Joshua 9:1-27
1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;
2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.a
3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai,
4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy.
6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?
8 And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.
11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with youb for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us.
12 This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy:
13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.
14 And the menc took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.
15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
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 neighbours, 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 maded 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.
DECEIVED BY THE GIBEONITES
(vs.1-27)
The calm deliberation with which the Lord was acting gave time for the forces of the enemy to be marshaled against Israel. Six nations, the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perezites, Hivites and Jebusites, on hearing of Israel's invasion across the Jordan, gathered together to join forces in opposition to this alarming threat (vs.1-2). Human military strategy would have urged Israel to attack quickly, so as to prevent any united resistance against them, but God is wiser than men. He allowed time for the nations to unite against His people, so that He might show His superior power by defeating them together in a very short time.
But Satan knows well how to work by deceit as well as by outward opposition. The inhabitants of Gibeon evidently discerned that they would not be able to defeat Israel, so they sent men posing as ambassadors from a far country, having old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals, wearing old garments, and with dry and moldy food (vs.3-4).
Coming to Joshua they flatly lied to him in saying they came from a far country, asking him to make a covenant with them (v.6). The men of Israel suspected that this might be deception (v.7), but the Gibeonites told Joshua, "We are your servants." Notice that they did not speak like Rahab did, acknowledging the God of Israel as the true God, and when Joshua pressed them as to who they were and where they came from, they did not answer this specifically, but said again they were from a very far country. Then they brought in God's name, saying they had heard of His fame and of His victories in Egypt and over Sihon and Og (vs.9-10). Actually, the reports had only awakened fear in their hearts, not faith, as in Rahab's case.
What the Gibeonites said sounded plausible, and it may be that their reference to Israel's God had a deciding effect with Joshua, but he and Israel made the fatal mistake of receiving them on their own word without asking counsel from the Lord (v.14). They made and confirmed a covenant with them by an oath (v.15). If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Three days following this Israel found that these people lived close to them (v.16), and as Israel journeyed they came to their four cities, But these cities had to be spared because of the oath Israel had made to them. This led the congregation to complain against the rulers, for this was contrary to what God had commanded (v.18)
Could they rescind the covenant now on the basis of having been deceived? Absolutely not! Why? Because, though others may act falsely, this never gives a Christian the right to act falsely in return. They had given their word. God would not allow them to go back on it in spite of the problems that might follow. Later on King Saul, "in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah" killed some of the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1), and God sent a famine on Israel in the days of David because of this. Saul thus chose a foolish way of trying to correct the failure of his forefathers. What a lesson to teach us the importance of bowing to the governmental results of our failures, rather then to proudly think we can correct them!
However, there must be some discipline meted out because of the deception. The Gibeonites had said they were Israel's servants, therefore the rulers of Israel said, "let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation" (v.21). They must be kept in total subservience to Israel. Joshua then gave them this message, telling them that, in spite of their being spared, they were under a curse for their deception and would never be freed from slavery (vs.22-23).
They answered Joshua that they knew that God had told Moses to destroy the people of the land and this deception was the only means they could think of to be preserved from death, for they were filled with fear (v.24). If it had been faith that brought them, they would have found the God of Israel full of compassion, as He was with Rahab, but God knew that these nations had given themselves up to idolatry and unbelief.
However, they did not by any means resist Joshua's words and declared themselves ready to submit to whatever Joshua thought right. This is similar to what will take place at the end of the Great Tribulation. There will be those from foreign nations who will hear of Christ in His great conquests. Psalms 18:43 tells us, "A people I have not known shall serve Me. As soon as they hear of Me they obey Me; the foreigners submit to Me. The foreigners fade away, and come frightened from their hideouts." These people will not be serving the Lord Jesus because of love for Him, but because of fear, and they will be kept under strict control. Joshua knew this had to be done as regards the Gibeonites.