Just A Thought
Topic: Gibeonites Trick (Joshua 9)
The Amorites lived in the hill country of the Promised Land and had a king over each major city and the area surrounding it. Israel had split the land into two sections and gained control of a large portion of central Canaan by conquering Jericho and Ai. What God had done for the Israelites made everyone in Canaan fearful. They had heard that God told Moses to conquer everyone in the land. So some joined forces to fight against Israel (Joshua 9:1-2). But the Gibeonites decided to trick Israel into making a treaty with them.
A Gibeonite delegation tried to make Israel think they had come on a journey of hundreds of miles. In reality, Gibeon was probably no more than twenty miles away from the Israelite camp at Gilgal. The plan was elaborate—down to carrying dry and moldy bread. And it worked.
The key factor, and a sad one, is found in Joshua 9:14. The leaders looked at the evidence and trusted their own judgment without asking the Lord what to do. In the requested treaty by the Gibeonites, they offered themselves as servants to the Israelites (9:11). Perhaps they were aware of the Israelite law concerning peace treaties (Deuteronomy 20:10-11). They knew that Israel, with God’s help, could wipe them out, and they preferred slavery to death.
Joshua summons the Gibeonites to learn why they sought to deceive them. The Gibeonites reply was because it was told that the Lord had commanded his servant Moses to give the Israelites all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before them, “…we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing” (Joshua 9:24).
Do you hear faith in the Gibeonites' response?
Notice all the parallels between the Gibeonites and Rahab:
- Like the Gibeonites, Rahab was a native of Canaan (Joshua 2:1).
- Like the Gibeonites, she had confidence God was giving the land to Israel (2:9).
- Like the Gibeonites, she responded with fear before God's people, Israel (2:9-11).
- Like the Gibeonites, Rahab acted with cunning in order that she and her family might find refuge among the people of Israel (2:12-13).
(https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/good-news-in-the-gibeonite-deception)
That is glorious. Even in the Old Testament, God had a heart for and was saving Gentiles, even if, in the mystery of His providence, it was through the disobedience and failures of His people Israel.
God blessed the Gibeonites in spite of their deception:
1. In Joshua chapter 21, Gibeon was named one of the Levitical cities, which meant the priests lived there. The inhabitants of Gibeon would have firsthand knowledge of the whole sacrificial system.
2. When David’s mighty men are listed in 1 Chronicles 12, the list includes “Ishmaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty warrior among the Thirty, who was a leader of the Thirty.” That means he was one of David’s most trusted men.
3. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah says that 95 men of Gibeon were among them.
What conclusions can we make of all this?
1. The result of Israel’s hasty decision was that they could not fulfill God’s command concerning all the inhabitants of the land. When we fail to seek God’s guidance, we can end up making bad decisions, just like Israel did. But when we seek Him and study the Word, we can be thankful that He guides us every step of the way.
2. There are people around us today like the Gibeonites! It’s easy for us to look down our noses at people we regard as terrible sinners. God will save the most notorious sinner who turns to Him. There is grace even for people like the Gibeonites. You wouldn’t think lying con-men like the Gibeonites would end up serving at the altar of the Lord, but that’s exactly what happened to the Gibeonites.
See you Sunday,
Dr. Scott Kallem