And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,
The kings of Canaan answer Israel's victories at Jericho and Ai by massing their armies together. Gibeon hears the same news and takes another road: craft instead of force. That trick succeeds where the armies of Canaan fail.
Gibeon was one of four Hivite cities. Its leaders decided to fight in a different way from their neighbours.
Among these combined peoples were the Hivites. They had four cities — Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. The heads of these cities took counsel together. Others of their nation reached for the sword, but these men used a trick to get what they wanted — "they acted cunningly."
Commentators see this split in the enemy camp as a picture of two kinds of attack a believer faces.
But the Gibeonites set to work in their own way. If most of the nations trusted to force, the Gibeonites turned to crafty scheming. There we may see pictured the schemes of the devil... The letter to the Ephesians gives us divine authority for this solemn fact: we need the whole armour of God to resist two things. One is the power of Satan. The other is the schemes of the devil.
The verse names the report that reached Gibeon: news of judgment already falling. That is not the report that reached Rahab.
The Gibeonites had heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai; that is, they heard of judgment in the land, after Israel had crossed the Jordan. Rahab had heard what the Lord had done at the Red Sea and in the wilderness (see Joshua 2:10; Joshua 9:3). But this makes a great difference. It is easy to be gracious when pain comes upon us: but such graciousness is not of faith, but of fear. It is natural, even necessary. The Gibeonites pretend that the same report which moved Rahab had moved them too (vv. 9, 10). But this was false, as verse 3 has already shown us. They sought Joshua for what they could get from him. They sought him for themselves, for the deliverance they now found they needed, since judgment had overtaken them.
When they stood in front of Joshua, they used God's name. But they never said what Rahab had said.
Notice that they did not speak like Rahab did, acknowledging the God of Israel as the true God... Then they brought in God's name, saying they had heard of His fame and of His victories in Egypt and over Sihon and Og.
Ai had already humbled Israel for fighting in their own strength. Here they fail a second time, in the same way.
Ai gave a sharp rebuke to Israel's vain confidence in their own might. At Gibeon their wisdom proved just as foolish, for there too they forgot to seek counsel from God. Trusting themselves, they let circumstances deceive them and make an alliance that is not according to the expressed will of God... How easily they fell into the trap! Even a little close questioning would have exposed the true character of the Gibeonites. If they really lived as far away as the mouldy bread and the torn wineskins pretended, they had no reason to fear Israel.
Deception is no excuse.
Do we think Israel was not to blame, since the Gibeonites deceived them? Think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would they have been fooled? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Israel's blunder is not the whole story. In the end the Gibeonites plead nothing and put themselves in Joshua's hands.
God overruled their folly. He used it to show mercy to those who trembled at His word, even though they belonged to the accursed race of Canaan. That is a most blessed truth... The Gibeonites also show the true position of a repentant soul, for they bow to the sentence of death... They do not plead the alliance. They surrender with no conditions: "Behold, we are in your hand; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight." ... On one side Israel curses the Gibeonite; on the other the Gibeonite submits, content to be whatever Joshua decides. Over both stands the picture of God's mercy to a self-judging sinner.
- Heard. Rahab heard of the Red Sea and the wilderness. Gibeon heard of judgment already falling in the land. Same God, very different news.
- Feared. The report produced dread, not faith. It is easy to be gracious when pain comes, but that is natural; it is not faith.
- Schemed. Other Canaanite kings gathered swords; Gibeon's four cities chose cunning. Christians need the whole armour of God against both — raw power and quiet scheming.
- Fell. Israel lost this round through neglect, not weakness. A little close questioning, or one turn to God for counsel, would have exposed the whole story.
- Spared. Even so, God turned the failure into mercy — toward people who bowed to the sentence of death and asked for no terms.
then they also acted with craft, and they went prepared as on a journey, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-flasks, old and rent and tied up;
The Canaanite kings had just joined forces to fight Israel head-on, but one group tried something else: worn-out sacks, torn wineskins, and a tale of a long journey. Here the war changes weapons, and it raises a hard question — why were God's people, fresh from victory, so easy to fool?
Gibeon was one of the Canaanite cities in that alliance. Its leaders chose a different road to the same goal.
Among these allied peoples were the Hivites. They had four cities: Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. The heads of these cities planned together. Others of their nation reached for the sword, but these men used a trick to get what they wanted — they "acted with cunning."
Commentators read this switch as a picture of how the enemy of God's people works on two fronts.
If most of the nations trusted to force, the Gibeonites turned to crafty planning. There we may see pictured the schemes of the devil. This represents at least some of them. The letter to the Ephesians gives us divine authority for a solemn fact. We need the whole armour of God to resist two things: the power of Satan on one side, and the schemes of the devil on the other.
One writer warns that the quiet attack does more damage than the open one.
But let Christians beware when the Enemy comes disguised as an angel of light. He speaks smooth and flattering words, and, as in our day, he argues religiously. Satan sows his weeds while men sleep. He has won more that way than by all the strength he lines up to crush God's people. When he fails to crush, he tries to corrupt: such are his tactics.
Everything the Gibeonites loaded onto their donkeys was chosen to say one thing: we have come a very long way.
The inhabitants of Gibeon clearly saw that they would not be able to defeat Israel, so they sent men posing as ambassadors from a far country, having old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals, wearing old garments, and with dry and mouldy food.
The pull of worn and ancient-looking things is not limited to Israel's elders.
These ambassadors made a good impression on the elders of Israel. They carried the outward signs of a long journey, and their credentials looked ancient. People who seem to come from a distance often hold a strange power over God's people. They get a hearing that others would deny them if they knew them better. Everyone knows the strange pull of things that look ancient, prized just for seeming old. Things seen as "old," things worn out, "torn and mended," win reverence or superstition from the mind. Far too often no one asks, "Are these things true?"
The same writer takes each worn item as a picture of something that has lost its freshness.
Let the saints beware of "dry and mouldy" bread, for stale food is not what God provides for His children. Torn wineskins have let the wine run out. They are like teaching and preaching that keeps only the memory of a glad past, with joy in the Holy Spirit gone. Patched-up garments only show that they have served their day and should be discarded. God's messengers have feet fitted with the readiness the gospel of peace gives. The longest journey never wears them out.
Their story was not all false, and that was the skill in it.
Satan has great skill in mixing lies with truth, and these Hivites were skilful men. They had heard of the fame of the Lord, and of the mighty kings Sihon and Og, whom Israel killed. That part was true. But their credentials, their mouldy bread, their torn and empty wineskins, and their old clothes — every one of them was a lie. Flattery defeats more saints than the sword does. Where fierce opposition wins over its tens, smooth words win over thousands.
The disguise was clever, but nobody tested it. Israel had already been humbled once at Ai for trusting their own strength.
Israel's confidence in their own might was sharply rebuked at Ai. In the matter of Gibeon their wisdom proved just as foolish, for, as at Ai, they forgot to seek counsel from God. How easily they were trapped! A little close questioning would have exposed who the Gibeonites really were. Their mouldy bread and torn wineskins claimed they lived in a far-off country. If that were true, they had no reason to fear Israel... Their eagerness to form an alliance would have given them away to the wise of the world. But Israel stood in a place where, without wisdom from God, they would sink beneath the world's wisdom.
- Cunning, not combat. The other Canaanites reached for the sword. Gibeon's leaders reached for a trick, and it won where the sword failed.
- Corruption after crushing. When the enemy fails to crush God's people, he tries to corrupt them. He comes with smooth words and religious talk, not armies.
- Old equals true? Worn sacks, torn skins and patched sandals won respect just by looking old. Nobody asked the one question that mattered: "Is it true?"
- Half-truths carry lies. Their report of God's fame was true; their props were fakes. Mixing the two is the enemy's signature.
- One question missing. A few questions would have broken the story. Israel failed for lack of God's wisdom, not for lack of brains.
and old and patched sandals upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry [and] mouldy.
The men of Gibeon lived nearby. Yet they walked into Israel's camp dressed as travellers worn down by a long road. They staged every detail of the outfit. The question the verse raises is not how they worked the trick, but why Israel never thought to check.
Older translations describe the sandals as "clouted," which simply describes their condition:
The shoes of the Gibeonites were 'patched' to deceive Joshua. Joshua 9:5.
Israel was not facing an army here. The Gibeonites mixed real facts with manufactured evidence, and the evidence is where the lie lived:
Satan has consummate skill in mixing lies with truth, and these Hivites were skilful men. They had heard the fame of Jehovah, and of the mighty kings Sihon and Og, killed by Israel — that was true. But their credentials, their mouldy bread, their torn and empty wineskins, and their old garments, every one of them were lies.
The disguise worked because worn, old-looking things carry a strange authority:
These ambassadors looked respectable to the elders of Israel. They wore outward signs of having come from far away, and their credentials looked ancient... Everyone knows the strange pull of things that look old, just because they look old. Things seen as "old," things worn out, "torn and mended," win the respect or superstition of the mind. Too often no one asks, "Are these things true?"... Few think to ask, "Are they genuine in the light of God's word?" Fewer still ask what these respected old things were when they were new. Old and mouldy things were once new and fresh.
Older translations call the crumbly bread "mouldy." The same writer turns each item into a warning:
Let the saints beware of "dry and mouldy" bread, for stale food is not what God provides for His children. Torn wineskins, with the wine run out, are like teaching and preaching that keep only the memory of a glad past. The joy in the Holy Spirit is gone. Patched-up garments only show that they have served their day and should be discarded. God's messengers have feet shod with the readiness given by the gospel of peace. The longest journey never wears them out.
Gibeon used a different weapon from open war:
But the enemy comes disguised as an angel of light. He speaks smooth and flattering words, and, as in our day, he argues religiously. Let Christians beware. Satan has won more successes by sowing his weeds while men sleep than by all his strength lined up to crush God's people. When he fails to crush, he tries to corrupt: these are his devices.
A second trap follows the first:
Here again there is a snare. When you have resisted an alliance, you are tempted to form one yourself. This is in one sense the place the Gibeonites took here... It was a question of being an Israelite and nothing but an Israelite.
Israel shared the strangers' food, and that settled the matter:
The bait had worked, the damage was done, and its effects lasted long. The men of Israel, who were not without fears at the start, allowed themselves to be trapped. If Joshua led, we must not be surprised that the rest followed. They "took of their provisions" — the sign of fellowship in its measure — and "did not ask counsel from the LORD."
Deception was no excuse. One question to God would have ended it:
If we think Israel was not to blame because they were deceived, let us think again. Had they taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Notice who suspected the trick first — not the leaders:
To my mind this is painfully instructive. It was not Joshua who suspected the trick, nor the elders or princes of the congregation, but the men of Israel. How often simplicity is right where the best wisdom fails: God makes us feel our need of Himself... Men used to leading and ruling rarely listen to those used to obeying and following. It does not even seem natural. But in divine things those who despise the least must pay the penalty.
- Disguise: The patched sandals, worn clothes and crumbling food were props. Parts of their story were true; the evidence was fake.
- Appeal: Things that look old and worn borrow authority. Israel asked, "Is it old?" — never, "Is it true?"
- Tactic: When force fails, the enemy switches to flattery and disguise. He corrupts what he cannot crush.
- Failure: Israel shared the strangers' food but did not ask counsel from the LORD. Being fooled is no defence when one question would have settled it.
- Correction: Ordinary men in the ranks doubted first, not the leaders. Those who despise the least pay the penalty.
And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said to him, and to the men of Israel, From a far country are we come; and now make a covenant with us.
Envoys from Gibeon arrive at Israel's camp with a single claim and a single request: distance, and a treaty. Everything turns on whether Israel would test that claim. They never did — and the place where they failed matters too.
The verse names where the envoys came: the camp at Gilgal. That place carried a meaning for Israel's whole campaign.
Gilgal was the place of circumcision. This place was to be the starting point for the army of the LORD before a single victory had been won. It was also to be the gathering place after victory, and again the starting point for fresh conquests. The judgment of the flesh was permanent. The people were to apply it to themselves continually. Otherwise the flesh would work to regain what it had lost, and a first victory would never be followed by a second.
The offer arrives right after the kings of the land join forces for war. One writer sees a plan behind that order: fear first, then a convenient way out.
Notice how Satan succeeds in making them lose the sense of dependence. He frightens them with something designed to strike terror into their hearts. It is the hatred of the world: an alliance of kings gathered for war. He begins by fixing their attention on this powerful force, ready to crush them. Then, without losing a moment, he offers them his own remedy: the inhabitants of Gibeon come to the camp at Gilgal... "Make a covenant with us," said the Gibeonites. What a good opportunity for Israel! "The enemy is in front of you," whispered Satan; "this would be a splendid way to overcome him."
Israel knew the command about the nations of Canaan. The claim of distance was aimed exactly at that knowledge, so that obedience seemed not to apply.
This naturally threw the children of Israel and Joshua off their guard. They knew perfectly well that the Canaanites were a doomed nation. God had called His people to have no peace with them, and it is important to see how well understood that was.
What they said was matched by what they left out. Their history stopped short of anything recent or nearby.
They talked of old times, and spoke of work and warfare in years gone by. They were eloquent about the LORD's wonders in Egypt forty years earlier, and about victories a long way from their homes on the other side of Jordan. In this way they disarmed him of suspicion. But these men had not a syllable to say about the work of God right at their doors at Jericho and Ai. This they kept at a careful distance.
The request was not for mercy but for partnership, and it came dressed in shared conviction.
The character of the Gibeonites, and their religious convictions, stand out strongly. But they are Canaanites in disguise: the world under an outward form of piety — the religious world. Up to this point Israel had been kept from seeking human help. But it was hard to resist those who claimed to have the same object and the same longings. Is it not a legitimate thing to form an alliance? We own the LORD, as you do, and if need arose we could work with you as your servants.
Their story had a hole in it, and the claim of distance was the hole.
Even a few close questions would have exposed the true character of the Gibeonites. Their mouldy bread and torn wineskins pretended they lived in a far-off country. If that were true, they had no reason to fear Israel... If they were outside the borders, why fear, and hurry to call themselves servants to Israel? Their eagerness to form an alliance would have betrayed them to the wise of the world.
Someone in the camp did hesitate — and it was not the leadership.
To my mind this is painfully instructive. It was not Joshua who suspected the trick, nor the elders or princes of the congregation, but the men of Israel. How often simplicity is right where the best wisdom fails.
The oath they swore held Israel to the treaty, and the cost came long after the men who made it were gone.
They make an alliance with the power of the world. They did not ask the LORD; otherwise they would have been kept from such a false position... The result was that Israel had to leave Gibeon standing, because of their oath. Misery came upon Israel centuries afterwards.
- Place — The offer came to the camp at Gilgal, the place Israel was meant to march out from and return to after every victory.
- Pressure — First the kings joined forces for war. Then came the friendly offer, as the easy escape from that fear.
- Pretence — The claim of a distant country dodged the one command Israel knew. Their praise of God skipped everything near and recent.
- Prudence — One question would have collapsed the story. The plainest men in the camp sensed it, and no one listened.
- Price — The oath held, so Gibeon stayed, and Israel paid for it for centuries.
And the men of Israel said to the Hivite, Perhaps thou dwellest in the midst of us, and how should I make a covenant with thee?
A delegation arrives at Gilgal with mouldy bread and torn wineskins, asking for a treaty. The doubt that could have saved the day comes from the ordinary men of Israel — not from Joshua, not from the princes. Their question is the right one. But they put it to the men in front of them instead of to God, and so it is lost.
The verse is careful about who spoke, and it was not the leadership.
To my mind this is painfully instructive. It was not Joshua who suspected the trick, nor the elders or princes of the congregation, but the men of Israel. How often simplicity is right where the best wisdom fails: God makes us feel our need of Himself... when God rouses a suspicion in a simple-minded man, the wise would do well to heed what the Lord would use to bring everyone to a right conclusion. But it was not heeded at this time. Men used to guiding and ruling rarely listen to those who are used to obeying and following. It does not even seem natural.
The verse names the visitors as Hivites, even while Israel believes their story. They were one of the peoples already settled in the land.
One of the races found early in Palestine: they were descendants of Ham through Canaan... They also held Gibeon, and found means to deceive Joshua into making a league with them. Joshua 9:3, 7. They seemed to be more a commercial than a warlike people.
Israel asked whether these men lived nearby. Commentators differ on who put the question; this writer gives it to Joshua. Either way, the reply changed the subject, and the follow-up fared no better.
"Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?" Joshua said to these ambassadors. "We are your servants," they softly replied. "Who are you? And where do you come from?" Joshua asked further. Then they talked of old times, and spoke of work and warfare in years gone by... But these men had nothing to say about the work of God right at their doors at Jericho and Ai. They kept that at a careful distance.
Their own story, pressed even a little, would have collapsed.
Even a little close questioning would have exposed the true character of the Gibeonites. Their mouldy bread and torn wineskins pretended they came from a very distant country. If that were true, they had no reason to fear Israel... If they were beyond the borders, why fear, and why hurry to call themselves servants to Israel? Their eagerness to form an alliance would have given them away to the wise of the world.
Israel never carried this doubt to the One who could answer it. The blame lies there, not with the trickery.
If we think Israel was not to blame because they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Israel weighed the visitors' appearance. God had already ruled on the matter, whoever the visitors turned out to be.
"You shall make no covenant with them." Could anything be plainer than this? Could tattered garments, old shoes and mouldy bread change the meaning of God's command? Could they remove the congregation's urgent need for strict obedience? Certainly not... Suppose there are difficulties in the way. Suppose puzzling circumstances come before us — things we are not prepared for and cannot form a judgement about. What are we to do? Reason? Jump to conclusions? Act on our own judgement, or anyone else's? Certainly not. What then? Wait on God.
Israel's own words — "perhaps you live among us" — name the exact danger. A treaty made in God's name could not later be undone.
Satan can talk religiously as well as anyone; but he only deceives when we take the management into our own hands instead of consulting the Lord. They needed communion with Him to see that these were people of the country, enemies who did not dare to be enemies. Making peace with such people robs you of a victory... Israel had brought in the name of the Lord, and that name obliges His people to keep a lasting snare among them.
- Question — The plainest people in the camp raised the right doubt, not the leaders.
- Ignored — Those used to leading did not stop for those used to following, and paid for it.
- Deflected — Asked twice where they came from, the visitors talked of old victories. They never mentioned Jericho or Ai.
- Unasked — Israel put the doubt to the Gibeonites, not to God. Deception only succeeds where we skip His counsel.
- Kept — Israel swore in the Lord's name, so the treaty stood and the enemy stayed as a lasting snare.
And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said to them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye?
The Gibeonites have come to Israel's camp with a story about a far-off homeland. Their opening words to Joshua are the shortest and most disarming part of their speech. Joshua asks the right question and gets no answer. The real issue is not how clever the lie was, but why nobody tested it.
The Gibeonites chose the words "We are your servants" for effect. One writer shows how their whole approach flattered Israel's standing before God:
These men came, with all sorts of good intentions, seeking an alliance with the people of God, and openly admitting that Israel stood above them morally and spiritually. "We are your servants," they said to Joshua — words carefully chosen to win him over to their side. Last of all, they announce the power and fame of Israel's God, and what He had done in Egypt and the wilderness, though it is true that they say nothing about Canaan.
Joshua asks who they are and where they come from. They answer neither question, and reach instead for the one name most likely to settle it:
No doubt they felt it was dangerous to say more on such a delicate subject. So they said, "We are your servants." This again sounded honest. But when Joshua asked, "Who are you? And where do you come from?" they said to him, "From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the Lord your God." Here the shameless deceit of the enemy comes out in full. It was extraordinary to hear a Canaanite confess the name of the Lord. They knew well that this would weigh most with a man like Joshua. The man who values the name of the Lord most would be the most ready to welcome it where he least expected it.
Earlier in the book, Rahab had spoken about Israel's God too. One writer marks the difference:
Notice that they did not speak like Rahab did, acknowledging the God of Israel as the true God, and when Joshua pressed them as to who they were and where they came from, they gave no direct answer, but said again that they were from a very far country. Then they brought in God's name, saying they had heard of His fame and of His victories in Egypt and over Sihon and Og. The reports had only stirred up fear in their hearts, not faith as in Rahab's case.
The first suspicion about the strangers does not come from Joshua or from Israel's leaders:
To my mind this teaches a painful lesson. It was not Joshua who suspected the trick, nor the elders or princes of the assembly, but the men of Israel. How often the simple are right where the best wisdom fails: God makes us feel our need of Himself... It is rare, and it does not come naturally, for men used to guiding and ruling to listen to those who are used to obeying and following.
Nobody took the matter to God. Religious talk is no test, since the enemy can use it too:
Satan can use religious language as well as anyone else. But he deceives only when we take charge ourselves instead of consulting the Lord. Communion with Him was needed to see that these were people of the land, enemies who did not dare to be enemies. To make peace with such people is to rob yourself of a victory.
Israel was fooled. But one writer asks whether they had to be:
If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we will not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Commentators differ on how much credit the Gibeonites deserve. One reads their words as fear alone; another sees God turning the whole episode into a display of mercy:
God overruled their folly. He made it an occasion for showing how He would be merciful to those who trembled at His word, even though they belonged to the cursed people of Canaan. This is a blessed truth... The Gibeonites also show the true position of a soul that is truly repentant, for they bow to the sentence of death.
- Servants offered — "We are your servants" flattered Israel's standing as God's people. The compliment opened the door for the lie.
- Servants questioned — Joshua asked the right question, then accepted a non-answer. The name of the Lord in a stranger's mouth disarmed the man who valued it most.
- Servants untested — the enemy can use religious words. Only asking God would have exposed who these men were.
- Servants believed — the ordinary men of Israel sensed the trick; the leaders did not. Those who guide should listen to those who follow.
- Servants overruled — God still used the blunder to show mercy to people who trembled at His word.
And they said to him, From a very far country are thy servants come, because of the name of Jehovah thy God; for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
The men of Gibeon stand in Joshua's camp with mouldy bread and torn wineskins. Their first word is not about themselves but about God: they have come, they say, because of the name of the LORD. Everything here turns on one question. Is that faith speaking, or strategy?
Joshua had just asked them who they were and where they came from. Their answer played the strongest card they had.
Here the shameless deceit of the enemy comes out in full. It was astonishing to hear a Canaanite confess the name of Jehovah. They knew well that this would carry special weight with a man like Joshua. The man who values the name of Jehovah most would be the readiest to welcome it where he least expected it.
Read the exchange again. The men never say who they are. They repeat the claim about distance, then reach for God's name.
Notice that they did not speak as Rahab did. She owned the God of Israel as the true God. When Joshua pressed them about who they were and where they came from, they gave no direct answer. They only said again that they were from a very far country. Then they brought in God's name, saying they had heard of His fame and of His victories in Egypt and over Sihon and Og.
Their list of God's works is real history. What is missing from the list is just as telling as what is in it.
Finally, they proclaim the power and fame of Israel's God, and what He had done in Egypt and in the wilderness. Yet they say nothing at all about Canaan. Satan would give himself away if he happened to speak of heavenly places and the conflicts there.
The same writer sees a pattern here, not just one incident. The same pressure comes whenever God's people are asked to team up with those who talk their language.
The Gibeonites have a strongly marked character and strongly marked religious convictions. But they are Canaanites in disguise: the world wearing an outward form of godliness — the religious world. Until now Israel had been kept from seeking human help. But it was hard to refuse men who claimed the same goal and the same hopes.
Rahab, the woman of Jericho who hid Israel's spies, had said something like this long before them. One writer sets the two reports side by side.
The Gibeonites had heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. Rahab had heard what the Lord had done at the Red Sea and in the wilderness. That makes a great difference. It is easy to be gracious when pain falls on us, but such graciousness comes from fear, not from faith. It is natural, and even necessary. The Gibeonites pretend that they were moved by the same report that had moved Rahab (vv. 9, 10), but this was false, as verse 3 has already shown us… They came to Joshua for what they could secure, or get, or gain through him.
The claim of distance and the plea for a treaty pull against each other. One follow-up question would have snapped the story in two.
If they lived in a country as distant as the mouldy bread and the torn wineskins pretended, they had no reason to fear Israel… If they lived beyond the borders, why be afraid, and why rush to call themselves servants of Israel? Their eagerness to make an alliance would have given them away to any shrewd man of the world.
The failure was not a lack of cleverness. One writer traces the whole loss to a question Israel never asked.
The failure was Israel's. They did not ask the Lord for counsel. If Joshua had gone into the Lord's presence, He would soon have exposed the deceptions of the Gibeonites… Satan, with his greater knowledge and his tricks, can never get an advantage over us, if we hold fast to the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, and if we ask the Lord's counsel through His Word and in prayer.
- Report heard. They really had heard what God did in Egypt. Hearing true things about God is not the same as trusting Him.
- Name borrowed. Naming the LORD is the strongest move an enemy can make. It works best on the person who honours that name most.
- Fear, not faith. Rahab spoke before judgment fell. These men spoke after Jericho and Ai, and their politeness was self-protection.
- Question dodged. Asked who they were, they answered where they came from. Their rush for a treaty broke their own story about distance.
- Counsel skipped. One trip into God's presence would have unmasked them. The failure was not their cunning but Israel's silence toward God.
and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og the king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.
The Gibeonites end their speech by naming Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. Israel had destroyed them, and the messengers offer this as proof that they come from a far country, drawn by God's fame. Every fact they name is true — and that is what makes the moment so dangerous for Joshua.
The strength of their speech is that it cannot be contradicted. Israel really had destroyed Sihon and Og.
Satan has consummate skill in mixing lies with truth, and these Hivites were skilful men. They had heard the fame of Jehovah, and of the mighty kings Sihon and Og, killed by Israel — this was true. But their credentials were lies. The mouldy bread, the torn and empty wineskins, the old clothes — each and all of them were lies.
Notice what the verse contains and what it does not. Egypt was forty years back; Sihon and Og fell on the far side of the Jordan. Jericho and Ai — the two conquests that had actually just happened next door — never pass their lips.
Then they talked of old times, and spoke of work and warfare in years gone by. They were eloquent about Jehovah's wonders in Egypt forty years earlier. They spoke of victories a long way from their homes, on the other side of the Jordan. In this way they disarmed Joshua of suspicion. But these men said not one word about the work of God right at their own doors at Jericho and Ai. This they kept at a careful distance.
The same writer draws the line forward to the reader's own day.
Satan's ambassadors object to discussing God's victories of today, His work of this hour. Yet these are the things His people care about most, above all others, if they are walking in the Spirit. The facts of God's work in past days have become history, which the world is willing to talk about. But some home-truths must never come up. These are the effects of God's truth in our own days, its present victories, its demands for present obedience.
Rahab had said something very similar earlier in the book. The difference lies in what each of them had heard, and when.
The Gibeonites had heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. That is, they heard of judgment in the land, after Israel had crossed the Jordan. Rahab had heard what the Lord had done at the Red Sea and in the wilderness (see Joshua 2:10; Joshua 9:3). But this makes a great difference. It is easy to be gracious when pain comes upon us; but such graciousness is not of faith, it is of fear. It is natural, indeed unavoidable. The Gibeonites pretend that they were moved by the same report that had moved Rahab (vv. 9, 10), but this was false. They were like the crowd who followed the Lord, not because they saw the miracles, but because they ate the loaves and were filled. They sought Joshua for what they could get out of him. They sought him for themselves, for the rescue they now found they needed, since judgment had overtaken them.
Their appeal rests on the name of Israel's God.
It was extraordinary to hear a Canaanite confess the name of Jehovah. They knew well that this would carry special weight with a man like Joshua. The man who values the name of Jehovah most would be the readiest to welcome it where he least expected it. So it weighed powerfully with him when they added what God had done in Egypt, and to the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan.
The story collapses under one simple test — and the test was never applied.
Even a few close questions would have exposed the true character of the Gibeonites. Their mouldy bread and torn wineskins claimed a country far away. If they really lived that far off, they had no reason to fear Israel. They had heard what God did in Egypt, and to the kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan. They had also heard that He would destroy the Canaanites and give the land to Israel. If they were outside those borders, why fear, and why hurry to call themselves servants to Israel? Their eagerness to form an alliance would have given them away to the wise of this world. This is recorded as a warning to us. The people of God are deceived more easily than others when they try to decide a matter without His counsel and guidance.
- True. Everything the Gibeonites say about Sihon and Og is true. The lie sits in the props, not the facts.
- Distant. They cite Egypt and the far side of the Jordan, and keep silent about God's work happening right at their own doors.
- Feared. Their words echo Rahab's. Hers came from faith. Theirs came from fear of judgment already falling.
- Flattered. The name of Jehovah on a Canaanite's lips carried most weight with the man who valued that name most.
- Unasked. One honest question — why fear us if you live so far away? — would have undone the whole story. God's people are deceived most easily when they decide without His counsel.
And our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, Take victuals in your hand for the way, and go to meet them, and say to them, We are your servants, and now make a covenant with us.
In this verse the messengers repeat what their own leaders told them: take food for the road, go to Israel, and say, "We are your servants." Every word aims at a treaty, and it works — though the men saying it are Canaanites in disguise.
One line in their script does the real work. They name the God of Israel.
Here the unscrupulous deceit of the enemy comes out fully. It was extraordinary to hear a Canaanite confess the name of Jehovah. They knew well that this would carry special weight with someone like Joshua. The man who values the name of Jehovah most would be the most ready to welcome it where he least expected it.
The words the elders gave them are not an offer between equals. They put Israel on top, and that is where their power lies.
These men came with every appearance of good intentions. They sought an alliance with the people of God, and they openly admitted that God's people stood above them, morally and spiritually. "We are your servants," they said to Joshua — words well calculated to turn him in their favour.
Not everything they said was false. What they had heard about God was true. The evidence they carried was fake.
Satan is a master at mixing lies with truth, and these Hivites were skilful men. They had heard the fame of Jehovah, and of the mighty kings Sihon and Og whom Israel had killed — that much was true. But their credentials, their mouldy bread, their torn and empty wineskins, and their old clothes were every one of them lies.
The covenant they ask for sounds like shared conviction rather than compromise. That is what makes it hard to refuse.
The Gibeonites have a marked character, and their religious convictions stand out. But they are Canaanites in disguise. They are the world wearing an outward form of piety — the religious world. Until now God had kept Israel from looking for human help. But it was hard to resist people who claimed to have the same aim and the same longings. Isn't an alliance a reasonable thing? We acknowledge Jehovah, as you do, and if you need us we could work alongside you as your servants. The treaty is made, and the world walks into the middle of the congregation of Israel. What a devilish trick! Satan suggests to the people that they bring the world into the camp as a way to conquer the enemy. So he offers himself as the means of overcoming himself.
Israel had one way to check the story that had nothing to do with bread and sandals. They did not use it.
What the Gibeonites said sounded plausible, and their reference to Israel's God may have been what decided Joshua. But he and Israel made the fatal mistake of accepting them on their own word without asking counsel from the Lord (v.14)... Someone may say Israel was not to blame, since they were deceived. Think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in real communion with the Lord we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
The suspicion in this chapter comes from the ordinary people, not from the leaders.
To my mind this is painfully instructive. It was not Joshua who suspected the trick, nor the elders or princes of the congregation, but the men of Israel. How often simplicity is right where the best wisdom fails: God makes us feel our need of Himself. When a simple man has a suspicion raised in him by God, the wise would do well to listen to what the Lord is using to bring everyone to a right conclusion. But at this time no one listened. Men used to leading and ruling rarely listen to those used to obeying and following. It does not come naturally. But in divine things those who despise the least must pay the price.
The title they chose for themselves became their sentence.
The Gibeonites had said they were Israel's servants, so the rulers of Israel ruled that they should be woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation (v.21). Israel was to keep them in complete subjection. Joshua then gave them his message. They were spared, but they were under a curse for their deception. They would never be free from slavery.
- Scripted — the messengers only repeat what their elders and their whole country told them to say. The humble words and the worn supplies were planned, not spontaneous.
- Mixed — what they said about God's fame was true. The bread, the wineskins and the clothes were lies. Truth wrapped the lie.
- Skipped — the trick only worked because no one asked counsel of the Lord. Being deceived is no excuse. If they had gone to God, they would not have been fooled.
- Overruled — the ordinary men of Israel raised the suspicion. The leaders did not listen, and those who despise the least pay the price.
- Binding — they became the servants they claimed to be, but under a curse. Words chosen to win a treaty turned into a life sentence.
This our bread we took warm for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; and now, behold, it is dry, and is become mouldy.
The men of Gibeon held up their bread in front of Joshua as proof of a long journey. The bread was real and the staleness was real, but the story attached to it was false — and that shows how God's people can be beaten by evidence they can see with their own eyes.
The bread worked because age carries its own authority. One writer shows how an old look stops the questions that matter:
Everyone knows the strange pull that things have when they merely look old. Things regarded as "old," things that are worn out, "torn and mended," win respect or even superstitious awe from the mind. Too often no one asks, "Are these things true?" These days many Christians are content to ask of religious curiosities, "Are they old?" If they are satisfied about their age, they are satisfied. Few think to ask, "Are they genuine in the light of God's word?" Fewer still ask what these honored old things were when they were new.
Their words and their evidence were not the same in kind. Part of what they said was true; only the proofs were fake:
Satan has great skill in mixing lies with truth, and these Hivites were skilful men. They had heard the fame of Jehovah, and of the mighty kings Sihon and Og, killed by Israel — this was true. But their proofs were lies, every one: the moldy bread, the torn and empty wineskins, the old clothes.
(Older translations read "dry and moldy" where the ESV has "dry and crumbly.")
The same writer turns the display around and warns God's people about their own supply:
Let God's people beware of "dry and moldy" bread. Stale food is not what God provides for His children. Torn wineskins with the wine run out are like teaching and preaching that keep only the memory of a glad past, with the joy of the Holy Spirit gone. Patched-up clothes only show that they have served their day and should be thrown away.
Israel's leaders examined the bread and drew the obvious conclusion. The problem was not their eyesight but what they trusted it to settle:
Why was Israel tricked by the cunning of the Gibeonites? Because they leaned on their own understanding. They judged by the sight of their eyes instead of waiting on God for guidance and counsel. He knew all about the Gibeonites. Their tattered rags and moldy bread did not deceive Him. They would not have deceived Israel either, if Israel had only looked to Him.
Israel did more than inspect the bread — they ate some of it. That small act carried more weight than anyone realised at the time:
The bait had worked, the damage was done, and its effects lasted a long time. The men of Israel, who were not without fears at the start, allowed themselves to be trapped. If Joshua led, we need not be surprised that the rest followed. They "took of their provisions" — the sign of fellowship in its measure — and "did not ask counsel at the mouth of Jehovah."
It is tempting to excuse Israel on the grounds that the trick was a good one. Commentators consistently refuse that excuse, and one puts the test as a question:
If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Someone in the camp did smell a problem. It was not the leadership:
To my mind this is painfully instructive. It was not Joshua who suspected the trick, nor the elders or princes of the congregation, but the men of Israel. How often simplicity is right where the best wisdom fails: God makes us feel our need of Himself... Men used to guiding and ruling rarely listen to those who are used to obeying and following. It does not seem natural to them. But in divine things those who despise the least must pay the penalty; and so it certainly was now.
The deeper danger was not the bread but who carried it. They were not distant strangers at all:
The Gibeonites have a very marked character and very strong religious convictions. But they are Canaanites in disguise — the world under an outward form of piety, the religious world. Up to this point Israel had been kept from seeking human help. But it was hard to resist those who claimed to have the same object and the same longings. Is it not a reasonable thing to form an alliance? We acknowledge Jehovah, as you do, and if need be we could work with you as your servants.
- Evidence. Real stale bread carried a false story. Truth and lies came bundled, and that is what made the display convincing.
- Eyes. Israel judged by the sight of their eyes. The rags and moldy loaves never fooled God, and they need not have fooled Israel.
- Silence. The one thing missing was a question put to God. Israel never asked.
- Meal. Tasting the provisions was the sign of fellowship. It bound Israel before anyone saw the trick.
- Neighbours. The covenant let in no far-off people. It let in the world in religious dress, claiming the same God and the same aims.
And these flasks of wine which we filled new, behold, they are rent; and these our garments and our sandals are become old by reason of the very long journey.
The Gibeonites lived a short walk from Israel's camp, yet their cracked wineskins and crumbling bread claim months on the road. The props convince, and this verse asks whether looks are how God's people should decide.
The wineskins here were not glass or clay but animal hides. Old hides stiffen and split, so their condition looked like a calendar.
Then, as now in the East, people used skins especially for larger vessels and for those to be carried about (Joshua 9:4, 13). They are made of goats' skins: the head, the legs and the tail are cut off, and the body drawn out.
Everything the Gibeonites said about God was true. Everything they showed was fake.
Satan has consummate skill in mixing lies with truth, and these Hivites were skilful men. They had heard the fame of Jehovah, and of the mighty kings Sihon and Og, killed by Israel — that was true. But their credentials — the mouldy bread, the torn and empty wineskins, the old garments — were lies, every one.
Their speech was edited too. They praised old, distant victories. They left out the works next door — Jericho, Ai, and Ebal, where Israel had just agreed to God's word.
They were eloquent about Jehovah's wonders in Egypt forty years earlier, and about victories a long way from their homes on the other side of the Jordan. So they disarmed him of suspicion. But these men had not a syllable to say about the work of God at their very doors at Jericho and Ai. This they kept at a careful distance. They had not a sentence to utter about Ebal and its agreement with the word of Jehovah; this they left out.
These same props also work as a picture. Dry bread and burst skins show what teaching looks like when it lives on the memory of better days.
Let the saints beware of "dry and mouldy" bread, for stale fare is not what God provides for His children. Torn wineskins, with the wine run out, are like teaching and preaching that keep only the memory of a glad past. Joy in the Holy Spirit is gone. Patched-up garments only show that they have served their day and should be thrown away. God's messengers have feet fitted with the readiness the gospel of peace gives. The longest journey never wears them out.
The story did not even hold together.
If they lived as far away as the mouldy bread and the torn wineskins pretended, they had no cause to fear Israel. They had heard what God did in Egypt, and to the kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan. They had also heard that He would destroy the Canaanites and give the land to Israel. If they were outside those limits, why fear, and why hurry to call themselves servants of Israel? Their eagerness to form an alliance would have given them away to the worldly-wise.
Israel handled the bread. Eating with someone is already a step toward friendship.
The bait had taken, the mischief was done, and its effects lasted long. The men of Israel, who were not without fears at the beginning, let themselves be trapped. If Joshua led, we need not wonder that the rest followed. They "took of their provisions" — the sign of fellowship in its measure — and "did not ask counsel at the mouth of Jehovah."
Being fooled is no excuse here. One question to God would have ended the matter.
Do we think Israel was not to blame, since the Gibeonites deceived them? Then think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Israel had sworn, so the treaty stood — even though lies had won it.
Could they cancel the covenant now because the Gibeonites had deceived them? Absolutely not! Why? Because, though others may act falsely, this never gives a Christian the right to act falsely in return. They had given their word. God would not allow them to go back on it, despite the problems that might follow.
- Evidence — the split goatskins and crumbled bread were staged proof. Every prop lied, while the words the visitors spoke about God were true.
- Editing — the visitors praised God's old, distant victories. They said nothing about Jericho, Ai and Ebal, the recent works that would have exposed them.
- Examination — a few plain questions would have broken the story. People from far away had no reason to fear Israel or to rush into a treaty.
- Eating — Israel tasted the food instead of asking God. Sharing a meal was already a measure of fellowship with the enemy.
- Endurance — the lies of others gave Israel no right to break its own sworn word. The alliance stood, consequences and all.
And the men took of their victuals, but they did not inquire at the mouth of Jehovah.
Canaanites arrive at Israel's camp in worn-out sandals, carrying dry, mouldy bread and claiming to come from a far country. Verse 14 records the quiet omission that decided everything: God's people settled the matter without asking Him.
The men handled the bread and drew their conclusion from it. Commentators note how small the act looks and how much it carried.
The bait had taken, the mischief was done, and its effects worked for a long time. The men of Israel, who were not without fears at the start, allowed themselves to be trapped. If Joshua led, we should not be surprised that the rest followed. They "took of their provisions" — the sign of fellowship in its measure — "they took of their provisions, and did not ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord."
Taking food together was not a casual gesture in that world. It was how agreements were sealed.
When the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the heads of Israel, "the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD, and... swore to them." To this day in the East, a stranger who gets the head of a tribe to eat with him knows he is safe. The shared meal counts as a covenant.
This was not simple carelessness. They thought hard, examined the evidence, and reached a verdict. They used their own minds where God's mind was there for the asking.
But here they failed. They did not wait on God. He would have guided them. He would have told them who these crafty strangers were. He would have made everything clear for Israel, if only they had waited on Him, aware of their own ignorance and weakness. But no; they would think for themselves, judge for themselves, reason from what they saw, and draw their own conclusions. So the tattered garments of the Gibeonites achieved what the frowning walls of Jericho had failed to do.
The crowd did not fall first. The men trained to weigh matters did, and their training was the weak point.
The inhabitants of Gibeon pretended to have come from far away. The princes of Israel use their own wisdom instead of asking counsel of the Lord. This time it is confidence, not in the strength, but in the wisdom of man. The princes of the congregation are used to reflecting and guiding, so they are more likely to fall into this snare. The people are bad in their unbelief. Yet they are eager for the result, and they are often nearer the mind of God, to whom the result is certain. The princes had some misgivings, so they have no excuse.
The failure went deeper than one bad decision. They had let go of their dependence on God.
The awareness of our nothingness as instruments keeps us in constant dependence on the hand that uses us. This is the pathway of power... The Israelites' chief fault in Joshua 9 was that they "did not ask counsel from the LORD" (v. 14). At the close of the previous chapter we saw that the word of God had recovered its importance for them. But here they forget to go to God for communion with Him about His mind for them.
A natural defence is that Israel was lied to. Commentators refuse the plea, because the deception only worked in God's absence.
They made the fatal mistake of receiving them on their own word without asking counsel from the Lord (v. 14)... If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Israel had sworn in God's name. The treaty stood, and they never took the trouble back to Him.
They felt that they had been tricked. This was true. But they did not think that being deceived left them free to break the oath of the Lord. We too must be careful. When we have committed ourselves to something wrong, we must not treat that name carelessly. No; the thing was done: it could not be undone. They had made a double error. They entered into it without the Lord. And once it was done, we do not find that they laid the difficulty before Him.
The bill did not fall due that day. It fell on later generations.
Peace with Gibeon only robs us of victory. It brings other wars and troubles on us, for the presence of what is not of God always opens the door to Satan... In the days of David there was a famine for three years. It came because of Saul and his bloody house, because he had killed the Gibeonites. All this came from the little act of not taking counsel with God... The enemy is so cunning. Leaning on our own wisdom in the ways of God is almost as bad as leaning on our own strength for God's battles. Peace with Gibeon and war with Ai both end in defeat and shame.
- Counsel skipped. The whole disaster hangs on one clause: they tasted the bread and never asked the Lord.
- Counsel replaced. Human reasoning filled the gap. Ragged clothes and stale food won where Jericho's walls had failed.
- Counsel needed. The leaders were trained to weigh evidence. They walked into a snare the ordinary people half-sensed.
- Counsel protects. Being lied to is no defence. God is not deceived, and those in communion with Him are not deceived either.
- Counsel dropped. They never brought the ruined situation back to God. So the oath stood, and the trouble ran on to David's day.
And Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the princes of the assembly swore unto them.
The men of Gibeon came with worn-out sacks, cracked wineskins and mouldy bread. They claimed to be travellers from a far country. Verse 15 is the result. It comes one verse after Israel "did not ask counsel from the LORD."
Being deceived was no excuse. The trick only worked because no one asked God.
What the Gibeonites said sounded plausible, and their reference to Israel's God may have had a deciding effect with Joshua. But he and Israel made the fatal mistake of receiving them on their own word, without asking counsel from the Lord (v.14). They made and confirmed a covenant with them by an oath (v.15). Do we think Israel was not to blame, since the Gibeonites deceived them? Then think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would the Gibeonites have fooled them? No! If we walk in true communion with the Lord, no one will fool us, for the Lord is not deceived.
Verse 15 names Joshua and the leaders of the congregation. That is what makes the failure so serious.
But here it was God who was not consulted. It is a more serious thing, beloved, when it is not only the men of Israel, but the elders, the princes, the chiefs of the congregation — yes, Joshua himself — who left Him out of a matter which He alone knew.
The story was thin. A few honest questions would have broken it open. But Israel had only their own judgement to test it with.
How easily they were ensnared! Even a little questioning would have exposed the true character of the Gibeonites. If they lived as far away as the mouldy bread and the torn wineskins pretended, they had no cause to fear Israel... Their eagerness to form an alliance would have betrayed them to the wise of the world. But Israel were then in a position where, if they had not wisdom from God, they must sink beneath the world's wisdom.
The same failure came down to a choice: trust the eye, or trust what God had already said.
If the authority of the word had governed them, it would have kept them from the grave error of making a treaty with people they ought to have destroyed completely. But they judged by the sight of their eyes, and had to reap the consequences.
The leaders "swore to them." The Gibeonites had tricked Israel into that oath, but the trick did not release them from it.
There they bound themselves by the name of the LORD. It is very striking for us to see that at that time no one trifled with the honour of that name. They felt that they had been deceived. This was true. But they did not therefore think they were free to break the oath of the LORD, just because they had been tricked into it... The thing was done: it could not be undone. They had made a double error. They entered into it without the Lord. And once the thing was done, we do not find that they spread the difficulty before Him.
The compromise left a permanent mark on Gibeon.
After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. They had solemnly given the name of the Lord, and no one can ever treat that name lightly. But on the other hand, the Gibeonites were reduced to the lowest servant work for the sanctuary of the LORD. So it was plain that nothing protected them but His name.
Peace with Gibeon did not end the fighting. The cost surfaced again generations later.
Peace with Gibeon only robs us of victory and brings other wars and troubles upon us. Whatever is not of God always opens the door to Satan... In the days of David there was a famine for three years. It came because of Saul and his bloody house, because he had killed the Gibeonites. All this came from the little act of not taking counsel with God.
Israel's blunder did not defeat God. He turned it into an occasion for mercy.
God overruled their folly. He made it an occasion to show how merciful He would be to those who trembled at His word, even though they belonged to the cursed race of Canaan. That is most blessedly true... The Gibeonites also show the true position of a soul really penitent, for they bow to the sentence of death... They do not plead the alliance, they surrender themselves unconditionally: "Behold, we are in your hand; do to us as it seems good and right in your sight."
- Omission — The covenant in verse 15 grew out of one missing step in verse 14. The deception was the symptom, not the cause.
- Leaders — Not just the men of Israel, but the elders, the princes and Joshua himself left God out of it.
- Oath — Deception did not cancel the oath. Israel could not treat the name of the Lord lightly, even when they had given it wrongly.
- Consequences — The alliance brought new wars at once, and a famine long afterwards. A mistake is far easier to make than to undo.
- Mercy — God still overruled. He spared those who trembled at His word, and left a picture of the sinner who pleads nothing and surrenders everything.
And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt in their midst.
Israel swore peace with men who claimed to come from a far country, and three days later learned they were neighbours. Who was at fault, and could the treaty be undone?
The disguise lasted three days. One writer notes where the real fault lay once it collapsed:
The truth came out at last. What appeared to come from a distance was a next-door neighbour. At the end of three days the error came to light. The princes had committed the people to the alliance. They had opened the way into Israel's heart for the idolaters. And their oath had to be respected. No wonder "all the congregation murmured against the princes." But God would not allow the obvious lies of the Gibeonites to excuse the evil that the princes had brought on the congregation. They had acted on their own wisdom, and they had not humbled themselves to ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
Israel really was lied to. Yet commentators refuse to treat that as an excuse. One question to God would have exposed everything first:
What the Gibeonites said sounded plausible. Their reference to Israel's God may have had a deciding effect with Joshua. But he and Israel made the fatal mistake of receiving them on their own word without asking counsel from the Lord... If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Another writer names who was behind the trick, and when such tricks work:
Satan can use religious language as well as anyone. But he deceives only when we take charge ourselves, instead of consulting the Lord. They needed communion with Him to see that these were people of the country, enemies who did not dare to be enemies.
The Gibeonites fooled the leaders, not the ordinary people. One writer explains why, and why they had no excuse:
The princes of Israel use their own wisdom instead of asking counsel of Jehovah. This time it is confidence, not in the strength, but in the wisdom of man. The princes of the congregation are used to thinking things through and giving direction. They are more likely to fall into this snare... The princes had some misgivings, so that they are without excuse.
Another writer draws out why capable leaders find such a mistake so hard to walk back:
For such men, few things are harder than retracing their steps. It is harder still the higher the character and the greater the experience in the ways of God. If Satan gains such an advantage, the difficulty is enormous... let us pray for those that most of all need counsel from God, that they may be kept from hasty words and measures.
The lie did not give Israel a way out. They had sworn by the name of the Lord, and that settled it:
They felt that they had been deceived. This was true. But they did not therefore think they were free to break the oath of Jehovah because they had been deceived into it. We too must take care how, where we have committed ourselves to what is wrong, we lightly deal with that name. No; the thing was done: it could not be undone. They had made a double error. They entered into it without the Lord. And when the thing was done, we do not find that they spread the difficulty before Him.
Another writer shows what happened to a later king who tried to undo the mistake:
Could they cancel the covenant now on the basis of having been deceived? Absolutely not! Why? Because, though others may act falsely, this never gives a Christian the right to act falsely in return. Later King Saul, in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah, killed some of the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1-2), and God sent a famine on Israel in the days of David because of this. Saul chose a foolish way of trying to correct the failure of his forefathers. What a lesson to teach us the importance of bowing to the governmental results of our failures, rather than proudly thinking we can correct them!
Because God's own name stood behind the oath, the enemy stayed inside the camp:
Israel spares the enemy. And the name of Jehovah, which had been brought in, obliges His people to keep a lasting snare among them.
God did not remove every consequence:
God delivers us from certain consequences of our sin, and allows others to remain. The people of God had to undergo the sad experience of keeping the Gibeonites among them, as a lasting witness to their failure.
- Skip — Israel swore the oath without asking God first. We are deceived when we manage decisions ourselves.
- Act — the leaders acted on their own wisdom, and their experience made the mistake harder to undo.
- Discover — the disguise failed in three days. Mistakes made without God come to light, but too late to stop them.
- Abide — the lie did not release Israel from their oath. Another's falsehood never excuses our own.
- Live with it — God removes some consequences and leaves others standing. The Gibeonites stayed as a lasting reminder of the question Israel skipped.
And the children of Israel journeyed, and came to their cities on the third day; and their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim.
Israel had sworn peace with men who claimed to come from far away. Three days later its army reached their cities and found them next door, which leaves one hard question: what do you do with a promise you should never have made?
The whole treaty rested on one claim: distance. Three days of marching proved it false.
The truth came out at last. What appeared to come from a distance was a next-door neighbour. After three days the mistake came to light. The princes had committed the people to the alliance. They had opened the way into Israel's heart for the idolaters, and they had to keep their oath.
A few sharp questions would have exposed the same lie before the oath. The story had a hole in it from the start.
How easily they fell into the trap! Even a little close questioning would have exposed what the Gibeonites really were. If they really lived as far away as the mouldy bread and the torn wineskins pretended, they had no reason to fear Israel... Their eagerness to form an alliance would have betrayed them to the wise of the world.
The Gibeonites tricked Israel. That did not make Israel innocent.
Do we think Israel was not to blame, because the Gibeonites deceived them? Then let us think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would the deceit have worked? No! If we are in real communion with the Lord, we will not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
The men who fell here were the ones trained to weigh evidence and lead.
The princes of Israel use their own wisdom instead of asking counsel of the Lord. This time it is confidence, not in the strength, but in the wisdom of man. The princes of the congregation are used to thinking and guiding, so they are more likely to fall into this trap... The princes had some misgivings, so that they are inexcusable.
Israel reached the four cities and could not touch them. The reason was the name they had sworn by.
There they bound themselves by the name of the Lord. It is very striking for us to see that at that time no one treated the honour of that name lightly. They felt that the Gibeonites had tricked them. This was true; but they did not think they were free to break the oath of the Lord just because the Gibeonites had tricked them into it... They had made a double error. They entered into it without the Lord, and afterwards we do not find that they brought the difficulty to Him.
Leaving Gibeon standing was not the end of it. The cost showed up centuries later.
The result was that, for their oath's sake, Israel had to leave Gibeon standing. Misery followed for Israel centuries later. A famine came on them in David's time because Saul killed the Gibeonites.
This verse has a sharp edge for anyone who has already signed or married without asking God.
Gained by deceit, must this covenant stand? Yes, it must. Had Israel been with God, no deceit could have prevailed against them. So there are yokes which, though unequal, we cannot escape from. If we can leave without doing an injustice to someone else, then of course we are bound to leave, provided the work we have tied ourselves to is itself evil. If I have married an unbeliever, the oath of the Lord forbids me to withdraw from it. In the same way there may be business relations which, once we have entered them, plain righteousness would forbid us to leave.
- Cause — Israel never asked God. Everything else in this verse follows from that one silence. If they had been walking with Him, no deceit could have worked.
- Clue — Ordinary questions would have cracked the story. Mouldy bread and torn wineskins prove nothing when the visitors' eagerness contradicts their tale.
- Class — The experienced guides fall more easily than the crowd. They even had misgivings, and went ahead anyway, which leaves them without excuse.
- Cost — The three days' march exposed the lie but changed nothing. Four Canaanite cities stayed inside the land, because Israel had sworn by God's name, and no one could treat that name lightly.
- Continuation — The consequences ran on for centuries, down to a famine in David's reign. Some ties, once made, righteousness itself will not let us break. So ask God before the promise, not after.
And the children of Israel did not smite them, because the princes of the assembly had sworn unto them by Jehovah the God of Israel. Then all the assembly murmured against the princes.
Israel marched to the Gibeonite cities and found that the far-off strangers were next-door neighbours, yet the people spared them because the leaders had sworn by the LORD. Then the whole congregation turned on the leaders in anger — so why did a promise won by lies still hold?
How did Israel fall for it? One writer traces the failure to a single omission, and says being deceived is no defence:
What the Gibeonites said sounded plausible, and it may be that their reference to Israel's God had a deciding effect with Joshua, but he and Israel made the fatal mistake of receiving them on their own word without asking counsel from the Lord… If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Israel had a real excuse to tear up the agreement. They did not use it, because of the name they had sworn by — Jehovah, which the ESV renders "the LORD":
It is a more serious thing when it is not merely the men of Israel who leave Him out of a matter that only He knew, but the elders, the princes, the chiefs of the congregation — yes, Joshua himself… There they bound themselves by the name of Jehovah. It is very striking for us to see that at this time no one trifled with the honour of that name. They felt that they had been tricked. This was true; but they did not therefore consider that it was open to them to break the oath of Jehovah because they had been deceived into it. We too must take care how, where we have committed ourselves to what is wrong, we lightly deal with that name. No; the thing was done: it could not be undone. They had made a double error: they entered into it without the Lord, and once it was done, we do not find that they brought the difficulty to Him.
The people had good reason to complain: their leaders had opened the door. Yet the Gibeonites' lies gave Israel no way out:
The truth came out at last. What appeared to come from a distance was a next-door neighbour. At the end of three days the error came to light. The princes had committed the people to the alliance, they had opened the way into Israel's heart for the idolaters, and their oath had to be respected. No wonder all the congregation murmured against the princes. But God would not allow the obvious lies of the Gibeonites to excuse the evil that the princes had brought on the congregation. The princes had acted on their own wisdom, and had not humbled themselves to ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
The oath did more than save Gibeon for a day. It left Israel with something they could not remove:
Israel spares the enemy; and the name of Jehovah, which had been brought in, obliges His people to keep a lasting snare among them.
The murmuring was not the end of the story:
God delivers us from certain consequences of our sin, and allows others to remain. The people of God had to undergo the sad experience of keeping the Gibeonites among them, as a lasting witness to their failure. Having begun by murmuring against the princes, the children of Israel are brought eventually to a truer sense of their duty.
This oath still speaks to ties we make today. One writer marks off which ones hold and which must be broken:
Gained by deceit, must this covenant stand? Yes, it must: for had Israel been with God, no deceit could have prevailed against them. And so there are yokes which, though unequal, we cannot escape from. If we can escape without doing an injustice to another, then of course we are bound to do so, when the work we have yoked ourselves to is itself evil. If I have married an unbeliever, the oath of the Lord forbids withdrawal from it, and there may be in the same way business relations from which, after having entered them, simple righteousness would forbid us to withdraw.
- Counsel. The whole disaster traces to one omission: Israel decided the matter without asking God. A believer in communion with the Lord will not be deceived, because the Lord is not deceived.
- Oath. The lies of the other party did not release Israel. Once the name of the LORD was pledged, the thing was done and could not be undone.
- Murmur. The people were right to be angry. Still, the Gibeonites' deceit was no excuse to cancel what the leaders had pledged.
- Snare. Sparing the enemy left a permanent problem in the camp. It stood as a lasting witness to the failure behind it.
- Yoke. Some consequences God removes and some He leaves. Where righteousness binds us — a marriage, a business tie — we keep our word and bear the cost. Only where the work itself is evil, and no one is wronged by our leaving, are we bound to go.
And all the princes said to all the assembly, We have sworn unto them by Jehovah the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them.
Israel's leaders had just made a peace treaty with people who lived a few miles away — people God had marked out for destruction. The Gibeonites got it by lying, and now the lie is out. The people are angry, and the leaders give one answer that settles everything: they swore by God's own name.
The trouble did not start with the Gibeonites' lies. It started when the leaders settled the matter without asking God.
Here it was God whom they did not consult. It is more serious when the men of Israel are not the only ones who leave Him out. This time the elders, the leaders, the chiefs of the congregation — yes, Joshua himself — left Him out of a matter that He alone knew. They bound themselves by the name of the Lord. It is very striking for us to see that at that time no one trifled with the honour of that name. They felt they had been deceived. That was true. But they still did not think they were free to break the oath of the Lord just because they had been deceived into it. No; the thing was done: it could not be undone. They made a double error. They entered into it without the Lord. Then, once it was done, we do not find that they spread the difficulty before Him.
The Gibeonites were enemies who had lied their way into the promise. That changed nothing, because the name in the oath was God's.
Zeal only for God's people, or zeal in name only for God Himself, can never make disrespect to His name holy. That holds even if that name had been pledged to His worst enemies, and only through trickery. In truth the question was not who received the pledge, but whose name was sworn. If the Lord's name was given as a shield to anyone, the Lord would guard its holiness Himself, unswerving and utterly righteous.
The same rule shapes everyday Christian life, and how we handle our own past mistakes.
Could they cancel the covenant now on the grounds that they had been deceived? Absolutely not! Why? Because, though others may act falsely, this never gives a Christian the right to act falsely in return. They had given their word. God would not allow them to go back on it, despite the problems that might follow. Later King Saul killed some of the Gibeonites "in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah." Because of this, God sent a famine on Israel in the days of David. Saul chose a foolish way of trying to correct the failure of his forefathers. What a lesson! It teaches us to bow to the consequences God brings on our failures, instead of thinking in our pride that we can correct them.
The people blamed their leaders, and the blame landed in the right place.
The leaders had committed the people to the alliance, they had opened the way into Israel's heart for the idolaters, and their oath had to be respected. No wonder "all the congregation murmured against the leaders." But God would not let the obvious lies of the Gibeonites excuse the evil the leaders had brought on the congregation. They had leaned on their own wisdom. They had failed to humble themselves and ask counsel from the Lord. Leaders lead among God's people, and He lets the evil of their self-sufficiency stand. They cannot root it out — what is sown must be reaped.
The oath stands, so only one honest course is left. Israel must live with the Gibeonites without calling the alliance good.
God delivers us from certain consequences of our sin, and allows others to remain. The people of God had to undergo the sad experience of keeping the Gibeonites among them, as a lasting witness to their failure. The children of Israel began by murmuring against the leaders, but in time they were brought to a truer sense of their duty. There was only one thing to do — bear with the Gibeonites among them, while keeping them in the place of the curse. "Now therefore you are cursed," said Joshua to them. Israel could not touch them; they had to bear their humiliation.
One habit would have saved them from all of it, and it is still open to us.
Nothing matters more in difficulty or trial than this. Before we venture an opinion, before we take a step, before we let ourselves be drawn to one side or the other, we should ask counsel of the Lord. This would spare us many a sorrow. It would prevent much shame and defeat before our enemies. I must say this holds above all for people who have wisdom and are used to guiding others. There are few things harder than for such people to retrace their steps.
- Cause. The oath bound them because of one omission — the leaders never asked counsel of the Lord.
- Claim. Once the oath was sworn, God's name decided the case, not the honesty of the other side. Trickery could not cancel it.
- Cost. Leaders bound a whole nation, and the nation had to carry what its leaders could not root out.
- Conduct. Israel kept the oath and kept the Gibeonites under the curse. They honoured their word without pretending the alliance was right.
- Cure. Ask counsel of the Lord before you act. Those most used to guiding others find it hardest to retrace their steps.
This we will do to them, and let them live, lest wrath come upon us, because of the oath which we swore unto them.
Three days after the treaty, Israel learned that the men they had promised to protect were neighbours from the land God had told them to destroy, and the people blamed their leaders. The leaders will not break the oath, because they swore it by the LORD and wrath would follow.
The trouble did not begin with the treaty. It began earlier, when Israel's most experienced men made a decision without asking God.
Here it was God whom they did not consult. And it is far more serious when the men who left Him out are not merely ordinary Israelites, but the elders, the princes, the chiefs of the congregation — yes, Joshua himself. They left Him out of a matter which He alone knew... They bound themselves by the name of the Lord. It is very striking for us to see that at that time no one trifled with the honour of that name. They felt they had been tricked. That was true. But they did not think that being deceived left them free to break the oath of the Lord.
Israel had every excuse available. The Gibeonites had lied to them about mouldy bread and cracked wineskins.
Could they cancel the covenant now on the grounds that they had been deceived? Absolutely not! Why? Because others may act falsely, but that never gives a Christian the right to act falsely in return. They had given their word. God would not allow them to go back on it, despite the problems that might follow. Later King Saul killed some of the Gibeonites in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 21:1-2). Because of this, God sent a famine on Israel in the days of David. Saul chose a foolish way of trying to correct his forefathers' failure.
The wrath they feared was God's. Zeal for Israel might look like reason enough to cancel a treaty with Canaanites.
Zeal for the people of God is an excellent thing, is it not? But zeal only for God's people, or zeal for God Himself in name only, can never make disrespect to His name holy. That holds even if they had pledged His name to His worst enemies, and pledged it only through trickery. In truth the question was not who received that pledge, but that they had sworn by His name. If the Lord's name shielded anyone, the Lord would guard its holiness without wavering and in perfect righteousness.
Verse 20 spares their lives; verse 21 puts them to work as servants. Together the two keep the oath without pretending the trick never happened.
Enslaving them was the only righteous course left open... After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. Israel had given the name of the Lord in a solemn oath, and no one may ever trifle with that name. On the other hand, Israel reduced the Gibeonites to the lowest service for the sanctuary of the Lord. So it was plain that nothing preserved them but His name. They were attached to the sanctuary, but with the brand of slavery on them.
On Israel's side the story is a failure. On the Gibeonite side it is something else: people under sentence of death who feared, gave in, and lived.
God overruled their foolishness. He made it an occasion to show how He would be merciful to those who trembled at His word, even though they belonged to the cursed race of Canaan. That is wonderfully true... The Gibeonites also show the true position of a truly repentant soul, for they bow to the sentence of death... They do not plead the treaty. They give themselves up completely: "Behold, we are in your hand; do to us whatever seems good and right in your sight."
Israel never meant any of this to happen.
We may be quite sure that Israel had no thought of making a treaty with any of the Canaanites. No, they were furious when they discovered that they had done so. But they did it, and they had to live with it. It is easier to make a mistake than to correct it, and so the Gibeonites remained as a striking memorial of the evil of not waiting on God for counsel and guidance.
- Unasked counsel. The whole tangle started with one decision made without God, and Israel's leaders made it.
- Unbreakable oath. Being deceived did not free Israel. Another side's dishonesty never gives you the right to be dishonest in return.
- Untouchable name. Israel had pledged God's name, not just its own word. He guards that name even when it shields His enemies.
- Unavoidable mark. Israel kept the oath. The Gibeonites lived, but as servants, so that everyone could see nothing preserved them but that name.
- Unexpected mercy. The Gibeonites trembled at God's word and gave themselves up, and God had mercy. A mistake Israel could not undo became a picture of grace.
And the princes said to them, Let them live. And they were hewers of wood and drawers of water for all the assembly; as the princes had said to them.
Israel's leaders had sworn to spare the Gibeonites, who won that oath by lying about who they were. Their ruling here — life, but a life of forced labour — raises two questions. Why did a promise won by lies still hold? And why did God leave the reminder of it standing?
Israel knew they had been tricked. That did not release them.
There they bound themselves by the name of the Lord. It is striking for us to see that at that time no one treated the honour of that name lightly. They felt that they had been tricked. That was true. But they did not therefore think they were free to break the oath of the Lord because they had been deceived into it. We too must be careful how we handle that name, even where we have committed ourselves to something wrong.
Another writer gives the reason, and points to what happened when a later king ignored it:
Could they cancel the covenant now because they had been deceived? Absolutely not! Why? Because other people may act dishonestly, but that never gives a Christian the right to act dishonestly in return. They had given their word. God would not allow them to go back on it, whatever problems followed. Later King Saul killed some of the Gibeonites in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 21:1-2), and God sent a famine on Israel in the days of David because of it.
So why were they made slaves, rather than let go or put to death?
It is true that God allowed them to carry a certain mark of disgrace as a result. They were made slaves, because that was the only course left that was righteous. God gave the men who led the Lord's army enough wisdom to make the Gibeonites cutters of wood and drawers of water. After the treaty, putting them to death would have been a fresh sin, a crime. The name of the Lord had been given in a solemn oath, and no one may ever treat that lightly. On the other hand, the Gibeonites were put to the lowest work of all for the sanctuary of the Lord. So it was made plain that nothing kept them alive but His name. They were attached to the sanctuary, but with the mark of slavery on them.
Commentators trace the whole mess back to one omission: Israel never asked God.
Do we think Israel was not to blame, since they were deceived? Think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in true communion with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
One writer notes who is most at risk of this mistake:
The leaders of Israel use their own wisdom instead of asking the Lord for counsel. This time their confidence is not in human strength but in human wisdom. The leaders of the congregation, used to thinking things out and guiding others, are more likely to fall into this trap.
The woodcutters and water carriers stayed. Their daily presence in the camp was a standing reminder.
It is easier to make a mistake than to rectify it, and so the Gibeonites remained as a striking memorial of the evil of not waiting on God for counsel and guidance.
The same point is drawn out for the community that had complained about its leaders:
God frees us from some consequences of our sin, and allows others to remain. The people of God had the sad experience of keeping the Gibeonites among them, as a lasting witness to their failure.
One writer applies Israel's bind to commitments a believer may regret today.
This covenant was gained by deceit. Must it stand? Yes, it must. If Israel had been with God, no deceit could have won against them. So there are yokes which are unequal, and yet we cannot escape them... If I have married an unbeliever, the oath of the Lord forbids me to walk away from it. In the same way there may be business ties which, once I have entered them, plain righteousness forbids me to walk out of.
The same writer contrasts the Gibeonites with Rahab, the woman of Jericho who was living safely in Israel's camp.
Suppose the Gibeonites had come openly as what they really were, to put themselves under the Lord's yoke. Then the people whose camp already held Rahab and her whole family could not have refused them. But they came by trickery. They may not be killed, yet they are made slaves in the service of the people of God, as cutters of wood and drawers of water for the sanctuary. And so it must be, thank God: everyone must serve the glorious Lord we acknowledge. Willingly or unwillingly, free or slave — that is the only choice allowed. But how weighty are the results of that choice!
- Neglect — one skipped step started it. The leaders trusted their own wisdom instead of asking God. Experienced guides are the likeliest to fall into that trap.
- Oath — being lied to did not cancel the promise. Another person's dishonesty never excuses dishonesty in reply. God's name, once pledged, holds.
- Sentence — killing them would now have been a fresh crime. Slavery was the only righteous option left, and nothing but that name kept them alive.
- Memorial — God removes some consequences of sin and leaves others. The woodcutters stayed on as a living record of the day nobody asked Him.
- Yoke — some ties today, once made, cannot be dropped without injustice. And everyone serves the Lord in the end, willingly or not.
And Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you; whereas ye dwell in our midst?
Three days after Israel swore peace with them, the truth came out. These "distant" travellers lived next door. Joshua now calls them in. He asks the one question that would have saved Israel, had he asked it first.
Joshua's question is sharp. But the evidence had been in front of Israel all along. The Gibeonites' story fell apart under the lightest pressure.
Even a little close questioning would have exposed the true character of the Gibeonites. Their mouldy bread and torn wineskins pretended that they came from a country far away. If that were true, they had no reason to fear Israel... Their eagerness to form an alliance would have betrayed them to the wise of the world. But Israel now needed wisdom from God. Without it, they must sink beneath the world's wisdom.
Joshua proves the lie, and still cannot act on it. Israel had sworn the oath in the name of the Lord. That name held, even though the Gibeonites had won the agreement by a trick.
They felt that the Gibeonites had tricked them. This was true. But they did not therefore conclude that the trick freed them to break the oath of Jehovah. We too must be careful. Where we have committed ourselves to something wrong, we must not treat that name lightly. No; the thing was done: it could not be undone.
Their own answer to Joshua's question is that they feared for their lives. One writer sets that fear beside Rahab, the woman of Jericho whose family Israel spared.
The Gibeonites had heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai; that is, they heard of judgment in the land... Rahab had heard what the Lord had done at the Red Sea and in the wilderness. But this makes a great difference. It is easy to be gracious when pain comes upon us: but such graciousness does not come from faith. It comes from fear.
Another writer draws out the cost of that difference: had they come as Rahab did, the outcome would have been different.
If it had been faith that brought them, they would have found the God of Israel full of compassion, as He was with Rahab.
The curse Joshua pronounces next fixes them as woodcutters and water carriers. One writer ties it to the way they came.
Suppose the Gibeonites had come openly as what they were, to put themselves under Jehovah's yoke. Israel had Rahab and her whole family in their camp, so they could not have refused them. But the Gibeonites came by craft. They may not be killed, yet they are made bondmen in the service of the people of God, as woodcutters and water carriers for the sanctuary. So it must be, thank God: all must serve the glorious Lord we own. Willingly or unwillingly, as free or bond — this is the only choice allowed. But how great are the issues of that choice!
Their position carried both protection and shame at once.
After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. Israel had solemnly given the name of the Lord, and no one can ever trifle with that name. But on the other hand, the Gibeonites now did the most menial work for the sanctuary of Jehovah. So it was clear that nothing preserved them but His name.
Joshua confronts them, and they do not argue back. Their surrender pictures a soul that stops defending itself.
The Gibeonites also show the true position of a truly repentant soul. They bow to the sentence of death. They were very afraid for their lives, and so they did that thing. They do not plead the alliance. They surrender themselves without conditions: "Behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it." ... On one side is Israel cursing the Gibeonite. On the other is the submissive Gibeonite, content to be whatever Joshua may decide. Over both we see the picture of God's mercy to a self-judging sinner.
The lasting lesson is not Gibeonite cunning. It is a step taken without asking the Lord, and the ties it leaves behind.
Israel received the Gibeonites, with their pious talk, into their congregation, just as the professing church is receiving the world into the church. The failure was with Israel. They asked no counsel of the Lord. Had Joshua gone into the presence of the Lord, He would soon have exposed the deceptions of the Gibeonites... The covenant made had to stand... How many unequal yokes there are among God's people, entered into without having asked counsel of the Lord!
- Ask first. Joshua's questions would have unmasked everything three days earlier. Better still, he could have put them to the Lord.
- Bound anyway. Proving the trick did not release Israel. They had given the name of the Lord, and the thing could not be undone.
- Fear, not faith. Dread of judgment drove the Gibeonites. Faith drove Rahab. That difference decided how each one fared.
- Craft costs. Coming openly would have brought them in free. Coming by trick brought them in as bondmen. All will serve the Lord — willingly or unwillingly.
- Mercy underneath. Even under the curse, the Gibeonites plead nothing. They place themselves in Joshua's hand. That is the picture of God's mercy to a sinner who judges himself.
And now ye are cursed, and ye shall never cease to be bondmen, and hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the house of my God.
Joshua has just learned that the men who won a treaty from Israel were local Canaanites in disguise. Why does a treaty gained by lies still bind Israel — and why are cursed men set to work at God's house?
Israel could not kill them, because Israel's leaders had sworn in the name of the Lord.
It is true that God permitted them to bear a certain mark of degradation as a result. Israel enslaved them, because that was the only course left open in righteousness. After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to put them to death. They had sworn by the name of the Lord, and no one may ever take that lightly. But on the other hand, Israel put the Gibeonites to the most menial service for the sanctuary of the Lord. This made it plain that nothing preserved them but His name. They stayed attached to the sanctuary, but with the brand of slavery on them.
The treaty rested on a lie, yet Israel kept it. One writer draws a rule from that, and then marks off the one yoke it does not cover.
Gained by deceit, must this covenant stand? Yes, it must. For had Israel been with God, no deceit could have prevailed against them. And so there are yokes which, though unequal, we cannot escape. If we can escape without doing injustice to another, and the work we have yoked ourselves to is itself evil, then of course we are bound to escape. If I have married an unbeliever, the oath of the Lord forbids me to withdraw from it. Business ties can be the same: once I have entered them, simple righteousness forbids me to withdraw. But the spiritual yoke — a believer yoked with an unbeliever in the things of the Lord — is what the apostle's words in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 apply to in the fullest way.
The Gibeonites stayed in the land. Their presence said something about Israel every day.
Israel's self-sufficiency, of course, made them forget that they needed God's guidance for every step. The cunning of the Gibeonites trapped them. Yet Israel had to respect this covenant. The Gibeonites became cutters of wood and drawers of water, but their very presence was a reminder of a failure to seek God's mind about everything, and a warning to use greater care in the future.
Israel spared them but never received them. They had to live beside people they could neither kill nor count as their own.
God delivers us from some of the consequences of our sin, and allows others to remain… There was only one thing to do: bear with the Gibeonites among them, while keeping them in the place of the curse. "Now therefore you are cursed," said Joshua to them. Israel could only see them as an accursed race. They came under the judgment of the king of Ai, but it was pronounced, not carried out. Meanwhile their safety lay in the name of the Lord.
The Gibeonites chose trickery over open surrender, and still ended up serving. One writer sees here the only choice anyone gets.
If the Gibeonites had come openly as what they were, to put themselves under the Lord's yoke, Israel could not have refused them. Rahab and her whole family were living in that camp already. But they came by trickery. They may not be killed, yet they are made bondmen in the service of the people of God, as cutters of wood and drawers of water for the sanctuary. So it must be — and thank God for it — that all must serve the glorious Lord we own. Willingly or unwillingly, as free or as bond, this is the only choice allowed. But how weighty are the outcomes of that choice!
One writer traces a later group called the Nethinim back to this sentence.
Here, then, we probably find the origin of the Nethinim — those who were spared from the just judgment of God. If they were made slaves, it was slavery in His mercy, tied to His house. So the very curse resting on them turned into a blessing. For what do we find? Instead of falling to the sword of the Lord's host, they were rescued. Now, centuries later, they stand in honourable association with the Lord's people, and with a heart for the Lord's house, since they returned from Babylon with their fellow captives at this special moment. They are surely no small picture of those who receive grace even today.
- Cause. Israel's self-confidence opened the door, not Gibeon's cleverness. Had Israel been with God, no deceit could have won.
- Oath. Israel's leaders had sworn by the name of the Lord, so the treaty stood even though lies won it. Some yokes, once taken on, righteousness will not let us break.
- Curse. Israel spared them but never accepted them. They stayed under the curse, and nothing but His name kept them safe.
- Service. Everyone ends up serving the Lord. The only choice is free or forced — and the outcomes could not differ more.
- Mercy. Slavery tied to His house became blessing. Generations later these cursed strangers reappear as honoured servants with a heart for God's house.
And they answered Joshua and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants how that Jehovah thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and did this thing.
Joshua has caught the Gibeonites in their lie, and now he asks them why they did it. Their answer is the first honest thing they say — God's word about the land terrified them — but does fear like that count as faith?
Everything the Gibeonites said before this was a performance. Only under questioning does the real motive come out:
Now let us see from their own words, once they had to tell the truth, what moved them to deceive Joshua… If these people could have kept their lives and their land, they had no wish at all to be anything but enemies of Israel.
Rahab, the woman of Jericho who hid Israel's spies, had heard about God too. But she and the Gibeonites heard very different news:
The Gibeonites had heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai. That is, they heard of judgment in the land… Rahab had heard what the Lord had done at the Red Sea and in the wilderness. But this makes a great difference. It is easy to be gracious when pain comes upon us. Such graciousness is not of faith, but of fear… They sought Joshua for what they could get or gain by him. They sought him for themselves, for the deliverance they now found they needed, since judgment had overtaken them.
Another writer weighs what faith would have found instead of a lie:
They told Joshua they knew God had commanded Moses to destroy the people of the land. Fear filled them, and this deception was the only way they could think of to escape death. If faith had brought them, they would have found the God of Israel full of compassion, as He was with Rahab.
Still, their fear is not thrown away. One writer traces what God did with it:
God made it an occasion for showing His mercy to those who trembled at His word, even though they were of the cursed race of Canaan. Isaiah announced this (Isaiah 66:2); here God shows it… The Gibeonites also show the true position of a truly penitent soul, for they bow to the sentence of death. They were terrified for their lives, and so they did this thing. They do not plead the alliance. They surrender themselves without conditions: "Behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it." … Here on one side is Israel cursing the Gibeonite, and on the other the submissive Gibeonite, content to be anything Joshua may decide. Over both we see the picture of God's mercy to a self-judging sinner.
They live, but as slaves. Their sentence answers both halves of the story. Israel could not break the oath, and could not leave the lie unmarked.
After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to put them to death. Israel had solemnly pledged the name of the Lord, and no one may trifle with that. But on the other hand, the Gibeonites were put to the lowest services for the sanctuary of Jehovah. So it was plain that nothing preserved them but His name.
Another writer weighs what their trick cost them, and what it could not prevent:
If the Gibeonites had come openly as what they were, to put themselves under the Lord's yoke, Israel could not have refused them. Rahab and her whole family were living in that camp already. But they came by trickery, and though they may not be killed, they are made slaves in the service of the people of God, as woodcutters and water-carriers for the sanctuary… So it must be, thank God: all must serve the glorious Lord we own. Willingly or unwillingly, as free or bound — this is the only choice allowed. But how weighty are the results of that choice!
The lie worked because the Gibeonites knew God's word well enough to build on it. One question put to God would have exposed them, and Israel never asked it.
Do we think Israel was not to blame, since the Gibeonites deceived them? Then let us think again. If they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we keep close fellowship with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
- Heard — the Gibeonites heard the same kind of news as Rahab. They heard judgment, and it moved them by fear, not faith.
- Feared — fear alone made them liars. Faith would have found the same compassion Rahab found.
- Surrendered — once exposed, they claimed nothing and put themselves in Joshua's hand. That is the place of a person who accepts God's verdict on himself.
- Spared — the oath sworn in God's name kept them alive. Nothing in them did.
- Served — the lie cost them their freedom, not their life. Everyone serves the Lord in the end, willing or unwilling — and that choice is the weighty one.
And now behold, we are in thy hand as it is good and right in thine eyes to do to us, do.
Joshua uncovered the trick and called the Gibeonites to account, and they offered no defence. They put themselves in his hands, and their answer raises two questions: what saved these people, and what did Israel's failure to ask God cost?
The Gibeonites could have argued. They had a sworn treaty and might have stood on it. Instead they drop every claim and leave the verdict to Joshua.
The Gibeonites also give the true position of a soul that is truly repentant, for they bow to the sentence of death. They were very afraid for their lives, and so they did this thing. They do not plead the alliance. They surrender themselves with no conditions: "Behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it." … On one side is Israel cursing the Gibeonite. On the other is the submissive Gibeonite, content to be anything Joshua may decide. Over both stands the picture of God's mercy to a self-judging sinner.
Commentators differ on what was at work in these men. One reading treats their dread of judgment as the lowest kind of faith, and says God rewarded it.
The next scene proves that submitting to the righteous judgment of God brings blessings hardly hoped for. This was not on Israel's part, but on the part of the Gibeonites. They had that lowest kind of faith which trembles at the word of judgment… If there was no real sorrow for sin, there was trembling. And they submitted to the word of Joshua… This teaches us much. It gives the only true place of a soul that submits without conditions to the sentence of God. The Gibeonites confessed their deceit, and could only urge their fears as an excuse. But this fear of judgment has its reward… And God remembered them; when Saul oppressed them, He avenged their cause on his family.
Another reading weighs their fear against Rahab, who came to Israel in faith.
They answered Joshua that they knew God had told Moses to destroy the people of the land. This deception was the only way they could think of to escape death, for fear filled them (v.24). If it had been faith that brought them, they would have found the God of Israel full of compassion, as He was with Rahab.
Joshua could not go back on the treaty. He had sworn it in the name of the Lord, and the trick did not release him.
There they bound themselves by the name of Jehovah, and it is very striking for us to see that at this time no one made light of the honour of that name. They felt that someone had deceived them. That was true. But they did not therefore think they were free to break the oath of Jehovah just because they had been tricked into it. We too must be careful. When we have committed ourselves to something wrong, we must not treat that name lightly.
Joshua spared them, but not without cost.
They were made slaves, as the only course left that was righteous… After the treaty it would have been a fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. Israel had given the name of the Lord in that oath, and no one may ever treat that name lightly. On the other hand, the Gibeonites were reduced to the most menial service for the sanctuary of Jehovah. So it was made plain that nothing preserved them but His name.
None of this would have happened if Israel had asked one question of God before swearing.
If we think Israel was not to blame since they were deceived, then let us think again: if they had taken the matter to God, would they have been deceived? No! If we are in proper fellowship with the Lord, we shall not be deceived, for the Lord is not deceived.
Centuries later a king tried to undo the mistake by force.
Later on King Saul, "in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah," killed some of the Gibeonites (2 Sam. 21:1-2), and God sent a famine on Israel in the days of David because of this. Saul chose a foolish way of trying to correct the failure of his forefathers. What a lesson to teach us how important it is to bow to the results God allows our failures to bring, rather than proudly think we can correct them!
- Surrender. Drop every claim and leave the verdict to God. That is the one true place for a soul under sentence, and God's mercy meets the self-judging sinner there.
- Trembling. Commentators differ. Some call their dread the lowest kind of faith. Others call it only fear, unlike Rahab, who came in faith and found compassion.
- Mercy. Their cleverness did not keep them alive. The name of the Lord did, sworn over them and never to be treated lightly.
- Marked. They lived, but as servants at the sanctuary. Mercy spared them, yet it left them in the lowest service.
- Counsel. The whole disaster traces to one thing: Israel never asked God. Later, force only brought famine. Bow to what failure brings; pride cannot fix it.
And he did so to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, and they did not slay them.
Joshua had sworn peace with the men of Gibeon before he knew who they were. Now the lie is out and the camp wants blood. Why does he shield a people God had marked for destruction?
Israel made this league without asking God — but they made it in His name. That second fact settled everything.
There they bound themselves by the name of Jehovah. It is a very striking thing for us to see that at that moment no one trifled with the honour of that name. They felt that the Gibeonites had tricked them. That was true. But they did not think the deceit gave them any right to break the oath of Jehovah. We too must take care how we deal with that name when we have committed ourselves to something wrong. The thing was done, and it could not be undone. They had made a double error: they entered into it without the Lord, and once it was done, we do not find that they brought the difficulty before Him.
Joshua keeps them alive, but not because they had earned it. One thing alone protected them, and the work Israel gave them made it plain.
Enslaving them was the only course that righteousness left open. Wisdom guided the leaders of the Lord's army this far: the Gibeonites were to be woodcutters and water carriers. After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. Israel had pledged the name of the Lord, and no one may ever trifle with that name. On the other hand, the Gibeonites sank to the lowest service for the sanctuary of Jehovah. So it was plain that nothing preserved them but His name. That is why they were attached to the sanctuary, but with the brand of slavery on them.
Joshua's rescue answers something the Gibeonites had just done. One writer finds in it a picture of how God treats a sinner who accepts His verdict.
God overruled their folly. He made it an occasion to show how He would be merciful to those who trembled at His word, even though they belonged to the accursed race of Canaan… The Gibeonites also show the true position of a truly repentant soul. They bow to the sentence of death. They do not plead the alliance. They surrender with no conditions: "Behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it." … On one side Israel curses the Gibeonite. On the other, the Gibeonite submits, content to be whatever Joshua may decide. Over both is seen the picture of God's mercy to a self-judging sinner.
Being spared is not the same as being cleared. The rescue left its mark on both sides.
But the grace of God is with Israel. This chapter shows evil entering the congregation, yet we do not find it growing. God delivers us from certain consequences of our sin, and allows others to remain. The people of God had to keep the Gibeonites among them, a lasting witness to their failure. There was one thing to do: bear with them, while keeping them in the place of the curse… The sentence passed on the king of Ai was pronounced over them, but not carried out, and meanwhile their safety lay in the name of Jehovah. Israel could not touch them.
One writer carries this into daily life. A tie entered wrongly can still hold you.
Gained by deceit, must this covenant stand? Yes, it must. So there are yokes which, though unequal, we cannot escape from. If the work we have yoked ourselves to is itself evil, and we can get free without doing an injustice to another, then of course we are bound to get free. If I have married an unbeliever, the oath of the Lord forbids me to withdraw. Business ties can be the same: once entered, simple righteousness forbids us to walk away.
The oath did not lose its force when Joshua died. King Saul later forgot it, but God is jealous over His own name.
Whatever the grace and faithfulness of God may be, for that very reason God is jealous of His word. He deals righteously wherever His name is pledged… Through the deceit of the Gibeonites, Joshua and the other leaders of Israel committed the name of Jehovah to sparing their lives… But Saul, in his false zeal for God, lost sight of what Israel had so solemnly guaranteed to the Gibeonites.
- Failure — Israel made the league without asking God, and the other side's deceit did not excuse that.
- Name — sworn in the Lord's name, the oath could not be broken. His name, not their worth, kept them alive.
- Mercy — they put their lives in Joshua's hands with no terms. Writers see there God's mercy to a sinner who judges himself.
- Marks — they escaped death, yet still carried the curse and the slave's work. God frees us from some consequences of sin and leaves others.
- Kept — God enforced Joshua's pledge long after Joshua died. An unwise promise made in His name is still a promise to keep.
And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the assembly, and for the altar of Jehovah, to this day, in the place which he should choose.
Joshua's sentence closes a chapter that began with deception. The Gibeonites had tricked Israel into a treaty, and now they take the lowest work in the nation — yet they do it at God's altar. Why did Israel keep them alive at all, and why so near the sanctuary?
The servitude was punishment. It was also the only righteous option left once Israel had sworn in God's name.
It is true that God permitted that they should bear a certain stamp of degradation as a result. They were enslaved, as the only course left open righteously. Some wisdom was given to those who led the Lord's host: the Gibeonites should be woodcutters and water carriers. After the treaty it would have been fresh sin, a crime, to have put them to death. The name of the Lord had been solemnly given, and that can never be treated lightly. On the other hand, the Gibeonites were reduced to the most menial services for the sanctuary of Jehovah. In this way it was made plain that nothing preserved them but His name. So they were attached to the sanctuary, but with the brand of slavery on them.
Their work was not only for Israel. Because it was for the altar, it made them servants of Israel's God.
Their fear of judgment has its reward. They get, in advance, the place a Gentile will have before Israel owned by God. This servitude of the Gibeonites is a small foreshadowing of the coming time when the Gentile will be exalted in serving the Jew. They are made woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation, and for the altar. So they become Jehovah's servants. And God remembered them. When Saul oppressed them, He avenged their cause on his family.
Earlier the Gibeonites had put themselves in Joshua's hands. One writer sees God honouring that surrender, not their trickery.
Their folly was overruled. God made it an occasion for showing how He would be merciful to those who trembled at His word, even though they were of the accursed race of Canaan. The Gibeonites also give the true position of a soul that is truly penitent, for they bow to the sentence of death. They do not plead the alliance. They surrender themselves unconditionally. Here on one side is Israel cursing the Gibeonite, on the other the submissive Gibeonite content to be anything Joshua may decide. Over both is seen the picture of God's mercy to a self-judging sinner.
Another writer notes the honest path they could have taken, then draws a wider lesson:
Suppose the Gibeonites had come openly as what they were, to put themselves under Jehovah's yoke. Then those in whose camp Rahab was, with her whole family, could not have refused them. But they came in craft. They may not be killed, but they are made bondmen in the service of the people of God, as woodcutters and water carriers for the sanctuary. So it must be, thank God: all must serve the glorious Lord we own. Willingly or unwillingly, as free or bond — this is the only choice permitted. But how serious are the results of that choice!
The words "to this day" are Israel's side of the story. The treaty could not be undone.
The fault committed in the matter of the Gibeonites seems to me more serious. It did not delay their progress; but, being the act of Joshua and the princes, it set them for ever in a false position towards those they spared.
Commentators differ in emphasis. Some stress the lasting cost to Israel. Others follow what God later made of the Gibeonites.
Later in Israel's history a group called the Nethinim served at God's house. One writer traces them back to this day.
Here, then, we probably find the origin of the Nethinim — those who were spared from the just judgment of God. They were reduced to servile bondage, but it was bondage in His mercy, in connection with His house. So the very curse resting on them was turned into a blessing. Instead of being destroyed by the sword of the Lord's host, they were rescued. Now, centuries later, they are found in honourable association with the Lord's people, and with a heart for the Lord's house.
- Sworn — Israel swore in God's name, so the Gibeonites lived. Nothing else preserved them.
- Servitude — Their deceit cost them the lowest work in the nation, with the brand of slavery on them.
- Sanctuary — The same sentence tied them to the altar. They became servants of the God they feared.
- Surrender — They pleaded nothing and kept nothing back. God shows mercy to those who tremble at His word.
- Sequel — Centuries later the curse had turned into blessing. God avenged them when Saul oppressed them, and the spared slaves stood in honourable association with His people, with a heart for His house.