Joshua 9:1-27--The Gibeonite Deception

Joshua 9
English Standard Version

The Gibeonite Deception
9 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this, 2 they gathered together as one to fight against Joshua and Israel.

3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly. 6 And they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant country, so now make a covenant with us.” 7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from?” 9 They said to him, “From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth. 11 So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country said to us, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants. Come now, make a covenant with us.”’ 12 Here is our bread. It was still warm when we took it from our houses as our food for the journey on the day we set out to come to you, but now, behold, it is dry and crumbly. 13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, and behold, they have burst. And these garments and sandals of ours are worn out from the very long journey.” 14 So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD. 15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.

16 At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors and that they lived among them. 17 And the people of Israel set out and reached their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. 18 But the people of Israel did not attack them, because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Then all the congregation murmured against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we may not touch them. 20 This we will do to them: let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath that we swore to them.” 21 And the leaders said to them, “Let them live.” So they became cutters of wood and drawers of water for all the congregation, just as the leaders had said of them.

​22 Joshua summoned them, and he said to them, “Why did you deceive us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you dwell among us? 23 Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you shall never be anything but servants, cutters of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24 They answered Joshua, “Because it was told to your servants for a certainty that the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you—so we feared greatly for our lives because of you and did this thing. 25 And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” 26 So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them. 27 But Joshua made them that day cutters of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, in the place that he should choose.

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Part of the covenant that people just renewed in the previous section would be the LORD's command for them to be careful to not make any alliances with any of the inhabitants of this land.   The Gibeonites used trickery and deception though to get the Israelites to think that they were a people from far away that were just sojourning through the land, and they even gave "evidence" of worn out clothes, dried up bread, old wineskins, and worn-out and patched up sandals that they said were evidence that they had been on long journey.  They were careful to only give reports of news they had heard a long time ago and not to mention the most recent events that they should not have heard of (though it was these most recent events that inspired them to put on this show and try to make peace with the Israelites least they too be destroyed like Jericho and Ai).  The other Canaanites thought there would be strength in numbers and gathered together to make one large army to fight with Israel, but these Gibeonites knew that they were fighting against the LORD and no army of any size could win that battle, so they needed instead to find a way to negotiate peace, even if it was through means of trickery.

These Hivites claimed they heard of what happened in Egypt and what the LORD did for His people with the two kings east of the Jordan, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, but as mentioned before they were well aware of the most recent events too with Jericho, Ai, and Bethel.  Verse 14 tells us that the people did not take counsel with the LORD, and it is for that reason that verse 15 happened where Joshua and the elders of the Israelites entered into a peace agreement with these Hivites that were the inhabitants of the cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

They quickly learned their true identities on the third day after making a covenant with them and that they were locals, not foreigners.  In fact, their cities were nearby, just south of Ai and Bethel.  The people wanted to attack these cities as the LORD had commanded, but the elders told the people that they could not violate the covenant they had made with these people even though they entered into it because of deception, so the Gibeonites were made servants of the Israelite people that day and they cut wood and drew water for the people.  They would remain at peace with Israel and be allowed to live in the land though they were not Israelites, and God expected both the Gibeonites and the Israelites to uphold this covenant.  In fact, Saul's male heirs (with the exception of one son of Jonathan that David had sworn to protect) were turned over to the Gibeonites for vengeance when Saul attacked the Gibeonites and broke the covenant with them (that will be in 2 Samuel 21 when we get there).  We don't really hear of the Gibeonites outside of these two passages of Scripture, but it is clear that the people should have consulted with the LORD before entering into any kind of peace treaty, and that they were expected to keep their end of the covenant, even if it was entered into under false pretenses.

Don't miss the fact that these Gibeonites served a vital role.  Notice how it says they cut wood for the altar of the LORD.  Have you ever considered how much wood was needed to keep up with all the burnt offerings that were made on a daily basis?  Surely they had to keep a large stockpile of it, and this is one of the things that the Gibeonites became responsible for.  There also was a need for much water to be used for the priests to wash their hands, and the Gibeonites also were responsible for this.  So they performed vital roles in helping the people worship the LORD though they themselves were but foreigners seeking to make peace with the LORD and His people lest they be annihilated.  They correctly perceived that surrender was the only viable option and it is the only option today for those who see that the LORD is about to make war again with all His enemies.  Even if all the armies of the world gather against the LORD and His people (like they will do in the book of Revelation), it will not be enough for He will simply speak and His enemies will die.  Yet there are some who are wise enough to see the coming judgment and who will repent and surrender their lives to Him and like these Gibeonites say, "My life is in your hands.  Do with it as you will."