Joshua 9:1-27 | "Who Are You?" [Live Stream Edition]

I. Reading of Scripture

Joshua 9:1–8 ESV

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.” 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?”

This is God’s Word, Amen!

Pray

II. Introduction

A. Introduction to Theme

Who are you?

This is a question.

A question Joshua asks of what appears to be a delegation of foreigners who have travelled a long way to make peace with Israel.

This question represents uncertainty.

The delegation has heard about Israel and Israel’s God, but Joshua and the people have not heard of them. Joshua does not know who these people are, or where they come from.

This question represents suspicion.

Could this delegation be deceiving Joshua? Could this people in truth be the inhabitants of the land given to Israel to be devoted to destruction?

B. Introduction to Text

Joshua 9 shows us how easy it is to be deceived.

How easy it was for Joshua and Israel to be tricked into believing a lie!

And this, even as their minds were freshly filled with the reading of every word of all that Moses had commanded before all the assembly of Israel (Joshua 8:35).

It’s not enough for us to merely read God’s word — following a Bible reading plan, or having a daily quiet time.

It’s not enough for us to merely hear God’s word — attending church services, hearing preaching, listening to sermon podcasts or TV programs.

It’s not enough for us to merely speak God’s word — quoting Scripture in conversation or writing Bible verses on index cards throughout our house for us to recite as we prepare for our day or drive to work.

It’s not enough to read, hear and speak — but we must also trust the God of the Word enough to obey His Word!

And so it is, that fresh off of a public reading of all the words of the law, God preserves this account of His people being deceived.

To show that God’s people may get in to God’s Word — but that is altogether different from God’s Word getting in to God’s people!

We can read our Bibles and walk away with knowledge ABOUT God — and yet still not know God.

This explains how someone can read the Bible and still not believe in God. How someone can hear preaching of God’s Word and still not believe in God. How someone can hear what God says about giving unto God and they still do not give unto God!

We cannot separate the Word of God from the God of the Word.

What were the two important pillars for the apostles in the early Church? The ministry of the Word & PRAYER (Acts 6:4).

This may not be the best way to say this, but: God’s Word means nothing without God.

Some people believe that the King James Version is the only inspired translation of Scripture. But people who believe that put their confidence in a certain translation to the complete neglect of God Himself who spoke, and inspired, and preserved His Word for more than a thousand years before that translation!

God’s instructions are not merely instructions. They are also invitations to obey them in communion with God.

This is the glaring failure of Joshua in this chapter.

He asks the right question, but he doesn’t ask that question of God.

Joshua 9:14 ESV

14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord.

And this is a damnable omission!

Because they had just heard a reading of God’s Word in the law of Moses.

And in hearing the law of Moses they would have heard God’s instructions. And it’s impossible to hear God’s instructions without being directed to the person of God Himself with a reminder that it WAS, and IS, and ALWAYS WILL BE GOD who is to be worshiped and feared!

Deuteronomy 6:1–2 ESV

1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.

It is possible to know about God and to not know God.

It is possible to know God’s Word and not know the God of the Word.

But it is not likely if you are walking with God by faith!

Joshua 9 presents God’s people with a new circumstance to trust Him.

The people have learned that they may turn to God to find help in crossing the waters of the Jordan River.

The people have learned that they may turn to God to find help in fighting their battles at Jericho and Ai.

The people have learned that they may turn to God to find cleansing from sin within.

But now the people learn that God may be trusted for DIRECTION.

God may be trusted, and God MUST be trusted when facing UNKNOWNS. When facing uncertainties.

Have you noticed that God’s Word speaks to all of life…but God’s Word does not give details for all of life?

God’s Word speaks well of work, but doesn’t tell you the details of what job you should apply for.

God’s Word speaks well of marriage, but doesn’t tell you the details of who you should marry.

These details require communion with God! Walking with God! Direction from God!

Romans 11:33 ESV

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

God’s people must depend upon God not only for their DEFENSE but also for their DIRECTION.

God may be trusted to protect His people from DEFEAT and also from DECEIT!

In this world, things are not always as they appear. But God sees all! God knows all! And GOD IS TRUTH!

III. Exposition

I want to share with you two very practical steps we may learn from Joshua 9 as it applies to seeking direction from the Lord and how to avoid being deceived.

I. ASK GOD’S WORD

Joshua 9:3–8 ESV

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.” 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?”

These questions — “Perhaps you live among us? Who are you? Where do you come from?” are raised out of suspicion.

Something within the children of Israel raised an alarm that what these strangers are saying may not be truth.

What was raising the alarm was God’s Word!

Israel’s suspicion is raised from what they have heard from God’s Word, in the reading of the law of Moses.

The LORD said this to Moses:

Exodus 34:11–12 ESV

11 “Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst.

Moses had given this instruction to the people:

Deuteronomy 20:16–18 ESV

16 But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, 18 that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God.

Israel’s hearing of God’s Word set them on the right course to ask the right questions. To be alerted when what they heard didn’t sound quite right.

And the same is true for us! God’s Word has this same affect in us! It raises alarms, and gives us pause to question whether what we are hearing from strangers aligns with what we have first HEARD FROM GOD!

We may TEST everything we hear by God’s unchanging, infallible WORD of TRUTH!

In fact, God’s Word even gives us the strategies of the enemies so that we might always be on guard!

We know, from God’s Word, that Satan is a deceiver. We know from God’s Word, that the Devil is a liar and the father of lies. So we know to be suspicious of what we hear.

We know to be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11:

Acts 17:11 ESV

11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

We should not be so quick to believe everything we hear! We must ASK GOD’S WORD if what we hear is truth.

We know that Satan disguises himself as an angle of light and his servants also as servants of righteousness (2 Cor 11:14-15).

We should not be quick to trust anyone who serves in the name of righteousness.

We know from God’s Word that the way the church is attacked is from without and within by false teaching, men who speak twisted things to draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:30).

We should not be quick to give voice or ear to those who desire to teach in the church.

And in knowing this about our enemy, we may guard against error BY KNOWING THE TRUTH!

So when you follow your Bible reading plan, when you attend church services and hear preaching, when you listen to sermon podcasts or TV programs, when you speak God’s word in conversation or write Bible verses on index cards throughout your house or workplace ---

you are saturating your life with the truth, which enables you to identify errors, raise the alarm and to ask the right questions of what you hear before you believe.

God will never give us guidance that contradicts His Word.

And so knowing God’s Word is essential for us to know God’s direction.

Joshua and Israel knew God’s Word but it was not enough to prevent them from being deceived.

So we learn, that we must ask God’s Word AND we must also —

II. ASK GOD

Joshua 9:9 ESV

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,

Notice the deceivers came in the name of the LORD, Israel’s God:

“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God.”

The deceivers align themselves as seekers of truth to perpetuate a lie.

The deceivers reveal what may be called “the God card.”

It’s no different than someone today claiming to be a Christian to get an audience and hearing by Christians.

It’s no different than someone claiming to be a member of a church to keep appearances in a community.

And so many churches allow people to called “members” and remain on “membership roles” who do not faithfully attend, do not faithfully serve, do not faithfully give, do not faithfully witness, and by doing this the churches are active participants in deceiving the world!

Lord we repent!

Jesus said:

Matthew 24:4–5 ESV

4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

The Gibeonites come to Joshua because of the name of the Lord.

Joshua 9:9–14 ESV

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.

They did not ask counsel from the LORD. They did not ask God.

They knew God’s Word, but they did not know God’s counsel because they did not ask God.

Knowing God’s Word alone will not give us guidance, if we do not know God and ask God!

I preach often about the importance of building the Church on the foundation of God’s Word. But do not misunderstand me — God’s Word is sufficient, but it is only sufficient for our direction in as much as we seek also the God of the Word in unceasing prayer!

Joshua and Israel did not ask counsel from the Lord.

And they were deceived. Because these men were not who they APPEARED to be.

Joshua and Israel assessed the situation with their eyes. They SAW old crumbly bread, and WORN OUT sandals, clothes and wineskins.

But they did not assess the situation with EYES OF FAITH. Having eyes of faith requires ASKING GOD for direction in the unknowns and uncertainties.

Joshua 9:15 ESV

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.

In making a covenant with the strangers, Israel swore to them by the LORD, the God of Israel (verse 18).

In other words, Israel misuses God’s name…they swear by God’s name and invoke God’s name WITHOUT ASKING GOD!

Think about our prayers. When we end our prayers “In Jesus’ name” we are invoking God’s name in our prayers.

How often do we ask for things that are not of God? How often do we ask amiss?

When we do this we are doing the same thing — we are invoking God’s name without consulting Him first!

Do you want to know what to pray for? Ask God’s Word, and ASK GOD what to pray for!

When God shows us what to ask, we can then ask in all boldness and confidence and faith in the name of Jesus and we will know that we will have what we ASK!

IV. Conclusion

Joshua 9:27, the last verse of this chapter is telling.

Joshua 9 is another chapter of failure.

Upon discovering the deceit, and realizing they had been duped, Israel cannot destroy the Gibeonites because they had sworn peace to them in the name of the Lord.

So the Gibeonites become cursed and become slaves — cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of God.

Joshua 9:27 ESV

27 But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

This chapter ends not with a reference to the ark of the Lord, but with another reference to the altar of the Lord.

Another reference to the worship of God, that is offered on the basis of the Word of God — and how the worship of God and the Word of God are inseparable.

A. Gospel Proclamation

Joshua delivered the Gibeonites from being destroyed by Israel by making the Gibeonites slaves of Israel.

This points us to the work of Jesus, our Joshua, our Savior!

Jesus delivers us from judgment and Hell and the lake of fire where we belong because we were liars and enemies of God.

Before Jesus adopted us as children of God, we too were children of the devil, the father of lies.

But Jesus bore God’s judgment in our place by becoming sin for us. He took every lie, every deception, every inclination of evil we have to the cross and he died in our place. He was buried.

And on the third day, DEATH ITSELF WAS DECEIVED! THE GRAVE WAS DECEIVED! Because God rolled the stone of the tomb away and Jesus WALKED OUT! Raised in power!

We were forever slaves of sin, enemies of God, BUT JESUS became cursed for us, so that we might receive the BLESSING of GOD in HIM!

And this Good News of Jesus is more than what Jesus DID — but also what Jesus spoke —

And this is what Jesus spoke that we might hear, receive, believe and obey:

Matthew 7:7–8 ESV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Jesus made James 1:5 possible!

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Joshua 9 points us to this Gospel truth.

But Joshua asking “Who are you” points us to yet one more truth. A time when Jesus asked this same question —

Matthew 16:13–16 LEB

13 Now when Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he began asking his disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”

Did Peter respond to this with his own derived knowledge? No!

Matthew 16:17 ESV

17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

God revealed this to Peter! May we understand by implication, that this was because Peter asked??

Jesus went on to say:

Matthew 16:18 ESV

18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

The Word of God, and the God of the Word.

The Word of God, and Prayer.

Joshua 9 points us to these, so that we may not be deceived.