Dealing with Deception

A pastor went to call on one of the elderly widows of his church. While visiting with her, he noticed a big bowl of shelled peanuts on the coffee table. During the long conversation with the little old widow, the pastor began nibbling on the peanuts and soon the entire bowl was empty! The pastor profusely apologized to the woman for eating all of her shelled peanuts and was very embarrassed.

The sweet little old lady replied, "That's okay, Pastor. It's no problem. You see, three weeks ago I had all of my teeth pulled. Since that time, I've just been sucking the chocolate off of the peanuts and spitting them back in that bowl!"

The People of Gibeon

The people of Gibeon heard of this leader Joshua and his people. They heard of the destruction that had fallen upon Jericho and Ai; and they quickly figured out that they did not stand a chance in battle against Israel. So, the people of Gibeon quickly devised a plan to save themselves. They put on an Oscar winning performance, convincing Joshua that they are from a far away land and that they have traveled a long distance in order to join him and worship his God.

They play it up real good- never leading Joshua to expect that they are from just up the road, and that they were destined to be destroyed by the people of Israel.

Joshua and the leaders bought this story hook, line, and sinker. The Gibeonites probably thought that they got off scott-free. Joshua makes a covenant with them promising to treat them with kindness and keep peace with them.

The problem was, of course, this covenant was based on deception.

We all have moments when we are deceived. This passage can teach us a lot about how we are do react and carry ourselves when these things happen. People lie to us, manipulate us, and get the best of us. Even when we, like Joshua, seem to have the best of intentions on our minds. So, if it happens to all of us, it makes sense that we would take a few moments to study how the Bible teaches us to react in the face of deception.

Joshua was Deceived because he did not seek the Lord’s Counsel

v14-15 tell us that “the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.”

I wonder if some of these guys had gotten a little to big for their britches. They had a couple big battle victories under their belts, they were a new generation of people who had overcome some of the perils of their forefathers, and there was no evident danger here- to let the people dwell with them or not. Clearly they could make this decision on their own.

I wonder, how many times are we put in a compromised position because, like the Israelites, we neglect to seek the Lord in our decision making.

In church we call this “discernment” listening for the voice of God and God’s direction in our lives. As most of us know, decisions are not always that clear. Sure, there are times when there is clearly a right and clearly a wrong in a situation. Should I steal or not- clearly no. But sometimes God’s will is not always so clear because there are no clear right and wrong answers. It is in these situations that we usually need to listen for God’s voice more intently than ever.

JI Packer puts it, “Holiness means not only desiring God, but also loving and practicing righteousness, out of a constant exercise of conscience to discern right from wrong and an ardent purpose of doing all that one can to please God.”

The people of Israel were put in a compromised position because they failed to consult the Lord.

I can remember when I was younger I made a rash decision one time and made a real mess out of a situation. I was talking with my pastor about the mess I had created and he asked me if I had taken my time and prayed about the decision. Honestly, no I had not. As I went on to ask why God was allowing the situation to get so bad I can still remember him saying- perhaps if you did not take the effort to consult God then, you should avoid blaming him now.”

The Lie that they told did not release Joshua from honoring his oath.

Joshua 9:19–20 (ESV)

But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. This we will do to them: let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.”

This is probably the part of the story that rubs a lot of people the wrong way. Joshua and Israel had been lied to- they had been deceived- they had been wronged. But they were not released from the covenant that they made before the Lord.

They had not just made a covenant to the Gibeonites, they had made a covenant before the Lord and they needed to honor it.

How often do we protest- BUT GOD THEY....

But here’s the thing, church, someone else’s failure to honor Christ does not excuse you from your commitment to him.

Anglican Priest Studdert Kennedy tells of an explorer who brought back a chameleon which his household affectionately named Billy the Lizard. The explorer left Billy in the charge of his butler, who showed him to his many friends and associates. When the explorer returned, he asked how Billy was.

"Well, sir," said the butler, "it was like this. We put Billy on the green rug he turned green as Ireland. We put him on the red rug he turned as red as Russia. Then some fool put him on a patchwork quilt, and poor Billy burst into a million pieces."

Says Kennedy: "The world we live in is a patchwork quilt, a bewildering complex...patched with the colors of the rainbow, and we madly try to adapt ourselves to its complexities. We change our characters according to the company we keep." And because we choose to be this way, we can not commit to anything

So, even though Joshua and the leaders failed in their commitment to consult God, they rebounded by keeping their oath they promised.

In Psalm 37 David writes these words in v5-7

Psalm 37:5–7 (ESV)

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Sometimes I wonder how much different church culture would look if we spent more time pursing our own righteousness and justice instead of merely trying to call other people out because of their faults. Instead of focusing on exposing them, we focused on refining ourselves.

We cannot allow the unchristlike behavior of someone else cause us to act unchristlike.

Even after they deceived him, Joshua kept the Gibeonites in the presence of God

What was the punishment given to them? They would cut the wood and bring the water for the Sacrifices.

Do you remember what the Gibeonites told Joshua at the beginning of this story, when he asked who they were and what they wanted?

Joshua 9:8–9 (ESV)

They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt,

It seems like their heart was in the right place, but their actions did not line up with their intentions, sound like any of us in here?

If it was you, if they would have tricked you, deceived you, lied to you....would you have let them serve in God’s temple?

One of the things that always bothers me is how quick Christians can be to dismiss one another. How many times have we heard, or even said “I can’t go to church with someone like that” or “I cannot believe that person goes to church here” We use their sin or shortcomings as an excuse to keep them distant from God. But not Joshua, he intentionally kept them connected to temple worship.

These Gibeonites did not know God; so Joshua saw it seems as though Joshua saw this as a moment for inclusion and discipleship. And Joshua showed them mercy and gave them a chance to be transformed in the presence of God.

We ask for transformation, but many times try to keep people at an arm’s length when they do not measure up....

Listen to James 2:12-13 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 2

judged by the law of liberty—(Jam 1:25); that is, the Gospel law of love, which is not a law of external constraint, but of internal, free, instinctive inclination. The law of liberty, through God’s mercy, frees us from the curse of the law, that henceforth we should be free to love and obey willingly. If we will not in turn practice the law of love to our neighbor, that law of grace condemns us still more heavily than the old law, which spake nothing but wrath to him who offended in the least particular (

The Bible does set standards for moral and ethical behavior. but in Christ we are invited to be transformed, not merely condemned by our failures. How do we model that? 0

Frank Borham said, "We make our decisions and then our decisions make us."