BUT THE ISRAELITES DID NOT ATTACK THEM

Joshua 9:1-27, Key Verse: 9:18

"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...."

1. What had happened in chapter 8 in the campaign to conquer Canaan? Read 9:1-2. What was the survival strategy of the Canaanite kings west of the Jordan?

2. Read verses 3-6. Where was Gibeon? Why didn't they join all the other kings in the war against Israel? What was their survival strategy?

3. Read verses 7-13. What was the Israelites' first suspicion? Why should they not make a treaty with the inhabitants of Canaan? How did the Gibeonites flatter Joshua? How did they trick him?

4. Read verses 14-15. How did the Israelites check out the Gibeonites' story? What were the consequences of Joshua's failure to pray? What does this reveal about Joshua? What can we learn from the Gibeonites? (Ps 1:7)

5. Read 9:16-21. What did the Israelites do when they discovered that they had been tricked? Why did the Israelite soldiers not attack the Gibeonite cities? When the whole assembly wanted to destroy the Gibeonites, what did the leaders decide? Why? What does this show about them?

6. Read verses 22-27. What did Joshua decide to do with the Gibeonites? What was their confession of faith? What does it mean that they were under a curse? What can we learn from the Gibeonites?

BUT THE ISRAELITES DID NOT ATTACK THEM

Joshua 9:1-27, Key Verse: 9:18

"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...." 

From last Sunday’s message, Joshua 8, the Israelites finally conquered Ai as Joshua listened to God and obey him very carefully. Through this, we learned that we must overcome fear and discouragement after a failure, and listen to God’s word. The word of God gives us victory with strategy. What word of God are you holding onto? As we listen to God very carefully, may God give each one of us victory in every way!

In today’s passage, we have some mixed messages. The gentile Gibeonites feared God and believed in God’s promise to the people of Israel, so they made a plan to be saved. Joshua and the Jews did not pray and were deceived, but kept their promise. There are two parts.

1. The Gibeonites’ faith, decisive action and crafty strategy

Look at verses 1-2. “Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— ² they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.”

When there is a great work of God, there are basically two kinds of responses. One kind is to resist and rebel against God and his people. Another kind is to fear the mighty power of God and believe the promise of God.

The kings of the land were the former kind. They decided to wage war against Joshua and Israel. Even though they heard what God had done through the people of Israel to Egypt and to two powerful kings east of the Jordan, Bashan and Og, they hardened their hearts and decided to rebel against God and his people. But the Gibeonites were the latter kind and decided to do the opposite of their own people. Look at verses 3-6. “However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded^[a] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.’” The city of Gibeon is one of the biggest cities in Canaan, a royal city with mighty warriors, located 3 days journey west of Ai. They are Hivites, one of the tribes in Canaan, whose king decided to fight against the people of Israel. Most people love to conform the pattern their friends and relatives. It is patriotic for them to join their relatives, the Canaanites. It is not easy to choose to do the opposite all your relatives and friends. The Gibeonites are planning to be traitors and make a treaty with their enemies who killed their friends and relatives in Jericho and Ai. What if all their neighbor kings win the war against Israel, what could happen to them? It is like one of important cities in Ukraine allying with Russia. Would you do that? I would never do it. If I were one of them, I would tell them, “go to hell” and get the hell out of there asap.

Why are they risking so much? In verses 9-11 and 24, they explained reasons why. First, they had faith in God. Look at verses 9-11. They heard that the people of Israel came out of Egypt by the mighty hand of God, and conquered two kings on the east side of the Jordan. In fact, the people of Jericho also knew this much and feared the Israelites.

But the Gibeonites feared not just the Israelites but also God who is behind the people and victory. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” The fear of God led them to believe in God’s promise to the people of Israel. In verse 9, they said that they came because of the fame of the Lord. Look at verse 24. “They answered Joshua, ‘Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servants 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.’” In fact, they read the Scripture, Deuteronomy 20:17, and believed that God would fulfill what he promised through his people as he had done before. What did they do?

They acted upon their knowledge. Knowing is one thing but acting is another. Do you know diabetes is the costliest disease, causing all kinds of other diseases in all developed countries in the world, including the USA? Yet, do you know that you can control very well and even reverse at early stage, being free from medication, if you follow the guidelines from CDC? But 99% of people do not follow the guideline and become worse as much as they do not follow, becoming more dependent on heavier medications. But the Gibeonites are different. They acted upon their knowledge and faith. Their faith was so strong that they had to betray their own people in order to make a treaty with their enemies. They believed that it was the only way that they could be saved.

Yet, the mission seemed impossible. If they just went to the Israelites saying that they would like to make a treaty, the Israelites would not do that because had to obey God’s command. Instead, they made a very crafty plan based on the Scriptures. In the same chapter, Deuteronomy 20:10-15, Moses said the Israelites could make a treaty with people from a distant country. So they prepared diligently, sending delegates with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, so that they could deceive Joshua and the people of Israel, making them think they came from a distant country and could make a treaty with them. I still wonder how they made old and moldy bread. Though they knew that the Israelites conquered Jericho and annihilated Ai recently, they did not mention it to the Israelites so that they would not suspect that they came from a close place.

Finally, they truly humbled themselves. When the Israelites suspected them, saying, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?” Their answer was, “We are your servants.” In verse 11, they said again, “We are your servants.” In verse 24, they identified themselves as servants as they were assigned to be woodcutters and water carriers. They did not demand that Joshua should keep his oath but humbly said, “We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.” So they were saved from the Israelites. Later in chapter 10, they will be saved by the Israelites from their own people because they betrayed their own people.

What can we learn from the Gibeonites? It shows how a gentile person come to believe in God and live a new life. Faith comes first from hearing. We need to remember that the gospel is not only salvation but also judgment. Dr. Scott Moreau said that he came to believe in Jesus because of God’s judgment. Yet, faith without action is dead just as a body without spirit is dead. Demons believe in God and shudder because of God’s judgment. We must make a decision to make a peace treaty with God and His people. Jesus is our peace treaty between God and us. There is only one way God provide us to be saved—Jesus Christ and believing in his promise of salvation from eternal judgment. Living in this dog eat dog world, may God help us to live in peace like doves among His people but as crafty as a serpent in dealing with the people of this world.

1. Joshua and the Israelites did not pray but kept their oath

Look at verse 7. “The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?” The Israelites suspected that the Gibeonites might live near them. But the Gibeonites said that they are the servants of Israelites. Joshua asked them who they were and where they came from. Interestingly, the Gibeonites did not answer directly where they were from but said, “We are your servants.” But Joshua again asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?” Then they answered very vaguely, saying, “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God.” Instead of answering it, they gave the reason why they came and showed the old clothes and moldy bread to prove that they came from a distant country. They did their best to deceive the Israelites.

How did the Israelites check out the Gibeonites' story? Look at verses 14-15, ^“The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. ¹⁵ Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.” They sampled their provisions and tested their outward evidences but did not pray. When they checked the outward evidence without prayer, they fell into their deception. Someone said that it is almost impossible to detect if someone does their best to deceive. That might be quite true because we are human beings who cannot read other’s heart. Then, this is all the more reason why Joshua and the Israelites should have prayed. This is not the first time Joshua forgot to pray. He did not pray after the victory of Jericho and made a crucial mistake, depending on the number of soldiers. Again, after another victory at Ai, Joshua did not pray to God in dealing with suspected enemies. Joshua is easily becoming proud after a victory, not depending on God through prayer and forgetting that the victory did not come from himself or people but from God and listening to God’s command. Then, Joshua made a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of the assembly agreed with an oath.

How easily we become like Joshua after a little victory, forgetting that a victory comes from God and not depending on God in prayer. How important it is to depend on God in prayer! Prayer is the source of our spiritual strength. Prayer is our expression of total dependence not on ourselves but on God. Prayer should be our breathing, as the Bible says, “pray continually.” Jesus asked his disciples to pray so that they may not fall into temptation. It was the temptation of betrayal. We are tempted and fall because we do not pray. May God help us to pray so that we do not fall into temptation but win the victory one after another.

Look at verses 16-17. In three days, the Israelites found that the Gibeonites were not from far away but just a few days’ journey, from a region composed of 4 cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearrim. Finally they found that they were deceived by the Gibeonites. What could be the reaction of the Israelites? They could be mad at the Gibeonites and tell them that their oath is null because they deceived them. Look at verse 18a, "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.” But they did not attack them because the leader made an oath to them in the name of the Lord. Why? It is important to keep their oath before God and with people. Ps 15:4, “who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord; who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind.” When we respect God as God, we must keep our oath even when it hurts. Our God is the promise keeper and not promise breaker. Just as God does, we should keep our promise to others even if we made by deception.

Look at verses 18b-21. The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders. The leaders told them that they cannot touch the Gibeonites because they made an oath to them by the Lord. God’s wrath will fall on them if they break the oath. So the leaders’ promise was kept. Even if we may be deceived and made an oath before God, we have to keep our oath, not making human excuses. We should do our part, and the deceiver will be accountable to God, who will deal with them accordingly.

To the people of the world, we Christians are representatives of God. Therefore, we must prayerfully make a promise and keep the promise even if it hurts. In this way, we are faithful to God and to others. In addition, God raises not a smart person but a faithful person because God can entrust the faithful. Those who are faithful to a small things, God will entrust with bigger things. May God raise 12 faithful disciples who can keep their promise even if it hurts.

Yet, Joshua had to deal with the deception of the Gibeonites. Look at verses 22-23. “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? ²³ You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” For the responsibility of their deception, Joshua made them to be woodcutters and water carriers for the house of God as a curse to them. The job is not easy to do. In the wilderness, it is not easy to find woods and water. While the Israelites were constantly moving from one place to another in order to conquer the Promised Land, they had to carry heavy loads of wood and water. In fact, The Gibeonites would play very important roles as the Israelites had to wage war and conquer the Promised Land.

Yet, the job of woodcutters and of water carriers can be taken differently according the attitude of their hearts. David confessed that he would be blessed just to be a doorkeeper of the house of God. If they were humble and thankful, they would take the job as a blessing to them, serving God’s people and contributing to pioneering the Promised Land behind the scenes.

Through today’s passage, learned that the Gibeonites’ faith in God’s promise and their decisive and crafty action saved them from God’s destruction. In the same way, may God help each one of us to have faith that works in our practical situations that we can experience God’s work in our lives. Moreover, we learn from Joshua and the Israelites, who kept their oath even though it was made by deception. In that way, they received coworkers, pioneering the Promised Land through carrying woods and water. May God raise 12 faithful disciples who keep their promises even if it hurts as representatives of God in this world.

Through today’s passage, we learned that the Gibeonites’ faith in God’s promise and their decisive and crafty action saved them from God’s destruction. In the same way, may God help each one of us to have faith that works in our practical situations so we can experience God’s work in our lives. Moreover, we learn from Joshua and the Israelites, who kept their oath even though it was made by deception. In that way, they received coworkers, pioneering the Promised Land through carrying wood and water. May God raise 12 faithful disciples who keep their promises even if it hurts as representatives of God in this world.