Joshua 9
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1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.”
Now the fame of Joshua’s army, God’s army is spreading all throughout the land. People know that this army has been pretty much unstoppable. They have defeated Jericho, they have defeated AI and Bethel and some of the kings of the land decided that they are going to get together and they are going to join forces.
v1-2 The kings were afraid.. they saw the writing on the wall. The reputation of Israel and their God proceeded them. This is how serious their problem was. Countries that would normally war with each other were creating alliances against this powerful God and His army. So they form united fronts against Israel.
v 6 The Gibeonites saw what was happening and they knew they couldn’t defeat God’s army. They chose a different strategy than the other kings. Instead of fighting against an army they couldn’t win against, they figured they would join them. They figured, “maybe we can make them feel sorry for us, maybe we can tug on their heart strings and preserve our lives.
But it wasn’t just preserving their lives. In these ancient times, cultures took pride in who they were. They took pride in their heritage. They wanted to make sure that their culture, their livelihood, their gods, their worship would remain intact. You see, when Joshua took out Jericho, he wiped them out. Took all the people off of the map. Wiped them and the memory of them off of the face of the earth.
Along with the people who were wiped out of Jericho, so was the worship of their pagan gods. No longer would those fake gods be worshiped. This was part of God’s plan. Destroy these places that are wicked along with their wicked practices so that His people would not be influenced by them. When the worshipers were destroyed, so was the influence of their gods.
These Gibeonites want to desperately find a way to preserve who they are and so they come up with a plan that will hopefully assure their future as a people.
They put on worn out clothes, worn out shoes to make it seem like they were traveling a far distance. They even brought some stale bread to try and convince Israel that they were from a distant land hoping to make a covenant with them.
Josh n9 7-13
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 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, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.”
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 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, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord.
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 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, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. 15 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.
Joshua 7
7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 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, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.” ’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.”
Essentially they are saying, “we aren’t from around here, we aren’t part of these lands that you are conquering, figuring that they would be exempt from the war. And they lied and deceived Israel asking if they could make a covenant, an agreement with Israel.
Essentially they are saying, “we aren’t from around here, we aren’t part of these lands that you are conquering, figuring that they would be exempt from the war. And they lied and deceived Israel asking if they could make a covenant, an agreement with Israel.
(PrComm) A lying tongue can buy a bit of reprieve, but deception never works permanently. (PrComm) Deception only pays temporarily, never ultimately.
Some men from Israel questioned them (the right thing to do) “Maybe you guys are local and trying to get one over on us”
They tell their sob story and get to tell Joshua. “The bread was warm when we left… the wine skins were new...
They check the bread, they look at the wine skins and They made peace with them.
verse 14 But they did NOT ask council from the LORD.
This is the problem. They did not ask council from the Lord. Many people, myself included fail to ask council of the Lord. That sounds so formal but it shouldn’t. We have a God who loves us like a father and wants, wants us to come to Him. Why wouldn’t you go to your father if you have a question? Or need advice? Or are looking for answers?
Let’s talk for a couple of minutes about how your heavenly father wants to hear from His children.
We don’t realize everything that is going on in the world the way God does. We don’t have the understanding that God has.
First, understand that we don’t know what is going on. Accept that. Embrace that.
Bring your thoughts, your concerns, your desires to the Lord. Do not act on your own. I know it seems to make sense, I know common sense tells you to do this or that but I am telling you that your Heavenly Father desires to have you come to Him. He wants his children to approach him. Not to act on your own.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
I like to think the best of people, sometimes to a fault. I think, “oh, we can trust this person to do what they say”. And then we get burned. But ultimately, God knows the hearts of people, God knows the situations.
We, like Joshua need to learn to bring to the Lord everything that we are faced with. Yes, make it a habit. Make God part of every single decision you make. Even in the little things. you might think that goes too far but what area in your life do you want God to leave alone? I don’t think I want God to leave any area of my life up to me cause I will just screw it up.
Don’t think that the routine, small, seemingly unimportant parts of life don’t matter to God, they do.
Even if I don’t get what I think is an answer, I still give it to God. I pray, Lord, your will be done. Your will be done. I don’t hear anything God, but I trust in the outcome of this situation to be your will because I am giving you my part in this. I can’t control others, I can only control my releasing to you.
So bring every little thing to the Lord and trust that He is involved. Then you learn to trust God even more. Trusting Him even more. If Joshua had brought this to the Lord, God might have told him what was going on and protected him.
Now the Gibeonites, from their perspective, they deceive to that they can preserve their lives. They think they are getting one over on Joshua. They are being sly here. But there will always be consequences to deception. You will always be found out when you deceive, eventually. It never goes away.
16-18 They travelled and got to their cities
16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders.
Turns out they found out that this group of people were actually their neighbors. Their lies found them out. They actually were part of the Joshua’s campaign! What is Joshua supposed to do now? We know what Joshua’s people want.
They feel justified to destroy them because that is what they were supposed to do, originally.
But Joshua doesn’t attack because they made an oath, a covenant with the Gibeonites in the name of the Lord. When they make that oath to the Lord they are bound by it. Even though it was done deceptively.
The people were upset with Joshua and wondered why he wouldn’t just kill them all. It is because of the covenant they made.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 9:18–19
The agreement was sacred because it had been ratified by an oath in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel (cf. v. 15). To break it would bring down the wrath of God on Israel,
Just like how Jacob stole the birthright from Essau. Tricked his father into blessing him.
v 19 20 They don’t attack BECAUSE they swore to; made an oath to the Lord that they wouldn’t.
But there would be a consequence to Gibeon for the deception.
22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.”
They lived, but their existence was not their own. They would become slaves to work in the temple. This is pretty interesting because what the Gibeonites wanted to do was to preserve their heritage, they wanted to carry on the traditions of worshipping their gods. This would be taken away.
Because if you became a slave of another country, another people, then you submitted not only to the rule of that nation but also to the gods of that nation. In fact, that verses 24-25 is the acceptance of them now acknowledging Yaweh as their only God.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 9:14–15
The second and primary reason for Israel’s failure is stated in verse 14: the leaders did not seek direction from God. Did Joshua think the evidence to be so beyond question that they needed no advice from Yahweh? Did he think the matter too routine or unimportant to “bother” God with it? 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).
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 9:18–19
The agreement was sacred because it had been ratified by an oath in the name of the LORD, the God of Israel (cf. v. 15). To break it would bring down the wrath of God on Israel,
Evangelical Commentary on the Bible B. The Central Campaign (6–9)
In the ancient world, the subordinate role implied not only political submission but also acceptance of the sovereignty of the ruler’s gods. Thus, in this context, the Gibeonite acknowledgment of God’s great deeds amounts to a formal acceptance of Yahweh as their God.
Evangelical Commentary on the Bible B. The Central Campaign (6–9)
Once again, the real gist of this chapter is not that the Gibeonites manage to survive within the Israelite community; other Canaanites and foreigners also achieve this goal. The irregularity is that they accomplish their conversion and survival in such a way that they also maintain their historic Canaanite identity.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 9:20–27
So the very thing the Gibeonites hoped to attain they lost. They desperately wanted to remain free men; in the end they became slaves. But the curse became a blessing. It was on behalf of the Gibeonites that God worked a great miracle (cf. 10:10–14). Later the tabernacle was pitched at Gibeon (2 Chron. 1:3); still later some Gibeonites helped Nehemiah rebuild Jerusalem’s wall (Neh. 3:7). Such is the grace of God. He is still able to turn a curse into a blessing. Though it is usually true that the natural consequences of sin must run their course, the grace of God can not only forgive but also overrule mistakes and often bring blessings out of sins and failures.
Evangelical Commentary on the Bible B. The Central Campaign (6–9)
Once again, the real gist of this chapter is not that the Gibeonites manage to survive within the Israelite community; other Canaanites and foreigners also achieve this goal. The irregularity is that they accomplish their conversion and survival in such a way that they also maintain their historic Canaanite identity.
They (The Gibeonites) tried to save themselves through deception/ and they pay for it.
This whole thing could have been avoided if only, if only they brought it before the Lord.
Here is the away for us this morning.
Making Decisions.
1. Make sure you go to the Lord for your decision making. The big things, the small things, the seemingly little insignificant things, all of it goes before the Lord. Even if you don’t “hear” anything, even if you don’t get a clear answer, still go to God first. Joshua went on the words of deceitful men and got burned. Go to God for answers.
And when we go to God for answers we look to see… Does scripture answer my question? That is the first step in going to God. Does Scripture answer this question? I would guess that most of what we are concerned about, most of what we bring to the Lord can be answered in Scripture.
There is a lot here in this book and I would bet that most of what we go through can be addressed in here. Not in detail, but in large brush strokes. Meaning that if I have a question about how to do my taxes that I see in Scripture that I am not supposed to be deceitful, I am not supposed to lie. That takes care of the question about how I show my income. I show it all. Scripture tells me that.
When I raise my kids who are willfully disobedient, what do I do? The Scriptures say to discipline my child. That I should not be a willing partner to their death. If I don’t discipline my kids when they are disobedient I am actually to blame for the consequences that show up in their lives because I am told to discipline them.
God should I make this purchase? Can you afford it? Does it take away from what you are supposed to give to God?
17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Scripture is where we go to get God’s answers. God wants us to seek Him out and we go first to the scriptures and trust that God hears us and that His will will be done.
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philppians 4 6
Sometimes Scripture doesn’t address exactly what we are seeking. Do I go to this school or that school? Do I buy this affordable purchase as opposed to that affordable, responsible purchase? Sometimes the Bible doesn’t speak about some particular requests.
We bring our requests to God because we trust that He will bring about the outcome that He desires. This was a revolutionary concept for me. I was bringing something to the Lord. Lord, do you want me to do this? I wasn’t sure. I didn’t get a straight up answer.
Then I had someone wise tell me. You can trust the outcome to God. You tell God your request, make sure you aren’t in sin and give it to God and trust that He will bring about His will.
11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
God wants you to come to Him. Come to him with your requests. Come to him with your concerns, no matter how big or how little. it all matters to God. He will not laugh you off. He is genuinely interested in your desires. Come to Him with your questions, come to Him with your concerns, come to Him with the decisions you have to make. He is your Heavenly Father, He loves you.
(PrComm) We are to keep our word even if we’ve made a mistake and that mistake proves to be costly. We shouldn’t ever give up because, when we’re right with God, He can turn even a curse into a blessing.
(PrComm) This story of the Gibeonites shows how important it is to keep our commitments, even when it’s tough.