If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join Him
The word was getting out that the Israelites were in the Promised Land and were conquering territory left and right. The people who inhabited the land were getting anxious, so some of them joined forces to fight against Joshua and his army.
But one group of people, the Gibeonites, were crafty. They decided to try and trick the Israelites into believing that they were not actually from the Promised Land and, therefore, would be no harm to them. They dressed up in old clothes, put on worn shoes, rode old donkeys, carried old moldy bread and dried up wineskins, and approached Joshua and his entourage. “We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us,” they said. “We are your servants.”
Joshua looked at the old clothes, shoes, bread, etc. and, without consulting God, erroneously concluded that they were telling the truth. He invited them to join the Israelites’ camp. A few days later Joshua found out that it was all lies, that the Gibeonites were actually inhabitants of the Promised Land and had tricked him into making a covenant to not destroy them. When confronted, the Gibeonites came clean and told Joshua that because they had heard that God had told Moses years earlier that He would give the Israelites the land, they knew they didn’t stand a chance. So they thought, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em”… So out of fear they devised the scheme and carried it out.
After hearing this, Joshua held to the covenant with the Gibeonites and did not destroy them. Instead, he appointed them as laborers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord.
The Fear of the Lord
What can we glean from this story? I’ve been struggling with this one because seemingly nothing important happened… I realize that not every story is going to have life-changing significance in our daily life, but I generally can find something to glean. Usually when you see deception or bad choices in the Bible, you’ll also see consequences; but there was no consequence for the two things we see here that were not so good.
Number one, the deception of the Gibeonites that led to a covenant… Nothing happened when they were found out… they weren’t destroyed, they weren’t kicked out of the camp, they were spared and allowed to live peaceably with the people. And number two, Joshua and his leadership didn’t consult God in their decision to make a covenant with the Gibeonites… Nothing happened, no consequence.
So I thought, Well, maybe the Gibeonites laid low for a while and came back to destroy the Israelites years later… but that didn’t happen. They actually continued to serve the congregation faithfully up until at least the days of Nehemiah. So what happened here? What principle can be applied to this story?
The Bible tells us in Psalm 111:10: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and in Proverbs 19:23: The fear of the LORD leads to life, and he who has it will abide in satisfaction; He will not be visited with evil. The Gibeonites feared the Lord. When they heard that God had promised the Israelites their land, they believed it and knew they didn’t have a chance against God. That fear caused them to act.
Though the action may have been bad (deception), the motivation behind that act was the fear of the Lord… God honored that motivation and gave them grace for the action. As a result of that grace the Gibeonites said, “And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us” (v. 25).
Many people come to Jesus out of fear of His righteous judgment. They know they’ve sinned and want to be spared from hell, so they come. But many will come improperly, thinking they can deceive God by putting a fake smile on their faces, dressing up their children in their “Sunday best,” and walking into church holding the hand of their spouse—even though they’ve been fighting all morning prior to getting out of the car in the parking lot. Though the driving force behind their action is appropriate (they fear the Lord’s judgment), they are coming as deceivers and therefore are in need of God’s grace.
One of the wonderful things about Jesus is that He will meet us right there where we are. Something additional needs to happen though… You see, coming to Christ out of fear is just the beginning of wisdom; it’s not the end. It’s the man or woman who, when confronted with hypocrisy and in the light of God’s grace, will fall to his or her knees and say, “Jesus, please do what You will with me.” It is that person who, like the Gibeonites, is given the opportunity to live a life of service, a life of satisfaction.
As for Joshua and his leaders not seeking God’s advice before making a covenant… again, isn’t it great that we serve a gracious God? I do this all the time. In chapter fourteen we saw that we must and can come to God with both the big and small issues we face in life… but we don’t always do that. As much as we want to try and seek God in all things, we still will make decisions without consulting Him. Praise the Lord, He gives us grace.
Facing Consequences
How can we tell when we will face consequences like the people of Israel did in Joshua chapter seven—and when we won’t face consequences like here in chapter nine? I wish I knew, but I don’t… all I can tell you is that it is always best to seek God before all of your decisions. But when you fail—and you will fail—learn from those failures and repent. When He gives you grace, praise Him for that grace… In the end, understand that His judgments are always fair and perfect and that He deserves your praise in everything.
I believe God positioned this story perfectly. The people of Israel were conquering the land; they were given success over Jericho and Ai, destroying fully populated cities. They also felt the sting of defeat in chapter seven. And in chapter ten we will pick up the fighting again where more of the inhabitants of the Promised Land will be destroyed. All around them was judgment… judgment for the people of Canaan (the Promised Land) whom God had given many years to repent and turn to Him, and judgment for sin within the camp… judgment, judgment, judgment… Then here in chapter nine we find a chapter of grace!
Understand this: God will righteously judge all those who don’t turn from their sin and turn to Him. But for those who do turn to Him and make Him the Lord of their lives, He will spare them from judgment! Also understand that the fear of the Lord is just the beginning of wisdom. It’s the beginning, the start, the commencement of wisdom not the conclusion of wisdom. Like the Gibeonites, when we come to God based on the belief that He is bigger than us and we must join Him—as opposed to Him joining us—He will show us grace.
But if that grace does not lead to repentance (it is the goodness of God that leads you to repentance; Romans 2:4), you will continue to be stuck at the beginning, never fully knowing your potential in the Lord. Recognize that you can’t fool the Lord. Stop trying and drop to your knees, giving up your will for His will… In that you will find true life!
Below is the full text of Joshua chapter nine:
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.
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.”
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.”
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.
And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Then the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim. But the children of Israel did not attack them, because the rulers of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation complained against the rulers.
Then all the rulers said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them. This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” And the rulers said to them, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers had promised them.”
Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell near us? Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
So they answered Joshua and said, “Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your 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 very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.” So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them. And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day.
