Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things — those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) - they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.
However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."
The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"
“We are your servants," they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"
They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan — Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." ' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."
The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, but all the leaders answered, "We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them." They continued, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." So the leaders' promise to them was kept.
Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, "Why did you deceive us by saying, 'We live a long way from you,' while actually you live near us? You are now under a curse: You will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God."
They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you."
So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. That day, he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
Joshua 9
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
After the victory over Ai, the dedication of the altar and the reading of the law at Mount Ebal, Israel returned to their encampment at Gilgal. Meanwhile, enemy forces, realizing that Jericho and Ai had been attacked and defeated individually, decided their best chance of survival was to band together and fight. And so, scripture tells us that “all the kings west of the Jordan…those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)…came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.” These forces had no other motive in mind outside of attacking and defeating the people of Israel, feeling that their sheer numbers would overwhelm Israel’s and lead to easy victory. They only forgot one thing. Israel had God on their side…and He had promised Israel victory over all those who would come against them in Canaan. So things were not looking good for the combined enemy forces but they weren’t the only ones mentioned in today’s passage. For we read of one group, the Gibeonites, who dared to be different and, in return, exchanged death for life.
Gibeon was very aware of “what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai” and decided to take a very daring, cunning approach to dealing with Joshua and Israel, unlike the other enemy forces who decided to resort to aggression for survival. For Gibeon “resorted to a ruse” going “as a delegation” to the Israelites but appearing as if they had traveled a very long distance to do so although they were actually close neighbors. The people of Gibeon loaded their donkeys with “worn-out sacks and old wineskins” that were “cracked and mended”. The men put “worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes’. And “all the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy”. With their real identity disguised, the Gibeonites “went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal” saying to him and the Israelites, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."
At first, we sense suspicion in the Israelite camp. The men ask, "…perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?" They said this because you’ll recall that Israel was forbidden by God to make any treaty with another people inhabiting Canaan (Deuteronomy 20:16-18) The Gibeonites had their deception well rehearsed for they replied, ““We are your servants," but Joshua still asked further, "Who are you and where do you come from?"
The people of Gibeon answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan — Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." ' This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey." Notice how the Gibeonites were careful not to mention any recent events even though they were very aware of them. They were careful to not blow their assertion that they came from a distant land.
Well, their plan worked for we see where “Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath”. No matter what happened from that point on, no harm could be done to the Gibeonites without breaking the oath and finding disfavor from God. What’s interesting about these series of events is that neither Joshua nor Israel stopped to “inquire of the Lord”. Had they done so, the Gibeon scheme would have been exposed and Israel wouldn’t have broken God’s command to completely destroy everything in Canaan lest they end up being adversely influenced by their sinful worship practices. But Israel didn’t inquire, the oath was sealed and so too was Gibeon’s survival…even after Joshua discovered he and Israel had been duped three days after making the treaty.
The Gibeonites had returned home and after Israel found out that “they were neighbors, living near them”, they “set out and on the third day came to (the Gibeonite’s) cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim”. Although it might have been very tempting to attack the Gibeonites, Israel didn’t “because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel”. So “the whole assembly grumbled against the leaders”, wanting to exact revenge but the leaders told them, "We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now…We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them." But Gibeon would not go without receiving some kind of consequence.
For the leaders proposed that the Gibeonites live but only be allowed to be “woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." In other words, the Gibeonites would live a life of hard labor and service to the people of Israel. So Joshua summoned them telling them that they were under a curse for their deceitful actions and would “never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God."
They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you." So we read where “Joshua saved them from the Israelites” who “did not kill them” and “made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose”.
On the surface, this story would appear to be one that would shine the spotlight on lying and dishonesty but I think that would be too shallow of an interpretation of what was really going on here. For I feel the real theme here is servitude…willing servitude unto God.
Gibeon knew everything that all the other people of Canaan knew…that Israel had arrived in Canaan and had already wiped out their first two adversaries. They knew that God had promised them victory against any enemy they face in Canaan.
So what made them different?
They made the choice to join God vice try to beat Him, realizing that their only chance at survival was to change who they were and what they were…becoming a part of God’s people. They introduced themselves as servants and there’s little doubt that they feared and respected God, knowing that His will would be carried out in Canaan. After reaching the treaty with Joshua and Israel, the Gibeonites would now get to do what they said they had come to do…serve. Yes, they were relegated to being woodcutters and water carriers to the Lord’s service but that was fine. At least they were alive and would remain so.
You’re probably wondering where I’m going with this and how it has application for today. I thought you might ask.
Think about who you were before you came to the Lord. You were His child but, in a way, you were an enemy…choosing to live in accordance with your desires and will…opting to not obey or follow Him. You had not yet reached the place where you were a new creation and make the conscious decision to regularly live in sinfulness vice righteousness. And in not making a solid commitment to Jesus, you had placed yourself in a place where death would mean your end without hope for anything after.
But then, something opened your eyes up to the impending doom and destruction you faced…like Gibeon coming to grips that Jericho and Ai had fallen with them next if they didn’t do something and do something fast. Maybe someone told you the good news of the gospel and that eternal life awaited you but only if you believed and trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior…words that prompted you to take action and join the countless other Christians who had made the same decision…choosing life over death…victory over defeat…hope over despair. And in making that choice, you, like Gibeon, entered into a lifetime of servitude to the Lord…giving Him your all in whatever he called you to do…whether that was woodcutting, water carrying, or anything else.
Friends, this scripture carries with it good news. If it were the Lord’s will that Gibeonites were not to be He servants, then He would have brought about events that would have led to that not happening. But no…the treaty was made…the people of Gibeon were saved…and God gained a whole community of servants in return. And He is still seeking more.
Question: Have you made your personal commitment to the Lord? Have you decided to join Him and find your way from death to life…and not just life as the world knows it but eternal life with the Father and His Son?
If your answers to these questions are yes, then praise God for making the only right choice in life…the choice to believe, trust and serve the One who died so you might live.
But if your answers to these questions were no, do not delay coming to Jesus right now, professing Him as your personal Savior and pledging your service. He’s ready to receive you and lead you to a life like no other…both now and forevermore. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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