Continuing a chronological Bible study:
(Joshua 9:1) And it came to pass when all the kings on this side of the Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea toward Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard, (2) That they gathered themselves together to fight with Joshua and with Israel with one accord.
In the last chapter and post, Israel had completely destroyed Ai and its king. When the kings on the side of the Jordan River that the Israelites were now on, the Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite kings, in the hills and valleys and coasts toward Lebanon, heard how they had destroyed Jericho and Ai, they gathered together and agreed to unite against Israel.
(3) And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, (4) They worked craftily and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and wine bottles old and torn and bound up, (5) And old shoes and patched on their feet, and old garments on them, and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.
Gibeon was a large royal metropolitan city of the Hivites. When its inhabitants heard about what Joshua had done in Jericho and Ai, it seems they took matters into their own hands and schemed. They acted as if they were ambassadors from some faraway country. They wore old worn out and patched clothing and shoes and took upon their donkeys old sacks, old torn and tied up wineskins, and moldy bread, to make it look as if they had traveled a long way.
(6) 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 league with us."
They went to Joshua and the men of Israel to their camp at Gilgal and indeed told them they were from a faraway country, and they desired a league with Israel.
(7) And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you dwell among us, so how shall we make a league with you?"
The men of Israel replied to the Gibeonites who were indeed part of the Hivites, although they did not know that for certain, that it might be that they dwelled among them so they could not possibly be in league with them, as they had come to destroy them. Additionally, they were forbidden to make any covenant or show any mercy to the countries they had come to destroy (Deuteronomy 7:2).
(8) And they said to Joshua, "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you, and where do you come from?"
The Gibeonites declared themselves servants to Joshua, meaning in this agreement they would do whatever he wanted to make an alliance with him. It seems Joshua was suspicious and demanded to know just who they were and where they came from.
(9) And 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 the fame of Him and all that He did in Egypt, (10) And all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan at Ashtaroth."
They did not tell Joshua what country they had come from but only said it was a very far country. They said they had come because of the name of the Israelite God, and they had heard about what He had done in Egypt and to Sihon and Og, the Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan River. They didn't mention Jericho and Ai, but perhaps because they had supposedly come from so far away, they would not have heard about those yet. That was probably part of their scheme to make them less suspicious to Joshua. They made it sound as if they were awed by their Lord's great and glorious works and perhaps would embrace the Israelite religion. I can't help but wonder why on earth they wouldn't truly want to after hearing of all those miraculous works, they and all the Canaanite nations!
(11) "Therefore the elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take victuals with you for the journey and go to meet them, and say to them, "We are your servants; now therefore, make a league with us."'"
The Gibeonites told Joshua that the elders and inhabitants of their country asked them to take provisions and make the long journey to the Israelites to meet them, perhaps the implication was before the Israelites had a chance to come hostilely into their country. They were instructed to come to them and declare they were ready to make an agreement with them. As their servants, they meant they were ready to do whatever was asked of the Israelites in order to make an alliance with them.
(12) "This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go to you, but now, behold, it is dry and it is moldy."
The Gibeonites began to lay it on a bit thicker, saying that they had taken hot bread for provision when they departed on their journey, and now the bread was dry and moldy. It seems to me a little suspicious that they would feel the need to show Joshua their bread to prove they had come a long way, so he would believe their story must be true. A more natural and logical way may have been to merely ask for food as theirs had supposedly become dry and moldy. But I suppose it's easy to Monday morning quarterback, and it appears their method worked for them.
(13) "And these bottles of wine which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and our garments and our shoes have become old because of the very long journey."
The Gibeonites continued trying to prove they had come a long way by telling Joshua their wineskins had been new, but were now torn, and their clothes and shoes had worn out.
(14) And the men took of their victuals and did not ask counsel at the mouth of the Lord.
The men of Israel took the Gibeonites' provisions from them as they were showing them to them, and it seems they believed them. However, they did not think to seek counsel from their Lord. It looks to be another lesson so soon in their new land that they needed to seek to follow the Lord in all things.
(15) And Joshua made peace with them and made a league with them, to let them live, and the princes of the congregation swore to them.
Joshua himself did not seek counsel from the Lord, but made peace with the Gibeonites and made an agreement with them that they be allowed to live in peace. The princes of Israel made an oath that they would keep the covenant they made with them.
(16) And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors and that they dwelt among them.
Three days later, the Israelites discovered that the Gibeonites were their neighbors and dwelt among them in their promised land.
(17) And the children of Israel journeyed and came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim.
On the third day after making league with the Gibeonites and now having discovered they were their neighbors, the Israelites went to their cities. Gibeon was the metropolis with Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kirjath Jearim, being suburbs of it.
(18) And the children of Israel did not attack them because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.
Israel did not attack Gibeon and its suburbs because the Israelite princes had sworn to them by their Lord God that they would let them live. However, the congregation murmured against the princes, possibly fearing the wrath of the Lord because they did not completely destroy them as they were commanded to do to all the inhabitants of their promised land, or perhaps because they had a more selfish reason in that they would not be able to plunder their cities and inhabit them.
(19) But all the princes said to all the congregation, "We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them."
The princes told the murmuring congregation that they had sworn to the Gibeonites by their Lord God of Israel, so they would not break their oath and they would not touch them. Interestingly, even though the Israelites had not sought God's counsel, God approved of their upholding their covenant with the Gibeonites, as evidenced much later when God avenged the wrong Saul did to the Gibeonites in violation of their covenant (2 Samuel 21:1). It is a merciful loving God who blesses us even though we do not always follow exactly in His ways. His ways are perfect, and if we always sought His counsel, our ways would be perfect as God desires the best for us. But even when we mess up, He can make things work to the good if we love God and are called according to His purposes (Romans 8:28). A perfect example is when God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, but Sarah grew impatient and decided to help God by giving Abraham her maidservant to birth a son, Ishmael, and it all caused troubles in the lives of all concerned. God still blessed Abraham with his son Isaac, but things would have been much better and smoother had Sarah trusted in God's promise and had patience to wait on God's timing.
No doubt, things would have been better for Joshua had he asked God's counsel before making a covenant with the Gibeonites, but He honored Israel's oath. Who knows? God might have spared the Gibeonites anyway because they had come to Israel to make peace, but you can be sure His covenant would have been perfect and better for the Israelites than the one they struck without Him.
(20) "This we will do to them, we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them."
The princes went on to tell the congregation of Israel that they would let the Gibeonites live because they would not bring the wrath of God upon them because they had sworn by His name.
(21) And the princes said to them, "Let them live, but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water to all the congregation, as the princes had promised them."
The princes continued telling the congregation to let the Gibeonites live as the princes had promised them. However, they would be made to be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire congregation, which were thought of as low and demeaning types of work.
(22) And 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 among us?"
Joshua called for the Gibeonites and asked them why they had lied to the Israelites, telling them they had come from afar when they were actually their neighbors living among them.
(23) "Now therefore, you are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God."
Although Israel would still honor their oath with the Gibeonites even though they had lied to them, Joshua declared they would all be servants, woodcutters and water carriers, specifically for the house of the Lord, which was for all the congregation (v. 21). They became the servants of the Levites who were servants to the priests. That actually became a fulfillment of a curse pronounced by Noah in Genesis 9:25, "Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants he shall be to his brethren."
(24) And they answered Joshua and said, "Because it was certainly told your servants how 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 of our lives because of you and have done this thing."
The Gibeonites answered Joshua's question about why they had lied. They had heard that their Lord God had commanded Moses to give the Israelites all the land of Canaan and that they were to destroy all the land's inhabitants. They were very much afraid for their lives, so they deceived the Israelites the way they did to save their own lives.
(25) "And now, behold, we are in your hand; as it seems good and right to you to do to us, do."
The Gibeonites, realizing they were at Joshua's mercy because they had lied to him, told him they would do whatever he deemed good and right, in order to continue to live among them.
(26) And so he did to them and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel that they did not kill them.
Joshua did as he said and made the Gibeonites servants to them, but he allowed them to live among them. In doing so, he had delivered them out of the hand of the Israelites who would have killed them if they had their way.
(27) And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord, even to this day, in the place which He should choose.
That very day Joshua made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water bearers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord. Perhaps since the Lord had not yet chosen the place for His tabernacle, the Gibeonites actually did serve all the congregation, or maybe the meaning was that by serving the Levites who served the priests, they were doing their part for the entire congregation as their labor served the Lord's altar. However they served in the beginning, they did come to serve the Levites when the tabernacle was placed in the place of the Lord's choosing.
Had the Israelites consulted God first before making an oath with the Gibeonites, things would have worked out better for them. Additionally, things would have worked out better for the Gibeonites if they had been honest in the beginning. If they had come truthfully and sincerely to Joshua seeking peace and renouncing their idolatry, they could have lived among the Israelites in freedom and in peace. However, in this way, they barely escaped with their lives and were doomed to live as servants in menial labor. God's way is always perfect. If only we always sought His counsel and obeyed all His commandments, our lives could be perfect as He desires for us.
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