Joshua 9-10 Dealing with Deception

Intro:

Before we look at this chapter in detail, it will be helpful to take a step back and remind ourselves of the structure of the book as a whole and to take note of where we are, since chapter 9 is clearly designed to begin a new section.

9:1 is an almost exact repeat of the formula that we saw in 5:1.

There the verse served to introduce the second main section of the book, which runs to the end of chapter 8.

So in broad terms chapters 1–4 detail the preparations for the conquest culminating in the miraculous crossing of the Jordan, and chapters 5–8 record the initial victories, starting with the consecration of the nation, the miraculous fall of Jericho, the victory at Ai, and the covenant renewal at Mount Ebal.

Now we launch into the third section (chapters 9–12), which takes us further into the conquest and culminates in the list of defeated kings in chapter 12.

The unit deals in detail with the Gibeonite deception, Israel’s victory in the battle at Gibeon with many other references to cities and kings that fell before the Israelite advance.

Joshua 9:1, 2 and 12:7–24 act as the bookends of the unit, detailing first the kings who set themselves “to fight against Joshua and Israel” and then, at the end, “what became of them.”

This section is the major bulk of the conquest narrative, and many spiritual lessons can be learned from it.

Read Joshua 9:1-6

Believing the Enemy vs. 1-15

vs. 1-2 Kings gather against Israel

After hearing of the Jordan crossing and the defeat of Jericho and Ai the nations gathered together to fight Israel as one

They did this while Israel was consecrating itself at Mt Ebal

They decided to go on the offensive instead of waiting for Israel to come to them

The defeat at Ai also put new heart into them.

They would need the greatest strength they could muster, hence the coalition of verse 1; but now they are confident enough to take the fight to the Israelites.

Reversals and defeat always empower the enemy, which is why the people of God can never become blasé about their total dependence upon him.

God also uses this to bring judgment on these nations and preserve Israel’s time and resources

vs. 3-13 Joshua’s second mistake

Gibeon sees the show of force and Israel’s power and takes a different tactic

They decide to make a treaty w/ Israel

Here we see Joshua’s second mistake

The novelist Joseph Conrad wrote, “It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes.”

Joshua’s mistake was doing nothing

Israel was not allowed to make treaties with any other nation

Joshua forgot this and didn’t consult the Lord

In the process they are strapped with a burden that will now become their responsibility

The leaders disguise themselves as people who have traveled a long distance

They wore worn out clothes and carried dried out bread

This was all to deceive Joshua and Israel into making a covenant that would prevent Israel from destroying Gibeon

They were willing to become Israel’s servants to avoid death

Ask yourself this question, “Why would a nation travel a great distance to become Israel’s servant when they would never have contact.”

Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44), and human nature is such that many people find it easier to tell lies than the truth.

First, they said they were “from a very far country” (Josh. 9:6, 9) when they actually lived twenty-five miles away.

Then they lied about their clothing and food

Satan’s ambassadors can lie more convincingly than some Christians can tell the truth!

Why they succeeded vs. 14-15

The reason is simple: Joshua and the princes of Israel were impetuous and didn’t take time to consult the Lord.

They walked by sight and not by faith.

After listening to the strangers’ speech and examining the evidence, Joshua and his leaders concluded that the men were telling the truth.

The leaders of Israel took the “scientific approach” instead of the “spiritual approach.”

The will of God comes from the heart of God

Ps. 33:11 “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”

He delights to make it known to His children when He knows they are humble and willing to obey.

We don’t seek God’s will like customers who look at options but like servants who listen for orders.

True faith involves exercising patience

But in their haste Joshua and the Jewish leaders broke God’s Law and made a covenant with the enemy.

Since their oath was sworn in the name of the Lord, it could not be broken.

Joshua and the princes of Israel had sworn to their own hurt and there was no way to revoke their oath or be released from their promise.

When you believe the enemy instead of seeking the mind of the Lord, you can expect to get into trouble.

Dealing with the Enemy vs. 16-27

vs. 16-20

Joshua discovered that he and the princes had blundered; and no doubt they were humbled and embarrassed because of it.

We must give the leaders credit for being men of their word.

To violate their oath would have been to take the holy name of Jehovah in vain, and this would have brought about divine judgment.

Years later King Saul violated this oath; and God judged the nation severely

Why did the Jewish people grumble at what their leaders had done?

Because this covenant with Gibeon would cost the soldiers dearly in plunder they would never get from the protected cities.

Furthermore, the Gibeonites and their neighbors might influence the Jews with their pagan practices and lead them away from the Lord.

Joshua and his associates teach us an important lesson: If you make a mistake, admit it; and then make your mistake work for you!

vs. 21-27

The leaders put the Gibeonites to work hauling water and fuel for the service of the tabernacle, where both water and wood were used in abundance.

In later years the Gibeonites were called the Nethinim (“given ones” = given to assist the priests) and labored as servants in the temple

Of course, the Gibeonites would rather submit to humiliating service than be destroyed as were the inhabitants of Jericho and Ai.

There’s no evidence in Scripture that the descendants of the Gibeonites created any problems for the Jews.

It’s likely that their service in the tabernacle, and later in the temple, influenced them to abandon their idols and worship the God of Israel

Defending the Enemy vs. 1-28

vs. 1-6 King Assemble

When you make mistakes, expect to end up paying a price and having to defend them in order to protect yourself

This is why God’s people must remain separated from the world

The king of Jerusalem heard what the Gibeonites had done and announced that these traitors had to be punished.

If a great city like Gibeon capitulated to the Jews, then one more barrier was removed against the advancement of Israel in the land.

Four other Canaanite kings allied with Adoni-zedek, and their combined armies encamped before Gibeon.

The poor Gibeonites had made peace with the invaders and were now at war with their former allies!

As this confederation of armies and kings assembled, God in heaven must have laughed (Ps. 2:1–4), because unknown to them He was using these events to accomplish His own purposes.

Instead of having to defeat these five city-states one by one, He would help Joshua conquer them all at one time!

The mistakes we make embarrass us, especially those mistakes that are caused by our running ahead of the Lord and not seeking His will.

But we need to remember that no mistake is final for the dedicated Christian.

God can use even our blunders to accomplish His purposes.

Somebody defined success as “the art of making your mistakes when nobody’s looking”; but a better definition would be “the art of seeing victory where other people see only defeat.”

vs. 7 Israel’s faithful to vow

We saw that in Joshua 9, Joshua, the leaders of Israel, and all the people of Israel knew they made a bad vow to the Gibeonites, yet they did not turn their backs on that vow.

Joshua not only kept the vow made to the Gibeonites, but he kept it with great energy and dedication.

He sent his best into this battle to defend Gibeon.

Allowing these Canaanite kings to wipe out the Gibeonites would have been a convenient way to get out of a vow that should not have been made, but they will have none of it.

We should have the same sense of honor.

Though Joshua was only bound to not kill the Gibeonites himself , he also felt obliged to fulfill the spirit of the vow he made to the Gibeonites.

vs. 8 God’s Promise to Joshua

Do not fear them: This was a command.

Though Joshua had reason to fear because Israel faced a confederation of five kings, God commanded Joshua to not fear his enemies.

I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them shall stand before you: The command was joined to a promise.

Joshua could obey God’s command to not fear because he had God’s promise of victory.

Fear takes away our ability to fight God’s battles.

Even in the face of strong enemies, Joshua was commanded to not fear.

For Joshua, fear was unbelief – being unwilling to believe what God promised. So it is with us today.

vs. 9 Joshua’s response of Faith

Joshua therefore came upon them suddenly:

With the assurance of God’s promise , Joshua did not sit back to passively watch God work without his participation.

He went to great effort to participate with the work and will of God.

Having marched all night from Gilgal:

This took hard work and initiative on Joshua’s part.

The march from Gilgal to Gibeon involved a climb of 3,300 feet (1,000 meters), over a distance of about 20 miles (32 kilometers).

This was eight to ten hours of hard marching, all through the night.

God does His work, but He draws us into working with Him.

Often God waits to see our initiative, our willingness to be a partner with Him, before He does what only He can do.

vs. 10-11 Giant Hailstones

So the LORD routed them before Israel:

God’s work, and the partnership of Joshua’s work with the LORD, accomplished something great.

The enemies of God were routed.

The LORD cast down large hailstones from heaven:

The hailstones that killed the retreating armies of the Canaanites were obviously miraculous.

The hail itself could have been a phenomenon of nature, but their aim and timing were evidence of the hand of God.

“The Canaanites, who worshipped nature deities, must have thought that their own gods were aiding the Israelites.”

There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword:

God’s miraculous work was much greater than Israel’s work.

Yet we notice that Joshua didn’t wait around for the hail to come. He did what he could do in partnership with God, and God did what only God could do.

vs. 12-15 Time Stands Still

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon; and Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still:

Seeing God’s miraculous hand in action gave Joshua the boldness to ask for an even more remarkable miracle – to keep the day going, to keep the sun from setting, so that Israel had time to accomplish a complete victory before darkness fell.

The sun and the moon had long stood as silent witnesses to the sin, wickedness, and demonic religion of these Canaanites.

Now, under the command of God, they helped Joshua to complete this victory over the Canaanites.

So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that, before it or after it:

In a completely unique miracle, God answered Joshua’s bold prayer and the LORD fought for Israel in a unique way during Israel’s conquest of Canaan.

Till the people had revenge upon their enemies:

Joshua did not ask God to do the fighting for him, even though God did do some of that.

Joshua simply asked that God miraculously give him the opportunity to fight for Him.

Like Joshua, we often wish that time stayed still.

We would do well to imitate Joshua’s reasons for extended time. Joshua wanted time to stay still so that:

God would be glorified.

God would be obeyed.

God’s work would be continued without hindrance.

God’s people would triumph.

vs. 16-27 Victory Complete

vs. 29-42