Joshua 9

(1) *NOW all the kings west of the Jordan River heard about what had happened. These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who lived in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as the Lebanon mountains.

• *Now: Links back to chapter 8 where the Israelites had won their second battle in the Promised Land - Ai. The lesson to learn from the last chapter is the way to have victory over the sins of our lives requires, first of all, the willingness to face our sins "head on". The point is, if we are willing to tackle the sins that separate us from living the way God wants us to, the victory over those issues is guaranteed. Therefore, when we won't face our sins before God and use 1 John 1:9 for confession, we will suffer defeat.

(2) These kings combined their armies to *fight as one against Joshua and the Israelites.

• *fight as one: Even when bitter enemies are confronted by a common enemy, they will often unite to defeat the enemy before then going back to where they were before. Just look at the relationship between the USA and the Soviet Union during World War II and then after. My father was exempted from service in the war because he was employed making boxes for goods going to the USSR. Then, once the war was over, the "Iron Curtain" spoken of by Churchill came down cutting off and enslaving Eastern Europe.
• These two verses introduce the wars that unfold in chapters 10-11. After hearing of Israel’s victories over Jericho and Ai, all the kings of the Land (hill-country, lowlands, and coastlands) unite to attack Israel. The defeat of the Israelites by little Ai emboldened these city-state kings to unite because they thought they had a good chance to defeat them - they did not know, however, why Ai won the first time but lost the second time!
• The new threat had caused them to bond. This we may expect soon, before the coming of Christ - Revelation 16:14:
• They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God the Almighty.

(3) But when the people of *Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,

• *Gibeon means "high place" or "hill place". It was one of the largest towns in the central part of Canaan, much larger than Ai and possibly the Hivite capital. It later became a Levitical town (18:25; 21:17). The Israelites eventually pitched the tabernacle there, and it remained at that site until Solomon built his temple (1 Kings 3:4-5; 1 Chronicles 16:39; 21:29). Notice that there's no mention of a "king" of Gibeon. The "people" and the "elders" are making the decisions!
• The Gibeonites, which included a league of cities (see verse 17), concocted a clever ruse designed to deceive the Israelites and hide their true identity—a typical strategy of Satan, the deceiver. Their goal, which was successful, was to convince the Israelites they were from a country outside the land (verse 6). They evidently somehow knew that God had commanded the Israelites to totally destroy all the inhabitants of the land. Their claim was that they were impressed with the great things Joshua had done and had heard of their great god and so they wanted a treaty allowing them to live because they were not of the land of Canaan.
• The city of Gibeon was 6 miles northwest of Jerusalem and approximately seven miles from Ai. The Israelites were to exterminate all of them, as they had the people of Jericho and Ai. It was the will of God, as we read in Joshua 3:10. Deuteronomy 7:1-6 reveals the divine rationale for such extermination.
  
  • Deuteronomy 7:1-6: “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and he will quickly destroy you. This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols. For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
• The remains of Gibeon were excavated in 6 expeditions from 1956 to 1962, led by the University of Pennsylvania archaeologist James B. Pritchard who discovered numerous jar handles inscribed with the name "Gibeon".
• Gibeon is mentioned 45 times in the Old Testament.
• With an elevation of about 2400 feet, Gibeon towered above most other cities, making it easily defended. Dating to about 3000 B.C., Gibeon served as the fortress city at the head of the valley of Ajalon which provided the principal access from the coastal plain into the hill country. Gibeon's power was strong as archaeology has found no sign of the city's destruction.
• 1 Chronicles 16:39-40: Meanwhile, David stationed Zadok the priest and his fellow priests at the Tabernacle of the Lord at the place of worship in Gibeon, where they continued to minister before the Lord. They sacrificed the regular burnt offerings to the Lord each morning and evening on the altar set aside for that purpose, obeying everything written in the Law of the Lord, as he had commanded Israel.
• 1 Chronicles 21:29: At that time the Tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering that Moses had made in the wilderness were located at the place of worship in Gibeon.
• 2 Chronicles 1:5-7, 13: But the bronze altar made by Bezalel son of Uri and grandson of Hur was there at Gibeon in front of the Tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon and the people gathered in front of it to consult the Lord. There in front of the Tabernacle, Solomon went up to the bronze altar in the Lord’s presence and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings on it. ... That night God appeared to Solomon and said, “What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!”
• 1 Kings 3:3-4: Solomon loved the Lord and followed all the decrees of his father, David, except that Solomon, too, offered sacrifices and burned incense at the local places of worship. The most important of these places of worship was at Gibeon, so the king went there and sacrificed 1,000 burnt offerings.

(4) they resorted to *deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched **wineskins.

• *deception:
  
  • Though Satan surely knows he can never really defeat the Lord and that he is a defeated foe, he nevertheless turns to his many tricks and deceptive devices to defeat God’s purposes for and with His people.
  • It’s exactly the same word that’s used of Satan as he is first described in the opening verses of Genesis 3, where the serpent was "the shrewdest of all the wild animals.”
  • 2 Corinthians 11:3: But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.
  • Ephesians 4:14: Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
• **wineskins: Wineskins were usually made from the skin of an animal, with the hair shaved off, turned inside out and the neck became the place from which the liquid was poured. When wineskins are new, they are relatively elastic and can accommodate the expansion of fermenting wine. When the skins are old, they cannot expand and they will break.
• Matthew 9:17: “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”

(5) They put on worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. And the bread they took with them was dry and moldy.

(6) When they arrived at the camp of Israel at *Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us.”

• *Gilgal: This is the Gilgal that is in more of the central part of the country near Shechem, rather than the Gilgal down by the Jordan River. It doesn’t make sense that Joshua and all of the people would go all the way back down to the Jordan River, because they are moving from the central part of the country to take the entire land; and rather than stay on the border down near the Jordan River, the other Gilgal is, no doubt, that one that you see on your Bible maps: more in the central part of the country, just south of the area of Shechem, mount Gerizim, and mount Ebal.

(7) The Israelites replied to these Hivites, “How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you.”

(8) They replied, “We are your servants.” “But who are you?” Joshua demanded.
“Where do you come from?”

(9) They answered, “Your servants have come from a *very distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt.

• *very distant country: God permitted peace with cities outside the Land:
• Deuteronomy 20:11-15: If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor. But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town. When the Lord your God hands the town over to you, use swords to kill every man in the town. But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies that the Lord your God has given you. “But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter.
• How did they know about this rule in Deuteronomy?
• It is possible that they really did believe in the power of the God of Israel much like Rahab. The Gibeonites were not cowards (see 10:2). They knew they could not withstand the power of God and did the next best thing in their thinking; they turned to deception through disguise.
• Not only were Joshua and the elders gullible, they were also superficial. They were flattered by this talk, and Joshua sits down and he writes a treaty. He never seems to ask the question, he never seems to say to them, “Don’t move an inch until I make sure that what you’re saying is true.” He never consults with the Lord. The decision seems so obvious to him, but he was so wrong!

(10) We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan
(who lived in Ashtaroth).

• These Canaanites mention nothing of
  the victories of Joshua at Jericho and Ai.  If they had, Joshua
  would have known that they lived closer than they claimed, because news didn't travel that fast in those days.

(11) So our elders and all our people instructed us, ‘Take supplies for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and tell
them, “We are your servants; please make a treaty with us.”’

(12) “This bread was hot from the ovens when we left our homes. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy.

(13) These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and split open. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our very long journey.”

• All the evidence presented assured Joshua that they were telling the truth.

(14) So the Israelites examined their food, but they
did not consult the Lord.

• Joshua failed to inquire of the Lord through prayer. Looking at the evidence, he supposed he could wisely discern what they were facing. He was wrong. In the depths of winter at Valley Forge, George Washington went to his knees in prayer, certain that unless God aided his bedraggled and discouraged army, all hope for the fledgling United States was lost. During the Civil War, when the fate of the nation again hung in the balance, Abraham Lincoln confessed to a friend that he was often driven to his knees to pray because he had nowhere else to go. In the passage before us, we see the danger of failing to commit their way to the Lord, the peril of prayerlessness and the peril of walking by sight - making decision on the basis of how things appear.
• Joshua is making the same mistake here that he made about Ai - the decision is very obvious and easy - no need to pray about this one! Just look at all the evidence! This is a no brainer - no need to consult God!
• Proverbs 3:5-7: Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
• Psalm 37:4-6: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

(15) Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them and guaranteed their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

• Why didn’t God interfere? Why didn't He contact Joshua and tell him that these were Gibeonites and not men from far outside the land?
• Exodus 34:12: “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.

(16) Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby!

(17) The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

• Why would you make an agreement and then investigate the truthfulness of those with whom you made an agreement? This sounds really stupid. And, Joshua and Israel and going to have to live with this mistake.

(18) But the Israelites did not attack the towns, for the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. The people of Israel *grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty.

• *grumbled: They grumbled because they, in effect, had been prevented from getting the spoils from destroying those cities. Given that Jericho was burned to the ground and that Ai was a very small city, the goods which had thus far been taken in spoil were very small compared to the number of Israelites. So far, we have the goods and spoil of 12,000 spread out to 2,000,000. So, to find out that they were going to pass up four cities and all the wealth therein was pretty disappointing to the people as a whole.

(19) But the leaders replied, “Since we have sworn an oath in the presence of the
Lord, the God of Israel, we cannot touch them.

(20) This is what we must do. We must let them live, for divine
anger would come upon us if we broke our oath.

• God never punishes the Israelites for honoring this contract with them. In fact, in the next chapter (and next lesson) the Israelites come to the rescue of this group of people.
• Psalm 15:4 : Those who despise flagrant sinners, and honor the faithful followers of the Lord, and keep their promises even when it hurts.

(21) Let them live.” So they made them woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community, as the Israelite leaders directed.

• As is often the case with the consequences of sin, they would live with their decision for the rest of their lives.

(22) Joshua called together the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you *lie to us? Why did you say that you live in a distant land when you live right here among us?

• *lie:
• John 8:44: For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
• Joshua does what is common with most people who have made a mistake - he blames it on someone else. His mistake was in not consulting God. He inappropriately blames the Gibeonites. What the Gibeonites did was very reasonable under the circumstances. What Joshua did - carelessly entering into a binding treaty without consulting God - that was the real problem and the real mistake.

(23) May you be cursed! From now on you will always be servants who cut wood and carry water for the house of my God.”

(24) They replied, “We did it because we—your servants—were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded his servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this.

• Barnes footnotes are appropriate here: It was mere fear which drove the Gibeonites to act as they did. They sought for union with God’s people, nor for its own sake, but to save their lives. Rahab’s motives were higher. Hence she was adopted into Israel; the Gibeonites remained for ever bondsmen of Israel.
• Joshua 2:9-10: “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.

(25) Now we are at your mercy—do to us whatever you think is
right.”

(26) So Joshua did not allow the people of Israel to kill them.

(27) But that day he made the Gibeonites the woodcutters and water carriers for the community of
Israel and for the altar of the Lord—wherever the Lord would choose to build
it. And that is what they do to this day.

• They honored their pledge because it had been ratified in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. To break the covenant would dishonor God’s name and bring down His wrath. In fact, such a judgment from God would later come to pass during David’s reign because Saul disregarded this agreement.
• To keep the Gibeonites’ idolatry from defiling the true faith of Israel, their work would be carried out in the tabernacle, where they would be exposed to the worship of the one true God.
• Later, the tabernacle of the Lord would be pitched at Gibeon (see 2 Chronicles 1:30, and the Gibeonites, later known as Nethinims ("given ones" = given to assist the priests), would replace the Levites in menial temple work.
• It is interesting that in later years, when the Israelites would go into idolatry, the Gibeonites would still be standing at the altar where the true God ordained that sacrifices should be made for sins. As a result of what they had seen God do for Israel, they became convinced, like Rahab, that Israel’s God was the true God. Like Rahab, they evidently became loyal believers.
• Under Nehemiah, the Gibeonites are listed as helping in building the wall of Jerusalem close to what is known as the Old Gate (Nehemiah 3:7).
• Both Rahab and the Gibeonites came to the God of Israel as sinners, Rahab as a prostitute, and the Gibeonites as liars. Both Rahab and the Gibeonites were willing at risk to forsake their former associations and be counted among God’s people.
• Gibeon becomes a priestly city; the Ark of the Covenant stayed at Gibeon often in the days of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 16:39-40 and 21:29).
• 2 Samuel 21:2 indicates that Saul pursued the Gibeonites and sought to kill them off "in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah". The only ones who survived were those who fled beyond Israel.
• 1 Chronicles 9:2: The first of the exiles to return to their property in their former towns were priests, Levites, Temple servants, and other Israelites.
• 1 Chronicles 12:4: Ishmaiah from Gibeon, a famous warrior and leader among the Thirty; Jeremiah, Jahaziel, Johanan, and Jozabad from Gederah;
  
  • These were David's leading warriors while Saul was trying to kill him.
• Ezra 2:43,58: The descendants of the following Temple servants returned from exile: Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth, ... In all, the Temple servants and the descendants of Solomon’s servants numbered 392.
• Nehemiah 3:26: with the Temple servants living on the hill of Ophel, who repaired the wall as far as a point across from the Water Gate to the east and the projecting tower.
• 2 Samuel 21:2: So the king summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. The people of Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal for Israel and Judah, had tried to wipe them out.

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APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. If you make a mistake, admit it, learn from it and make your mistake work for you.
2. Beware of making snap, rash decisions based on outward appearance instead of God’s direction and will. Always be skeptical when someone wants a decision right now! Don't be rush into a quick decision.
3. Ephesians 5:15-17: So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
4. Even when we make mistakes, we are still under obligation to carry through our part of the transactions we have entered into. Where we involve ourselves and God's Word in our testimony, we have to stick by the promise made. Our word should be our bond.
5. Satan was not able to discourage the Israelites from going on in their conquest of Canaan. Neither should a mistake we have made cause us to give up. Let us confess it to God, forsake it and go ahead.
6. To sum up: the Gibeonites were in a helpless, hopeless situation. They were condemned to a death without mercy, without exception. They were outside the covenant of God. They stood condemned before God. Only because they came to Joshua (Yeshua), were they saved. Joshua looked at them and saw them as people from far away; God looks at us and sees His Son. It is because of what someone else has done that we are saved; it is because of no innate goodness within ourselves. God honored His peace treaty with the Gibeonites and He will honor His peace treaty with us. When we as freeman enter into a covenant with God, we become His slaves, just as the Gibeonites became the slaves of the Israelites. From this choice, we have fellowship with God for the rest of our life and eternity.
7. Before entering into any alliance such as taking a partner in life or going into business with another, be sure to ask for the Lord's wisdom. He will assuredly answer by an irresistible impulse - by the voice of a friend; by a circumstance strange and unexpected; by a passage of Scripture. He will choose His own messenger; but He will send a message. How many go into a marriage on an impulse, on emotion, on hope, on shear stupidity without thinking it through and without consulting the One who really knows how this is going to turn out! Years later, they realize they made a terrible mistake but now there are children who are going to be hurt no matter what happens! The relationship falls apart, anger grows and grows until only a miracle would save the marriage.
8. There will always be Gibeonites in the world, in the church and in the used car lot. As Christians, we are in constant danger of being deceived by the world, the flesh and Satan's agents. We cannot always judge situations properly; we must have God’s wisdom and discernment for every single situation.
9. Alan Redpath wrote: Never, never, NEVER trust your own judgment in anything. When common sense says that a course is right, lift your heart to God, for the path of faith and the path of blessing may be in a direction completely opposite to that which you call common sense. When voices tell you that action is urgent, that something must be done immediately, refer everything to the tribunal of heaven. Then, if you are still in doubt, dare to stand still. If you are called on to act and you have not time to pray, don’t act. If you are called on to move in a certain direction and cannot wait until you have peace with God about it, don’t move. Be strong enough and brave enough to dare to stand and wait on God, for none of them who wait on him shall ever be ashamed. That is the only way to outmatch the devil (Alan Redpath, Victorious Christian Living: Studies in the Book of Joshua).
10. Some Christians are under the misconception that when we sin if we confess and seek the forgiveness of God there are no consequences to sin. Although this action does bring cleansing it does not erase the consequences of our sin. That is the great problem with a failure to consult the Lord in all matters: we must live with the consequences of our wrong actions.
11. God’s generosity preceded Israel. To a displaced, landless, poor and wandering people, the gift of the land represented a free gift of God’s pure grace. At the same time, we should note that God called his people to be active rather than passive recipients of this free gift. They would have to fight for every square inch of the land (Philippians 2:12). Of course, the Israelites’ conquest of Canaan corresponds to the Christian’s inheritance in Christ. Even though our inheritance, like that of the Israelites, is a free gift of God’s sovereign grace, we have to fight for it (Philippians 2:12). We are called to be active, not passive recipients, which, among other things, means using all of our strength and material resources to pursue God’s kingdom.
    
    1. Philippians 2:12: Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.
12. Commentator Bruce Waltke notes that three times in these successive verses “the point is made that the not-so-innocent Israel must not break an oath, even though made under false colors, and so misuse God’s name. This is a truth that needs to be reasserted in an age of broken marriage vows and of broken business contracts. Moreover, I AM shows his approval of Israel’s keeping their oath by miraculously intervening on Israel’s behalf when they come to the defense of Gibeon (Joshua 10)” (Bruce Waltke, An Old Testament Theology, 521).
13. How often do you consult God about a decision? Do you ever ask yourself, “I wonder what God would do in this situation?” If you believe that the Bible speaks to all areas of life, do you live that way? One area into which God speaks has to do with your honor and integrity, your word. Are you a man or woman of your word or do you constantly break your promises? Is it serious if you don’t do as you say? What does God think about this? Joshua 9 gives us an insight into God’s thinking on the matter.
14. Sometimes, we have to sleep in the bed we made! God gives us freewill. If the crux of God’s plan was to avoid mistakes and sin, then He would make us wear blinders and beat us half to death until we agree to His will. However, that is not the key to God’s plan. Our volition is the key to His plan. The choices that we make day in and day out are the key to His plan. We do receive discipline when we do wrong, but God still allows us to choose afterwards. God allows our freewill to function and both the good choices that we make while indwelt and controlled by the Holy Spirit, as well as the bad when we accede to our old sin nature. Once we believe in Jesus Christ, it doesn’t mean that our life will be without mistake or difficulty.
15. God often gives us warnings, but we don’t always heed them. In fact, a lot of times we just ignore them. Then, we wish that we had listened and noticed the red flags God is waving in or face. I know exactly what it's like to totally ignore God's warnings - and then learn He was right and I could not have been more wrong! The Lord was trying to speak to Joshua here. Joshua shows that he has a little bit of doubt here: “Just who are you guys? Where do you come from?”
16. Israel failed to consult God before an important decision, a mistake that cost them for generations to come; there was even a 3 year famine because of it, 2 Samuel 21:1-2. How often do you consult God? Do you believe that He has advice for every facet of your life? One area in particular He speaks to in Joshua 9 is your veracity. Will you be a man or woman of your word? Or will you reap the consequences of your lies?
17. Note that when the Israelites found out the truth, they didn't kill them. They didn’t want to go back on their word, even though they gave their word based on the lies told to them.
18. The great lesson of this chapter is that when people hurt us, we are to first see them as "someone who needs Jesus" and not someone who has hurt us. What is "happening behind the scenes" is God is drawing this "lying group" close to Him because they trust in Him.

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NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New
  Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html