Joshua 9:3–4: “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 . . .”

March 30th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Word was getting out that Joshua and the children of Israel had defeated Jericho and Ai. In response, a group of kings united together to fight against Joshua and Israel. The Gibeonites, another group of people, decided to deceive the Israelites instead of battling them. The Gibeonites were also called Hivites, and are first mentioned in Genesis when “Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite” (Genesis 34:2), raped Dinah. In retaliation, her brothers Simon and Levi, the sons of the patriarch Jacob, deceived the whole city of Hivites into being circumcised and then killed them all. Now, in the book of Joshua, the Gibeonites are deceiving the children of Israel, convincing them they were not from the Promised Land but from a distant country. So the Israelites, without asking the counsel of the Lord, made a treaty that they would not attack the Gibeonites.

God had already warned His children in Deuteronomy 7:2 that when they came into the land they were to “make no covenant with [the people in the land] nor show mercy to them.” God clearly forbade Israel from making any pacts or alliances with the inhabitants of the Promised Land but were to completely drive them out. In the history of mankind, there were probably no people or practices darker than those of the indigenous Canaanites and their religious practices. Archeological evidence shows that the sacrificing of human children was very common, perhaps even a daily occurrence. There is also evidence of cannibalizing the victims, forced child prostitution, and licentious religious feasts celebrated by degrading and vile practices. In order to keep His people from this kind of corruption, God commanded that everything be destroyed, so that the memory of those polluting practices could be completely wiped out. God would later have other nations judge Israel in a similar way in order to destroy the Canaanite practices that had crept into His own people.

God hates false, religious ceremonies, particularly those involving innocent children. God had warned His people to avoid hasty decisions that led them to become unequal yoked with unbelievers. Decisions made without prayer usually lead to ungodly alliances. Just as Paul wrote and warned the Corinthians 14 centuries later: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness” (2 Corinthians 6:14)? God is still speaking through these examples to us today; we also must make no treaties with the flesh or with children of the flesh.

“LORD, help us to stay close to You this day.”

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Joshua 9 KJV

¹ And 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; ² That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord. ³ And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, ⁴ They 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; ⁵ And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. ⁶ And 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? ⁸ And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? ⁹ And 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, ¹⁰ And 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. ¹¹ Wherefore 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. ¹² This 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: ¹³ And 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. ¹⁴ And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.  ¹⁵ And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. ¹⁶ And 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. ¹⁷ And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities wereGibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. ¹⁸ And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. ¹⁹ But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. ²⁰ This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. ²¹ And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. ²² And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? ²³ Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.  ²⁴ And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. ²⁵ And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. ²⁶And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. ²⁷ And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.