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In Christ, Mark
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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 our 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, the scriptures tell 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 wiping out the people of Israel, feeling that their sheer numbers would overwhelm the invading people and result in easy victory.
The problem was they forgot one important thing. For the Israelites had God on their side and He had promised them success over anyone who would come against them in the Promised Land. With this, things weren’t looking good for the combined enemy forces but as we see in today’s passage, there was a group of people, the Gibeonites, who took a different approach, daring to be different in what they did and, as a result, exchanging sure death for life.
You see, the nation of Gibeon was very aware of “what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai” and decided to take a very daring, cunning strategy in dealing with Joshua and the Israelites. Unlike the other enemy forces who chose aggression and combat, the Gibeonites “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.
We read where the people of Gibeon loaded their donkeys with “worn-out sacks and old wineskins” that were “cracked and mended”. Additionally, 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”. And so with their real identity disguised, the Gibeonites “went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal” and said this:
"We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."
At first, the plan looked like it was on shaky ground as there was a sense of suspicion within the Israelite camp as the men asked:
"…perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"
They said this because God had forbidden His people to make any treaty with another people inhabiting Canaan (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). But as we see, the Gibeonites had their deception well rehearsed as they replied:
“We are your servants."
Still, Joshua sought more information, asking:
"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 had come 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.
Now, what’s interesting about these series of events is that neither Joshua nor Israel stopped to “inquire of the Lord” for if they had done so, God would have exposed the Gibeonite scheme 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 not one Israelite sought the Lord on this and, in turn, the oath was made and sealed, ensuring Gibeon’s survival…even after Joshua discovered he and Israel had been duped three days after making the treaty.
The scriptures tell us that the Gibeonites had returned home and it was after this that the Israelites realized that they were actually “neighbors, living near them”. And so we read where the Israelites “set out and on the third day came to (the Gibeonite’s) cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim”. And although I’m sure it must have been tempting for Israel to attack Gibeon, they didn’t “because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel”. This led to “the whole assembly” grumbling “against the leaders”, wanting to exact revenge but the leaders told them this:
“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."
We should note that this didn’t mean that the Gibeonites would get off free of consequences. For although the nation of Gibeon had survived attack and eradication from Canaan, the Israelite leaders proposed that the Gibeonites would be forced into a life of hard labor, serving as “woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community."
And this is what happened. For the scriptures tell us that Joshua summoned the Gibeonite people and let them know they were under a curse for their deceitful actions and would “never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of…God."
In response to this, the people of Gibeon answered:
"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."
And 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.
You see, the Gibeonites knew everything that all the other people of Canaan knew…that Israel had arrived in the land and had already wiped out their first two adversaries. Further, they knew that God had promised His people victory against any enemy they would face.
So what made the people of Gibeon different?
We can see where 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 Israel’s God, knowing that His will was going to be carried out in Canaan. No one could stand against Him and hope to win.
And so after reaching the treaty with Joshua and the people of Israel, the Gibeonites got to do what they said they had come to do…serve. Yes, they may have been relegated to being woodcutters and water carriers in the Lord’s service but at least they were alive and would remain so.
Now, you might be wondering where I’m going with this and how it has a life application for us today. Let me share my thoughts there.
For think about who you were before you came to the Lord in your life. He was your Father but only because He created you. You were not yet a true child of His because that only happened when you placed your belief in Jesus as Savior (Romans 8:16-17). And so, having not become a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), you were actually still condemned and in your sins, choosing to chase after your desires while opting to not follow or obey the One who was not only Your Maker but your Master as well. This placed you in a position where death would lead to an eternal life in Hell where everlasting darkness, torment, and suffering would be waiting.
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 and they were going to be next unless they came up with a survival plan and did it fast. To spark your change of heart, maybe someone told you the good news of the Gospel and how you could trade in eternity in Hell for a life forever in Heaven if you would only just believe and trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Perhaps these words prompted you to take immediate action, joining the countless others who also had made the same decision to become a Christian, therefore choosing life over death, victory over defeat, and hope over despair.
In making that key, life-altering choice, you, like the people of 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 passage carries with it good news. For if it wasn’t God’s will for the Gibeonites to be His servants, then He would have brought about events that would have stopped that from happening. But that’s not the way things went down, was it? No…the treaty with Israel was made…the people of Gibeon were saved…and God gained a whole community of servants in return.
Before I close, two questions for you:
Have you made your personal commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, placing your belief in Him? Have you decided to join Him and find your way from death to life…not just life as the world knows it, but rather life with the Father and His Son forever?
If your answers to these questions are yes, then praise God that you have made the only right choice in life…the choice to believe, trust, and serve the One (Jesus) who died so you might live.
But if your answers to these questions were no, I implore you to not delay coming to Jesus right now, this very moment, professing Him as your personal Savior and pledging your service unto Him. Know and trust He is ready to receive you, love you, and lead you to a life like no other…both now and forevermore.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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