Jos. 9: The Gibeonite Rope-a-Dope

Joshua 9:11 "And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." '"

Well, the HACPHAJ was well aware of what God did (v. 9) through Joshua and the Israelite army, so they figured an alliance was the best way to confront this terror that was now upon their land. But one country figured there was no overcoming an almighty God, so the last resort is to trick his followers into allowing them to be near them, and live in (essential) harmony with them. So the Gibeonites saddled up their donkeys, loaded up their crusty moldy bread, their dried-out wineskins, and their grubby sandals to make it look like they traveled a long distance to come and hang around Israel and live peaceably near them. Deception.

They showed up, and the Israelites inspected all their Goodwill-esque junk and figured they were on the up and up. The Bible says they did not inquire of God about all this...usually a bad omen when this neglect is mentioned specifically. The Israelites even asked them, "What if you actually live nearby?" They knew they were not to make treaties with the HACPHAJ specifically.

They're like, "Psshh, check out our sandals."

Joshua's like, "Whatever, they're probably cool." He makes an oath with them, and the elders ratified it. It only took three days for the normal everyday Israelites to find out that these people actually lived in the neighboring towns. So they took up arms, since God commanded them to wipe these people out. But then they find out about the oath. Israel had about as much faith in their government as most US citizens do today at that point. The people in this case were ready to follow God's commands (when it comes to war and the prospect of more land...hmmm), but Joshua had to uphold this treaty and oath.

I want to say a little more about oaths...why couldn't Joshua just say, "Up yours, Gibeon, you lied to me anyway. The oath is off." Because oaths were serious business, Leviticus says so (5:4, 27:2). God would hold Joshua to this oath, whether it was made in the most honest of circumstances or not.

But he does something here that I never would have thought to do. He asks them why they made this deception. I would have just gotten mad and cursed them to being the wood cutters and water carriers, no questions asked. The Gibeonites knew about the promised Moses made to God, which I never thought about. This was their only hope of survival, even if it was under a curse. Can you imagine?

So there is another lesson learned for Joshua...ask God. Realize that these other nations are more aware then he thought about the covenant made with God and Israel, as well as them being able to blow through their enemies like a hot knife through butta.