Negotiating Away His Blessing

The Expository Book Study of Joshua

Joshua 9: Verses 1 through 35         XIII) Negotiating Away His Blessing

Week #14 06 October 2010             Week # 38 of this Teaching Ministry

Joshua 9 (King James Version)

1And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; 2That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. 3And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, 4They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; 5And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. 6And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. 7And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? 8And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? 9And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. 11Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. 12This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: 13And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.  14And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD. 15And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. 16And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 17And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim.

A Fast – Brief Summary of Joshua 9:

Joshua 9:1-2 reports the reaction of the kings of Canaan who are gathering for war against Israel, with the inhabitants of Gibeon being the notable exceptions. We are given privileged information about the Gibeonite intrigue. The Gibeonites revere the name of Yahweh. They know about his mighty acts and seem to be aware of the Deuteronomic laws regarding holy wars against far off cities. (Deut. 20:10-15). Disguised as emissaries from a distant country, they tricked the Israelites into making a treaty and taking an oath to guarantee their lives (9:15). Note that "the covenant with the Gibeonites represents the most serious breach of Yahweh's commandments yet encountered." 10 The treaty spares the entire city of Gibeon and its environs (9:17) and is made without divine sanction (9:14).

In Verses 1 & 2; What plans did the people of the land make to deal with Israel? (Answer: An alliance against Israel)

This story in Joshua 9 begins by describing a plan determined by the inhabitants of Canaan. They decided that they would gather together to fight against Israel. There is strength in unity. Israel had proved they could defeat individual cities, so other people united to fight them. This may not refer to any one specific alliance but simply to a general plan that the peoples of the land decided to follow. There was no war with the people of some of these areas till considerably later. This would indicate that this was just a general plan. This story appears to be then set aside for a while as the account tells about the alliance Joshua made with the Gibeonites.

(1) Two different strategies of attack against Israel

a. (1-2) The southern kings gather together against Israel.

i. And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon; the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; heard about it, that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.

ii. John Wesley had this to say about this passage: “Together — They entered into a league to do this. Tho' they were many kings of different nations, and doubtless of different interests, often at variance with each other, yet they are all determined to unite against Israel. O that Israel would learn this of Canaanites, to sacrifice private interests to the public good, and to lay aside all animosities among themselves, that they may cordially unite against the common enemy”.

iii. When all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan heard about it: When the Canaanite kings heard how the LORD delivered Jericho to Israel, they had reason to be afraid. When they heard how the LORD gave them victory over Ai, they had reason to be afraid.

iv. They gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord: This is a classic, frontal attack - they will try to defeat Israel on the field of battle, in head-to-head competition.

v. Matthew Henry had this to say about verses 1 and 2. Hitherto the Canaanites had defended themselves, but here they consult to attack Israel. Their minds were blinded, and their hearts hardened to their destruction. Though often at enmity with each other, yet they united against Israel. Oh that Israel would learn of Canaanites, to sacrifice private interests to the public welfare, and to lay aside all quarrels among themselves, that they may unite against the enemies of God's. kingdom!

vi. If we were to follow this lesson in Joshua to its conclusion here in the 21st Century, how do you suppose we would measure up? Do we unite ourselves to fight against the Spiritual Foes of God’s Kingdom? Or do we negotiate our lives on our own terms without consulting God?

b. (3-6) The Gibeonites approach Joshua and Israel in another way.

(Commentary Dialog from David Pratte)

Gibeon was a city actually located just southwest of Ai and north of Jerusalem. The Gibeonite people actually inhabited a group of four cities in that area. So these people really lived quite close to the location of Israel’s great victories. These people had heard of the victories of Israel and knew they were among Israel’s next victims. They realized they were powerless to defend themselves, so they decided to work by deceit. They pretended they were messengers sent from a far distant country. They put on old patched clothes and sandals, carried old sacks, old food, and old wineskins. They came to Israel while they were still camped in Gilgal. There they asked Israel to make a peace treaty with them.

They knew Israel would destroy anyone who lived in the land, so they pretended to be from a far country so Israel would make peace with them. Then they would try to hold Israel to their agreement. The Waldrons hold the view that this Gilgal is not the one in the Jordan lowlands where Is-rael camped when they first crossed into Israel. They claim that Israel would have moved further into the land by this time. So this Gilgal would be one higher in the mountains.

i. But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”

ii. They worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors: The Gibeonites will try to deceive Israel into making a peace treaty with them, though Israel was forbidden to make peace with any of the tribes of Canaan (Exodus 23:23-24).

iii. Notice the methods of deception used by the Gibeonites. They were clever (craftily), they misrepresented themselves (pretended), and they even gave false “evidence” of their deception (old sacks, old wineskins, old and patched sandals, dry and moldy bread).

iv. Beyond their deceptive appearance, the Gibeonites simply lied. They said, “We have come from a far country” when of course they had not. All their other devices simply lead to strengthen the deception offered.

(2) How Joshua and the leaders of Israel were deceived.

a. (7-13) The Gibeonites explain their story to Joshua and the leaders of Israel.

(Commentary Dialog from David Pratte)

Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?” But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

So they said to him: “From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan; to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, “We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”’

This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”

i. From a very far country your servants have come: Plainly, the Gibeonites lied to Israel. But despite their lies, they have a proper admiration and honor for the God of Israel. Because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame shows that it is because God fights for Israel, they know it would be useless to oppose the nation.

ii. In verse 9, we see that because of the name of the Lord thy God > They pretend that they had undertaken this journey on a religious account; and seem to intimate that they had the highest respect for Jehovah, the object of the Israelites' worship; this was hypocrisy. (Adam Clarke)

iii. We have heard the fame of him > This was true: the wonders which God did in Egypt, and the discomfiture of Sihon and Og, had reached the whole land of Canaan, and it was on this account that the inhabitants of it were panic-struck. The Gibeonites, knowing that they could not stand where such mighty forces had fallen, wished to make the Israelites their friends. This part of their relation was strictly true. (Adam Clarke)

iv. Matthew Henry had the following commentary about the verses 3 through 13. Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and the grace of God in the gospel, is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death, 2 Corinthians 2:16. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evil that good may themselves to the God of Israel, we have reason to think Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to spare their lives.

But when they had once said, "We are come from a far country," they were led to say it made of skins, and their clothes: one lie brings on another, and that a third, and so on. The way of that sin is especially down-hill. Yet their faith and prudence are to be commended. In submitting to Israel they submitted to the God of Israel, which implied forsaking their idolatries. And how can we do better than cast ourselves upon the mercy of a God of all goodness? The way to avoid judgment is to meet it by repentance. Let us do like these Gibeonites, seek peace with God in the rags of abasement, and godly sorrow; so our sin shall not be our ruin. Let us be servants to Jesus, our blessed Joshua, and we shall live.

b. (14-15) Joshua and the leaders of Israel accept the deception of the Gibeonites.

i. Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD. So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

ii. They did not ask counsel of the LORD: The Gibeonite deception was clever, and therefore powerful. But the real problem was that Joshua and the leaders of Israel never sought the LORD.

iii. Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions: This shows that they trusted their senses instead of the LORD. “Look at this bread. Feel and taste how stale it is. Surely, they must have come a long way.” They walked by sight, not by faith.

iv. How much trouble do we find ourselves in for this very reason: they did not ask counsel of the LORD?

v. So Joshua made peace with them: Because they believed that the Gibeonites were from a distant land, they made the treaty with them. God allowed Israel to make treaties with distant nations, but not with the Canaanites.

Joshua 9 shows us once again the heart of man. God forbid Israel from entering into any type of an agreement with the inhabitants of Canaan. Yet if we examine our own lives today, we would see that we haven’t really learned a whole lot from their mistakes. We still make little / minor compromises that yield way to Satan.

As we saw in past lessons in Joshua, God wants us to Yield ourselves to HIS LORDSHIP, and to Sanctify ourselves to and for Him Alone! Righteousness is to be a way of life, we are to Love, Adore and Revere our Father in Heaven. So tonight I ask you to consider, the heart of God in your daily decisions tomorrow. Practical Application - when you are at work, at home with the neighbors or alone with your spouse – Seek God’s Face in your decision making, and in your relationships. Pray for me that I might practice these Spiritual Concepts and I will in turn pray for you as well.

Dear Father in Heaven, thank You for this time we had to spend in Your Word. I pray dear Lord that we may find the time, energy and resources to spend time with You each day. Keep us from negotiating our lives without consulting You first Father. Be with us through the remainder of this week, and bring us back safely on Sunday, we give You the Honor, Glory and praise; in Christ’s name we pray – Amen…