A coalition against Israel
v2 It is not surprising that the kings of Jordan, in the hill country, the western foothills and along the coast of the Great (Mediterranean) Sea, as far as Lebanon, heard of the victories over Jericho and Ai and made a treaty to fight together against Israel. Very sensible from a human standpoint. Although with separate interests and often at war with each other, a sense of common danger prompted them to suspend their warring, that by their united strength they might prevent the land from falling into the hands of the Israelites.
But numbers were no hindrance to God. Jericho and Ai proved that. One large army and one small, Gideon’s army of 300 in Judges 6 is another example — God didn’t always fight by conventional methods – the people had to obey Him for their victories, and He would see them through. Just as their disobedience showed when they took on Ai at first attempt by their own methods and were defeated.
v3 However, the inhabitants of Gibeon, who were evidently Hivites (v7) were obviously not thoroughly convinced that the alliance would be satisfactory especially after the reports of Jericho and Ai, so they devised their own cunning scheme and it worked.The Hivites were sons of Canaan (1 Chronicles 1:14) the son of Ham (v8) the son of Noah. Ham was cursed because of his abominable behaviour towards his father.
2 Samuel 21:2 tells us that the Gibeonites were also of the remnant of the Amorites. There is no contradiction here because they also were descendants of Canaan (Gen. 10) often a collective name given to all his descendants. The trouble that ensues from sinful parents and relationships is plain to see.
The inhabitants of Gibeon, which was about 18-20 miles from Gilgal and about six miles northwest from Jerusalem, worked craftily and sent ‘ambassadors’ dressed in worn-out clothes, on old tired donkeys and with old wineskins and mouldy food to make it appear that they had travelled a very long way (v6) They pretended to have made a very long journey, that their provision, when they brought it from home, was fresh and new, but now it appeared to be old and dry, their sacks were old; the wine was all drunk, and the bottles, in which it had been, were broken; their shoes and clothes were worse than those of the Israelites in forty years wandering, and their bread was mouldy.
v7 – The men of Israel suspected a fraud and said, “Maybe you dwell amongst us so how can we make a covenant with you?” God had commanded them not to make covenants with the people of the land (Deuteronomy 7:1-6,16; 9:1-5; 20:10-18; Exodus. 23:31-33; 34:11,12). Note especially Deuteronomy 20:10-18, which expressly allowed Israel to make covenants with people who lived far from Canaan. But people who lived in the land, Israel were commanded to destroy. So, they wanted to make sure these people were not of the land.
The Gibeonites (v9) lied that they came from a far country. They asked to be their servants. They said they had heard of the fame of Joshua and the Israelites and “We have come because of the name of the LORD your God” and they wanted to be followers of this God (v11); they profess a respect for the God of Israel. They had heard enough to convince them of the infinite power of the God of Israel,
Notice – this was carefully planned as they refer to events of Moses’ time, the news of which might easily to have reached far away places, the plagues of Egypt and the destruction of Sihon and Og, but craftily say nothing of the destruction of Jericho and Ai because they want the Israelites to think that they came from home long before those conquests were made.
There is a mixture of good and evil in their conduct. Their lies cannot be justified; we must not do evil that good may come of it. One lie leads to another and that to a third, and so on. The way of that sin is down-hill.
v14 – The men of Israel were eventually completely taken in by the deception and made a fatal mistake – “But they did not ask the counsel of The LORD.” Itappears that Israel had made this same mistake at their first attack of Ai. In this case there can be no doubt, for we are plainly told that they did not consult the LORD. Had they done so, He would no doubt have told them the truth and they would have destroyed the Gibeonites. Even Joshua didn’t — v15 he made peace and a covenant with them.
v16 Three days later they heard that they had been deceived and that these people were near neighbours. (v17)
The Israelites grumbled because their leaders had made this allegiance with these people. They wanted to kill them but because of their oath before The LORD God they could not. One of the rare occasions when the Children of Israel wanted to obey God’s command that they should utterly wipe out their enemies but are prevented from doing so by their leaders who had been duped into a false allegiance. “The congregation murmured (grumbled) against the rulers” (v18) but no use moaning about their leaders as none of them had sought God on this matter. The leaders feel that they have to stand by their promise (oath by The LORD God of Israel) and may not touch the Gibeonites, but they make them servants – woodcutters and water carriers. (v21)
It still happens today – people moan about their leaders, whether it be country or in the church, but what about our actions, our prayers? We are all responsible, each one of us. As Christians we all have access to Almighty God, and we all have a duty to obey.
In church – don’t just blame elders or the pastor when things go wrong. Ask yourself, what have I done to make it right? No-one is perfect and we all make mistakes but PRAY for the right attitude and actions and OBEY. No one is a perfect parent, nor is anyone a perfect evangelist, teacher, or preacher. I’m sure that the elders of any church are fully committed to obeying our LORD. But having said that, we must also add that whatever they do they do not do it perfectly. When elders attempt to correct, they sometimes do not do it perfectly. When they exercise discipline, they may look back and wish they had gone about it differently.
If one looks long enough and carefully enough, they will discover flaws in every leader. Some make it easier for others to see their faults, but we all have them. We would do well not to idolize men, recognizing that they all have their weaknesses. We should respect and honour our leaders, but we should never look upon them in such a way that our faith is shaken if their faults become evident. I love the way the Bible portrays men honestly and realistically. Abraham was a liar (at times), Jacob a deceiver (all too often), Moses a murderer, David an adulterer and a murderer and Samson was a womanizer. Peter was inclined to put his foot in it. Men and women are human; only God is perfect.
Joshua speaks (v22) “Why have you deceived us?” “Now you are cursed and none of you shall be freed from being slaves.” Their explanation was like that of Rahab – “We were very afraid of you.” Isn’t it amazing that the enemies of God seem to know about what God says more often than God’s people? You remember Jesus’ enemies remembered that He said He would rise again so that they wanted His tomb sealed to prevent His disciples stealing His body and saying that He has risen? When His disciples apparently didn’t believe it; they had more or less given up. They ran away and then met in a locked room.
Here (v24) they knew that God had commanded the children of Israel to destroy all the inhabitants of the land into which they were going (Deuteronomy 7:2), perhaps they had some spies in the congregation at Ebal, when the law was read, who brought them word of the command given to Israel that they should ‘show no mercy to the Canaanites, which made them afraid of fighting them, and that they should make no covenant with them,’ which made them realise there was no point in a treaty with them; and therefore there was no way of saving their lives from the sword of Israel so the Gibeonites were afraid and devised this deception to try and save their lives.
They play it very cleverly and successfully. They come as ambassadors from a foreign country, which they thought would impress the people of Israel, and make them proud of the honour from distant countries.
We in our spiritual battle must, “…. stand against the wiles of the devil,” remembering he comes as a subtle serpent, an angel of light as well as a roaring lion.
People today often know what God’s Word says but devise their own plans to avoid the consequences. How often do we hear that we can be saved by good works, even from many pulpits?
In this case it appeared to work for a while, but it won’t in the end. It is very precarious and certainly cannot be a way of obtaining salvation, which is being set free from the shackles of sin, Satan and death, and this is only through the blood of Jesus Christ our sacrifice. These people were condemned to a life of slavery, they never became God’s children — they were always ‘foreigners’. Yes, they lived but they remained as slaves, they were never set free.
I have serious difficulties understanding why an oath made under these circumstances was binding. First, the oath was a violation of God’s law, and second it was made only because of false pretences and lies from the Gibeonites. Why should they be rewarded for their lie by granting them protection? Why should Israel be allowed to continue going against God’s law under such circumstances? I honestly cannot answer, yet clearly God did hold them to making the oath.
Some things to consider are:
1) Israel had failed to consult God before making the oath. Perhaps keeping the oath served as a punishment to them for their failure to consult God.
2) The Gibeonites did appear to have faith in God. They clearly believed God would empower Israel to defeat them. And they appear later to have served faithfully in the tabernacle and temple. God had said to kill the inhabitants so they would not lead Israel into idolatry. There is no evidence that the Gibeonites led Israel into idolatry. Perhaps their faith made them an exception to the rule that the people of the land should be slain, just as Rahab’s faith had made her an exception.
3) The oath Israel made was not just to the Gibeonites but also before God. Such an oath was bound, not just by the people but by God himself. This was the specific reason offered by the leaders of Israel why they had to keep the oath. Could it be that, had Israel simply made a promise to Gibeon but then found out that the Gibeonites had lied, Israel could have freed themselves from the oath to Gibeon? But having made the oath before God, and knowing God was faithful not deceitful, perhaps this is why they had to keep it.
Compare this with Deuteronomy 23:21-23 “When you make a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you.But if you abstain from vowing, it shall not be sin to you.That which has gone from your lips you shall keep and perform, for you voluntarily vowed to the LORD your God what you have promised with your mouth.” But, that he had also learned or even the priests and others had reminded him of Leviticus 5:4-6 “Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters. And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing;and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin.”
Note that there must be admission of guilt because it is a sin and v13 “….it shall be forgiven him.” What a beautiful word ‘forgiven’ – someone has said it is the most beautiful word in the English language. I suppose the same goes for any language!
It is evident that Joshua and the leaders were wrong to make a treaty with the Gibeonites but having done so they would be wrong to break it. They failed in not asking God first, but they did right in recognizing the seriousness of taking an oath in God’s name God does not take lightly His reputation and neither should we.
Lessons to consider:
1) Always be sure we consult God’s will before making any commitment. Be sure the commitment is in harmony with God’s will.
2) Do not lightly enter into any commitment, but especially commitments made to God.
3) Check out the commitment carefully to be sure what you are getting into before making it.
4) Attach conditions to any commitment such that, if it turns out that the information on which you have based the commitment is untrue, then you are free from the commitment.
These principles are especially important for commitments of major importance and long duration, such as marriage, etc.
5) The church must never substitute its own understanding, however attractive, for The Word of God.
We may look to God to enable us to live with a bad decision once we have acknowledged it, but we may not be able to undo what has been done. We may have to live with the consequences.
Sin sometimes leaves scars and whilst we can be forgiven of our sin, we cannot always get rid of the wounds.
In what situations may this principle apply today? Let me leave you with a few questions (for you to answer)
- If you or your church makes a decision you honestly believe to be wrong, what is your attitude to the situation?
- What should be the attitude of someone who believes they married outside the will of God and is now regretting it?
- What is the position of a Christian who has disobeyed God and sinned with irreversible consequences?
