the men of Gibeon had spoken were true.
- In reality the opposite of what they expressed was true.
“But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.’”
Joshua 9:3-6
To their demise, being deceived by their words and what they outwardly saw, the men of Israel were lured into a false sense of security. They entered into a covenant that no man should. All because they did not ask counsel of the Lord. For the men of Gibeon had lied to them saying,
“This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and mouldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.’ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD. So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours who dwelt near them.”
Joshua 9:12 – 16
Peace be Upon You
Although the people of Israel kept the covenant they had made with the people of Gibeon because it was a covenant made before the Lord; it did not bring about the same outcome that the Lord had promised them. Instead of being cut off, the people of Gibeon were kept alive and placed in a position of servitude, just as Noah had said. (See Genesis 9:25). They had rightly proclaimed to Joshua, “We are your servants.” — Joshua 9:8.
“Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. But the children of Israel did not attack them, because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers. Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, ‘We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them. And the rulers said to them, ‘Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.’”
Joshua 9:17 – 21
This had lasting consequences for the generations to come. See also 2 Samuel 21:1-14 when David obeyed the commandment of the Lord; and the story of Hagar in the book of Genesis, chapters 16, 17 & 21. And the foolishness of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20:12 – 19, without forethought for the generations ahead.
The Perpetrators Knew the Promise of Abraham
Before the men of Gibeon even went to Joshua and the people of Israel, they already knew the promises of Abraham. The land of Canaan was being addressed.
“Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, and Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, and the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, and the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, and the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed.”
Genesis 10:15 – 17
“And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim (the giants - parenthesis added), the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.’”
Genesis 15:17 – 21
To the people of Gibeon Joshua said,
“Why have you deceived us, saying, “We are very far from you,” when you dwell near us? Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.’ So they answered Joshua and said, ‘Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; therefore we were very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.’ So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day.”
Joshua 9:22 - 27
Shake off the Indifference Says God
God’s will is not that we would look with suspicion, assuming the worst of every person we meet, but that we would practice discernment and continually seek the counsel of God. To seek His guidance, regardless of who that person may be, trusting in the work of the Lord for His voice to be heard. To not be wise in our own eyes as the gospel message has said, but to understand the will of the Lord which will come with time as His purposes are revealed, and to continue to follow that will.
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.”
Proverbs 3:7
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Ephesians 5:15 – 17
We are not to be followers of men but followers of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. For in God we shall do valiantly! Amen!
Have you prayed for this ministry today?
