Joshua 9:1-27

The Faithful Demonstration of the Love of God to His People

PEACE AND FALSEHOOD DO NOT GO TOGETHER

Background:

I. The Israelites conquest into the land of Canaan (Chapter 1-12)

Conquest of Southern Canaan. (chapter 9-10)

Conquest of Northern Canaan (chapter 11)

List of Kings Defeated by Israel (Chapter 12)

II. The Allotment of inheritances to the Twelve Tribes (Chapter 13-24)

Outline

I. Two Responses to the Conquest into the land of Canaan (vv.1-6)

A. Fight - there are those who want to fight Israel (vv.1-2)

B. Submit - there are those who are convinced they cannot win against Israel (vv.3-6)

SHOW THE MAP HERE....

For response A, It is very probable that they found considerable encouragement from what happened at Ai. There it had been seen that Israel was not invincible.

For response B, apparently the Gibeonites had become aware of the provisions in the Mosaic Law permitting Israel to make peace with cities that were at a considerable distance, but requiring them to wipe out completely the cities of the seven nearby Canaanite nations (Deut. 20:10–18; 7:1–2).

II. The Deception of the Gibeonites (vv. 7-13)

Is it possible to achieve peace through deceit and falsehood?

Deception is not good even if the intention is good.

The Gibeonites were crafty (v.4) . Crafty means ready to do anything usually in the bad sense of tricky and cunning behavior.

The Gibeonites tried to trick Gideon and the leaders of Israel by telling them that they were from a country far far away to avoid being destroyed.

Joshua 9:6 NASB95

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 9:9–10 NASB95

They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord your God; for we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth.

The Gibeonites chose peace over war. Unfortunately, though they feared God, they did not opt for a third solution, full submission within God’s covenant, as Rahab had done.

There is a mixture of good and evil in their conduct.

(1.) Their deception cannot be justified, and cannot be drawn into a precedent (basihan ug sundogon)

We must not do evil that good may come.

Whereas deception is a recognized necessity in war, deception in making treaties is unacceptable (that is why Joshua cursed them in v.23

Had they told the truth and denounced their idolatry and submitted to the God of Israel - they could have been spared from death and would become gentile proselytes and avoided tragic outcome - cursed to being forever slave to Israel (which we will look at later…)

III. The Failure of the Israelite Leaders to Consult God (vv. 14-15)

Common weakness of people in the OT - and even we Christians today suffers from this weakness.

Joshua 9:14–15 NASB95

So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.

In truth, Joshua and the elders were also in the wrong for depending on their senses rather than enquiring of the Lord (14).

- Failure to consult God (personal and leadership) (v.14)

- Hasty in making decisions without proper investigation or testing.

- The leaders were caught off-guard.

The church must not substitute its own understanding, however attractive or wise, we must go back to the word of God.

Whatever the cause it was a mistake to trust their own judgment and make their own plans. This holds true for believers in all ages (James 4:13–15)

James 4:13–15 NASB95

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”

IV. The deceit exposed and the truth wins (vv. 16-25)

Joshua 9:16 NASB95

It came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living within their land.

This deceitful act resulted to:

a. Grumbling and distrust from the congregation against the leaders (v.18)

Joshua 9:18 NASB95

The sons of Israel did not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord the God of Israel. And the whole congregation grumbled against the leaders.

b. The Gibeonites became cursed and will forever becomes slaves to Israel (v.23)

Joshua 9:23 NASB95

“Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall never cease being slaves, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.”

So the very thing the Gibeonites hoped to attain they lost. They desperately wanted to remain free men; in the end they became slaves.

V. Joshua and the Leaders stayed true to their Oath (vv. 26-27)

Joshua 9:26 NASB95

Thus he did to them, and delivered them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not kill them.

If you were Joshua and you found out you were deceived? What would you do?

Honor the WORDS you HAVE GIVEN!

We cannot but RESPECT the way in which Joshua and the LEADERS acted when they discovered the deception.

Proper Response:

Consult God first and do not make hasty decisions.

Proverbs 3:5–6 NASB95

Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Consult God through His Word and by prayer.

Consult godly people around you.

Do not break an oath even if others do it.

In an age of broken marriage vows, of broken business contracts, and of broken promises, always remember to honor your WORD - to have integrity.

James 5:12 NASB95

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.

we are advised to avoid taking oaths or vow.

honor you contracts (workplace, loans, etc…)

Wholly submit to God!

Do not be like the Gibeonites, do not think that you can pretend and trick God to be His follower when you are not. Be a real follower of Jesus by wholly submitting to Him!

Do not be like the Gibeonites, wrong motives in coming to God will not yield a good result. Instead, come to God with a humble and honest heart - pour out your need to God and say - Jesus, I need help. I am afraid to go to hell, I am in need of your mercy and grace.

Confronted with Christ and his gospel, people can likewise opt for one of these three postures:

Fight against Christ (rejection) - it will not end good for you.

Full membership in the new covenant through his blood and spiritual rebirth (submission)

Peaceful co-existence without full submission to him (partial submission)

I plead with you - Submit your whole being to Christ!