Joshua 9:16-27

The Servitude of the Gibeonites Joshua 9:16-27

16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they dwelt among them.
17 And the children of Israel journeyed and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.
18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.
19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.
20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?
23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.
24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the Lord thy 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 sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
25 And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.

11.

How far away was Gibeon? Joshua 9:16

Depending upon the exact location of the camp of Israel, the city of Gibeon could not have been more than a few hours-' journey away from the spot where they met Joshua. If Joshua and the Israelites were encamped at the Gilgal which was in the country of Ephraim, they were indeed very close to Gibeon. Even if Joshua led the people back to the Gilgal which was near Jericho, the Gibeonites did not have to travel more than a few hours to reach the camp of Israel. They were indeed neighbors to Israel. The Israelites came to the cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim on the third day after they broke camp. When the Israelites got there, they honored their covenant and let the Gibeonites live.

12.

Could the Israelites have broken their oath with justice? Joshua 9:18

No doubt from the standpoint of strict justice the Israelite rulers would be under no obligation to observe the treaty which they had made with the Gibeonites in full faith in the truth of their word. But the princes of Israel shrank back from breaking the oath, which, as is emphatically stated in verse nineteen, they had sworn by Jehovah the God of Israel. They were afraid of bringing the name of the God of Israel into contempt among the Canaanites, which they would have done if they had broken the oath which they had sworn by their God. Some of the Israelites must have wanted to break the covenant, for we read later that Joshua restrained the people and delivered the Gibeonites out of the hand of the children of Israel so that they did not slay them.

13.

What disposition was made of the Gibeonites? Joshua 9:21

Although the rulers of Israel let the Gibeonites live, they did not let them go unpunished. They made them to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation of Israel. Such a phrase indicates that they were forced to do the most servile kind of labor. Their service was evidently largely connected with the offering of sacrifices at the Tabernacle. These sacrifices would demand a great deal of wood for the fire on the altar. They also called for a large quantity of water for the sanitation necessary to the offering of animal sacrifices.

14.

Did the Gibeonites cause them any trouble? Joshua 9:22

As soon as they discovered their error, the princes were bound to do all in their power to ward off from the congregation the danger which might arise from their being drawn away to idolatry, This was the very thing which the Lord had intended to avert by commanding all the Canaanites to be destroyed, They warded off trouble by making the Gibeonites slaves of the sanctuary. Their conduct is never blamed either by the historian or by the history, inasmuch as it is not stated anywhere that the Gibeonites, after being made into temple slaves, held out any inducement to the Israelites to join in idolatrous worship. At a future time God Himself reckoned the attempt of Saul to destroy the Gibeonites as an act of blood guiltiness (2 Samuel 21:1 ff.). This latter incident is the only record we have of their bringing any grief to Israel.

15.

What prophecy was thus fulfilled? Joshua 9:23

The Gibeonites were to perform for the congregation the slave's labor of hewing wood and drawing water for the worship of the sanctuary. This was a duty which was performed, according to Deuteronomy 29:11, by the lowest classes of the people. In this way the curse of Noah upon Canaan (Genesis 9:25) was literally fulfilled upon the Hivites of the Gibeonite republic. Their servitude was only a token of the punishment meted out to all the heirs of Canaan. God was indeed fulfilling the promise made through Noah. No word of God is void of power.

16.

How did the Gibeonites know of God's promise to Moses? Joshua 9:24

God had made the promise to give Canaan to Abraham's seed when Abraham first left Ur of Chaldees. The promise was repeated to Jacob as he fled from Esau. The promise must have been common knowledge not only among the Israelites, but also among the Canaanites themselves. Moses had led the people to the southern border of Canaan forty years earlier. People living in Canaan may have learned of God's promise to give the land to the Israelites at that time. More recently, Moses had led Israel in the conquest of the kingdoms of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan. The Canaanites would certainly see God was giving the land to Israel. Even if the Canaanites did not know of the exact wording of the promise, they would be able to interpret events of history and come to the conclusion that the Israelites were destined to possess the land. Their reference to the fact that it was told to them leads us to believe that they must have heard of the covenant itself.