The Book of Joshua – The Gibeonite Deception
The Gibeonite Deception is a story with several conflicting elements. The legend of the Israelites spreads, and most of the Canaanite people band together to wage war before things get worse. They are aware that the Israelites can be beaten, so they harden and take a frontal approach, but the Gibeonites take a different approach.
Up to this point in the Bible, the Gibeonites were a group of Canaanites with whom we had not previously heard, but they belonged to the same group of people. However, their response to the threat was different.
The Gibeonite Deception
Joshua 9
1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 They came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?” 8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt,
The Israelites had become accustomed to God’s mighty work, as well as to most people not repenting. Then along come people who say all the right things, and because it sounds so good, they believe them because they want to.
There are always people who are going to say all the things you want to hear.
Whether it’s personally, relationally, or politically – some people are going to pump your tires. We hear and believe them so easily because we want to hear those things, we want them to be true, we want them to happen.
So, ask yourself, what are the things you want to hear? They always appeal to our hopes and dreams or speak to our insecurities. We don’t hold the past against people, and God can forgive the past, but when it comes to the present, the past is the best indicator of what will happen in the future.
The Canaanites are banding together to wage war, and like them, we think our greatest problem is going to be the frontal assault on our lives or faith, but it usually isn’t because we see that one coming. However, this isn’t always malicious. The Gibeonites were trying to survive by any means possible.
Sometimes the people and things we encounter aren’t malicious, they’re just trying to survive.
But it’s still not God’s best for them or us.
The Israelite Response
God forbade the Israelites from making peace or treaties with any of the Canaanites. What things are you supposed to not make peace with that you’ve been accommodating?
We need to exercise extra caution and discernment regarding those things, seek good counsel from others, and inquire of the Lord about them.
So, what do the Israelites do?
Joshua 9
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.
They trusted their senses, perception, and feelings first, rather than the Lord. But what we feel or even what we see may not be the whole picture. We should not ignore our feelings, perceptions, or experiences; however, we also need to cultivate a healthy sense of skepticism and reflection. Bringing these things before the Lord is one of our best acts of worship.
Just because we feel or hear something powerfully doesn’t mean it’s God speaking. Very often, we decide based on our feelings and perceptions, and then rationalize those decisions by invoking God to serve our agenda, rather than doing the opposite.
How do we know?
The Word of the Lord – Not some voice we think we hear, but submitting to His written, revealed Word. The power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The community of faith. God’s words will always align with what has already been said in the Bible.
If you are grounded in what God has already said, and you anchor there, you’ll be able to hear Him clearly when everything else seems loud.
You ground yourself by preparing and taking things slowly. When you feel something strongly and it appeals to something within you or triggers something in you, you’re tempted to move fast.
Joshua 9
15 then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. 16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
God’s Redemption
Joshua 9
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
Many of us are familiar with the phrase, “two wrongs don’t make a right.” Committing another sin to compensate for the first is this. Instead, the Israelites decide to honor the oath they’ve sworn before the Lord.
It would’ve been very tempting to justify killing them because they were Canaanites, and the Israelites were doing that to all the other Canaanites. It would have been tempting to judge them because they were deceptive.
The first king of Israel, Saul, attempts to purge the Gibeonites, driven by misguided zeal for Israel (2 Samuel 21), but God brings judgment on the land through a famine. And because of this, God not only redeems the action of the Israelites, He redeems the Gibeonites as well.
Joshua 9
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
The Gibeonites fully submitted themselves to Israel and God. This is an example of how God redeems someone who comes in repentance (Rahab), and now the Gibeonites.
They were content to serve however God saw fit – no complaining, no hesitation – because they were thankful for redemption. They were sinners, yet they received the grace of God, humble yet honored.
God keeps His promise, and the Israelites do too. So, what was the result?
What is your redemption calling you to? Obedience? Faithfulness? Discernment? Maybe it’s receiving that redemption – forgiveness.
Look at what God can do with sinners who come with humility and honor, seeking mercy. And it’s a story of what God can do with all of us.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons and listen to our podcast, LHC Unplugged!
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
Up to this point in the Bible, the Gibeonites were a group of Canaanites with whom we had not previously heard, but they belonged to the same group of people. However, their response to the threat was different.
The Gibeonite Deception
Joshua 9
1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 They came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?” 8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt,
The Israelites had become accustomed to God’s mighty work, as well as to most people not repenting. Then along come people who say all the right things, and because it sounds so good, they believe them because they want to.
There are always people who are going to say all the things you want to hear.
Whether it’s personally, relationally, or politically – some people are going to pump your tires. We hear and believe them so easily because we want to hear those things, we want them to be true, we want them to happen.
So, ask yourself, what are the things you want to hear? They always appeal to our hopes and dreams or speak to our insecurities. We don’t hold the past against people, and God can forgive the past, but when it comes to the present, the past is the best indicator of what will happen in the future.
The Canaanites are banding together to wage war, and like them, we think our greatest problem is going to be the frontal assault on our lives or faith, but it usually isn’t because we see that one coming. However, this isn’t always malicious. The Gibeonites were trying to survive by any means possible.
Sometimes the people and things we encounter aren’t malicious, they’re just trying to survive.
But it’s still not God’s best for them or us.
The Israelite Response
God forbade the Israelites from making peace or treaties with any of the Canaanites. What things are you supposed to not make peace with that you’ve been accommodating?
We need to exercise extra caution and discernment regarding those things, seek good counsel from others, and inquire of the Lord about them.
So, what do the Israelites do?
Joshua 9
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.
They trusted their senses, perception, and feelings first, rather than the Lord. But what we feel or even what we see may not be the whole picture. We should not ignore our feelings, perceptions, or experiences; however, we also need to cultivate a healthy sense of skepticism and reflection. Bringing these things before the Lord is one of our best acts of worship.
Just because we feel or hear something powerfully doesn’t mean it’s God speaking. Very often, we decide based on our feelings and perceptions, and then rationalize those decisions by invoking God to serve our agenda, rather than doing the opposite.
How do we know?
The Word of the Lord – Not some voice we think we hear, but submitting to His written, revealed Word. The power and presence of the Holy Spirit in your life. The community of faith. God’s words will always align with what has already been said in the Bible.
If you are grounded in what God has already said, and you anchor there, you’ll be able to hear Him clearly when everything else seems loud.
You ground yourself by preparing and taking things slowly. When you feel something strongly and it appeals to something within you or triggers something in you, you’re tempted to move fast.
Joshua 9
15 then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. 16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
God’s Redemption
Joshua 9
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
Many of us are familiar with the phrase, “two wrongs don’t make a right.” Committing another sin to compensate for the first is this. Instead, the Israelites decide to honor the oath they’ve sworn before the Lord.
It would’ve been very tempting to justify killing them because they were Canaanites, and the Israelites were doing that to all the other Canaanites. It would have been tempting to judge them because they were deceptive.
The first king of Israel, Saul, attempts to purge the Gibeonites, driven by misguided zeal for Israel (2 Samuel 21), but God brings judgment on the land through a famine. And because of this, God not only redeems the action of the Israelites, He redeems the Gibeonites as well.
Joshua 9
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
The Gibeonites fully submitted themselves to Israel and God. This is an example of how God redeems someone who comes in repentance (Rahab), and now the Gibeonites.
They were content to serve however God saw fit – no complaining, no hesitation – because they were thankful for redemption. They were sinners, yet they received the grace of God, humble yet honored.
God keeps His promise, and the Israelites do too. So, what was the result?
- The city of Gibeon becomes one of the holy cities of God. The ark of the covenant frequently stays there.
- The Gibeonites are mentioned as one of the groups rebuilding the wall in the Book of Nehemiah.
- Prophets come out of Gibeon.
- Like Rahab and all of us, they are entirely woven into the fabric of God’s redemption story.
What is your redemption calling you to? Obedience? Faithfulness? Discernment? Maybe it’s receiving that redemption – forgiveness.
Look at what God can do with sinners who come with humility and honor, seeking mercy. And it’s a story of what God can do with all of us.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons and listen to our podcast, LHC Unplugged!
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
April
May
June
2024
May
June
July
August
September