Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things -- those in the hill country, in the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) -- they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.
Then, ya gotta park that little bit of info until we get to chapter 10. Because there was one group of folks who came up with a plan that did not involve fighting.
When the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse...
Two cities...three, if you count Bethel... had been virtually wiped out. The Gibeonites recognized that there was no way they could stand against the Israelites militarily. So, they came up with an idea to trick them into making a treaty with them and sparing their lives.
It was a pretty sharp trick, too.
They loaded worn-out sacks; old, cracked, mended wineskins on tired-looking donkeys. The men who were to go put on old clothes and worn and patched sandals. They pulled out stale food and moldy bread and packed it in the old sacks.
In short, they gave themselves the appearance of a delegation that had been traveling for a while. From a good distance away.
Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, 'We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.' (9:6)
Some of the folks were skeptical. 'Perhaps you live near us. How could we make a treaty with you?'
(v.7)
'We are your servants' they replied in verse 8, perhaps speaking prophetically, perhaps just stating what they were willing to do to survive. Or maybe they were just responding with the standard diplomatic non-answer.
So, Joshua asks them directly, 'Who are you and where do you come from?'
Well, firstly, they do not answer Joshua's question. Nowhere in their response do they name a country or an ethnic group. Not even a bogus one.
That ought to have been a tip off that something was amiss.
Instead, they launch into a rehearsed speech that does have one bit of truth.
'...we have heard reports of [the Lord your God]: all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan -- Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.' (v. 9b - 10)
That much, at least, was true. It was also true that those reports prompted the elders and those living in 'their country' to send the delegation to make a treaty. But the rest was deliberate deception.
'Your servants have come from a very distant country....this bread was warm...theses wineskins were new...our clothes and sandals have been worn out by our very long journey.' (excerpted from vs. 9-13)
Well, the red flag of ...no country named, no kinfolk claimed...went right by the men of Israel as they inspected the dried up provisions, moldy bread, and worn gear. Sure looked like they had come a long way.
Verse 14 reports that they did not inquire of the LORD.
You'd think that, after the fiasco at Ai, they would have learned. But once again they went with what looked reasonable to them and
Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
Well, guess what. Three days later, the Israelites heard that the folks that they made the treaty with, the Gibeonites, were right handy to them. Neighbors. They'd been played.
So the army moved, and three days later they arrived at the cities of the Gibeonites. But they didn't attack them, because they'd sworn a treaty, under God's name, if without His counsel. They coudn't break their word.
The people were disgruntled and complained against their leaders, for the rather stupid thing they'd done. Now, here's a novelty...not one of the leaders is recorded as passing the blame for their error. They OWNED it. And they admitted that they could not break their treaty. But, they came up with a plan. The Gibeonites had repeatedly referred to themselves as the servants of the Israelites; the leaders decided to let them fulfill those statements.
"Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." (v. 21)
Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and confronted them with their deception...and pronounced on them the penalty.
"You are now under a curse: you will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of my God." (v.9).
The Gibeonites basically said, 'We know what the Lord your God had commanded and we didn't want to die.' They agreed to meet Joshua's terms.
'We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.' (v. 25)
So, from that time on, the Gibeonites were servants for the Israelites. I'm not sure how that arrangement worked; we don't have any details. That treaty would cause Israel more trouble in the years to come...but the Gibeonites, because they feared the God of Israel, survived.
Israel was deceived into making a treaty because they didn't inquire of God. I wonder...the Gibeonites feared God and did what they did to avoid His sentence. Do you suppose God would have instructed the Israelites to do exactly what they did: let them live but make them servants? Because the Gibeonites feared God? Then their survival would be clearly the mercy of God and not the treaty made under false pretenses.
Also...the Israelites honored the treaty, even though it was made under false pretenses. They didn't try to rationalize their error away, they didn't do ANY blame-shifting...they stood by their word, even when it went against their best interests. And they would honor that word in the future as well. Kinda implies keeping your word is an important character quality...
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