Christ in all the scriptures
The intriguing story of the Gibeonites Joshua 9-10
This unusual narrative reveals so much of the character of God in terms of His sovereign power and amazing grace. It is a story of how God, in sovereign mercy, turned a tragic situation into an abiding union that stood the test of time, despite the failures of men.. It is a story that began with deception and ended in devotion. As such it mirrors the situation of the whole of humanity. Picture the scene:
Fear gripped the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, following the destruction of Jericho and Ai. The response of the nations within the land was to arm and be ready to unite against Israel. One group of the Hivites from Gibeon had other thoughts, assessing that they could not survive the onslaught. Somehow they had knowledge of God's command to Israel in Deuteronomy 20v10-18, that in a time of conquest, they were to offer peace terms to distant cities, but there was to be no such offered to the Canaanites, who were to be destroyed without mercy. The men of Gibeon approached Israel with deceit, pretending to be travellers from a far country, while also bearing the marks of an arduous journey. They attempted to appease Israel by fraud and offered to serve them faithfully. In fact they were near neighbours, being only 25 miles from the camp of Israel. While all the other people were arming for battle, they sought refuge by stealth.
This is a sharp reminder that in the life of faith, when the enemy fails in open conflict, he will use wiles to infiltrate and undermine the purposes of God. Satan appears as a roaring lion (the adversary), and as a lying serpent (the deceiver). There are many examples of this throughout scripture and we are encouraged to be aware of his devices. In this case the deceit did not compromise Israel, but on many other occasions the enemy has succeeded.
We must not think of the Gibeonites as an insignificant people, living in poverty; chapter 10v2 informs us that Gibeon was "...a great city, as one of the royal cities...greater than Ai, and all the men were mighty". Their capitulation to Israel was noted as far as Jerusalem and instilled fear in the Canaanites as a whole.
They lied about where they were from; they disguised their true state; they demanded peace terms with Israel when they knew they were under no obligation to do so. This was a real test for Israel's leaders. They were under orders to annihilate all Canaanites, and here were a people claiming to be from a distance, seeking refuge among them. Israel's leaders failed the test, for they acted without seeking the mind of the Lord. In public life, in this world, there will always come unexpected challenges for which there is no easy answer.
It says in Joshua 9v14/15 "...the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league (covenant) with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware (made an oath) unto them".
Decisions made by sight and not by faith are generally the wrong ones with consequences. However, in this case, the Lord overlooked it and did not chide Joshua as He will use this situation to ultimate benefit for Israel (see next blog).
Finally, realising he had been deceived by the enemy, Joshua kept to his word, and gave refuge to the Gibeonites on the condition that they became servants (hewers of wood and drawers of water) in the congregation of Israel for ever. Next time we shall see how this worked out in the long term. Meanwhile we can tabulate the lessons from this for us today.
1) God is merciful, even to the worst of people, even when they practice deceit.
2) God's people need to seek the counsel of the Lord in all situations.
3) God is greater than our failures. He will turn dangerous situations to ultimate good.
4) Vows made in the name of the Lord must be honoured; in the life of faith our word is our bond.
5) The Gibeonites became the most humble and loyal people in the congregation of Israel. God changed an idolatrous people into devoted worshippers, a proud people into humble servants.
6) The sun, whose daily course is unstoppable, stood still upon Gibeon for almost a whole day until all their enemies were gone He moved heaven and earth to protect them.
7) "IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?"
8) The question is are we with Him?
