Joshua 9:15-27. Yesterday we saw the Israelites getting ahead of themselves by making a treaty without talking to God first.  The treaty was made according to rules that God had established for cities out side of the promised land.  The problem is the people they made the treaty with lived inside the promised land and had tricked the Israelites into believing that they were from far away.  And the Israelites made the treaty without talking to God about it first.  In the book of Numbers God gave instructions to Moses not long before he died. The instructions included putting Joshua in charge.  In Numbers 27:20-21 though we learn that Joshua was to consult God before acting (In that case through Eleazar the priest.)

Even though the treaty was made based on the lies of the Gibeonites the Israelites were still bound by it.  Once the people found out that the Gibeonites lived in their own territory they wanted to break the treaty and kill them.  Repeatedly we are told that they would not or should not break the treaty because they had “sworn by the LORD”.  In 2 Samuel 21:1 there was a famine for three years because the first king of Israel broke this treaty and tried to kill the Giboenites (and that was 400 years in the future).  God took their oath seriously.

So Joshua was in a tough spot.  He had a solemn treaty with the Giboenites on the one hand and a bunch of hopping mad Israelites on the other.  So he did what we all do sometimes, he felt sorry for himself and asked why the Giboenites put him in that position.  Remember the Gibeonites had already answered this question, partially at least.  When they first approached Joshua and the “men of Israel” (A reference at least to the armed men) they said that they wanted to make a treaty because they had heard what had happened across the Jordan River (where they were pretending to be from) when the Israelites had defeated two kings, Sihon and Og (See Numbers 21:21-35 for part of this story.  Also remember that this is the same information that caused Rahab to have respect for the Israelites and the LORD Joshua 2:10-11).  Of course at the beginning of this story we were told that it was also because they had seen what had happened at Jericho and Ai.  You have to wonder when Joshua asked this question if the Gibeonites thought, “Really!  Duh!  Do you remember the pile of rubble at Jericho?  Have you seen the piles of bodies at Ai?”  “Why did we trick you into a treaty?”  Unlike the six kings mentioned at the beginning of the story these guys had no hope of beating the Israelites in a battle.  The Israelites were kick butt take no prisoners invaders.  In the words of the main character of one of my favorite movies, “I want to Live Clarence!  I want to live!”  (George Baily in “It’s a Wonderful Life”).  The Gibeonites wanted to live.

I don’t why they thought that the Israelites would make a treaty.  I don’t know why they thought they would not break a treaty made based on a lie.  Maybe they had heard of Rahab.  But they tried and it worked.  The consequences were kind of harsh though.  As part of his last speeches to the Israelites Moses uses language that is similar to the language used by the Giboenites.  The Israelites had seen all that God had done for them yet they still did not “see”.  So God spoke to them and told them to remember and be faithful.  And he spoke to all of them; “chiefs, tribes, elders, officers, men, women, little ones, and aliens among you, the ones who chop wood and draw water” (Deuteronomy 29:1-12).  Joshua probably had this in mind when he laid out the terms of the treaty.  The Gibeonites had approached Joshua as his ‘servants” (Joshua 9:8) and servant they would be.  In fact they would be wood choppers and water carriers for the whole nation and for the priests and Levites forever in Israel, wherever they were told to go, but at least they would live.  They would also be protected, as we will see in the next section of the book.  It is interesting that 1000 years later when the Israelites come back from captivity in Babylon (Check out “The Old Testament Connection”) that Gibeonites are listed as part of the people who return (Nehemiah 3:7; 7:25).

There is so much in this little part of the story.  The importance taht God puts on the things that we say.  He wants us to have integrity.  The fact that God backs up what we say (remember the famine?).  The fact that God’s reputation is wrapped up in our lives.  And the fact that we can see so man miracles and not really see (Remember Deuteronomy 29:1-4).  The Gibeonites wanted to live.  They knew a little about God and saw that He was powerful, very powerful.  They came in fear and submitted their descendants to centuries of slavery.  But somewhere along the line that little bit of sight grew.  1000 years later they were still with the Israelites.  Taken captive with them to Babylon.  And returned with them from Babylon.  They were right there working on the walls of Jerusalem while the political leaders of the region ridiculed them.  It seems that they would have had plenty of opportunity to leave if they had wanted to.  It also seems that by the time of Nehemiah that they had become a regular part of the Israelite society.  Like the case of Rahab it seems that the God they had heard of they now listened to.  God had become their God.  In the end that was the goal of Israel’s existence, to show God to the world and have the world come to Him.  All of the killing was just to keep the influence of the world out of the lives of the Israelites because seeing they did not see and hearing they did not hear.  We need to open our eyes too.  We need to listen too.  Hopefully our closed minds will not lea to the destruction of others.  The blessings and curses which the Israelites remembered in the ceremony at Mount Ebal were part of them being an example to the world, “so all the people of the earth would see” (Deuteronomy 28:10).  Lord help me see and remember.  Help me show the world around me how great you are.  Help me be obedient.  I know the world will see one way or the other, but I want to be on the side of blessing.  And God thank you for being so patient and giving.  I know that most of respond to you in fear.  We don’t want to be destroyed.  But then we feel your love and protection and grow to love you.  Help me love you for 1000 years and more.  Thank you for letting this alien into your kingdom.

Joshua 9:1-14. Yesterday we ended with the Israelites getting serious about their relationship with God.  They renewed the contract or promise between them and God through a ceremony that Moses had instructed them to do (Deuteronomy 27-28).  It included writing the whole Law of Moses on two large stones and then reading it.  Joshua 8:35 ends by telling us that “there was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel.  Including the women, children, and strangers who were living with them.”

The writing on the stones would have included Deuteronomy 7:1-2 that instructed them to completely destroy the inhabitants of the land they were taking over (See also verses 3-5 of that chapter for part of an explanation).  It would have also included Deuteronomy 20.  That chapter repeated the instructions to completely destroy the people of the cities in the land but also gave rules for cities outside of the promised land.  In those cases peace and forces service were to be offered (Deuteronomy 20:10-11).  Another interesting part of Deuteronomy 20 was exemption from war for certain people.  The exemptions included, a man who had just finished a house but had not “dedicated” it to God yet (20:5), a man who had planted a vineyard but had not yet eaten any fruit from it (20:6), and a man who was engaged and not yet married (20:7).  This last part is particularly interesting because the ceremony they were holding based on Deuteronomy 27-28 included reminding the Israelites of blessings and curses that would happen to them depending on whether or not they obeyed the words on the stones.  Three of the consequences or curses for disobedience were another man taking the girl you were engaged to away from you, building a house and another man living in it (we are not talking about rent here), and planting a vineyard and another man eating all your grapes.  All of the people would have known all these rules and consequences.

Today reading sets up the story with the kings of six people groups in the land joining together to fight the Israelites.  These six are six of the specific seven named in Deuteronomy 7:1, and the exact six listed in Deuteronomy 20:17, that the Israelites were to completely destroy.  In Joshua 9:1 the kings heard about the battle of Ai and they made this alliance.  This is the same language used in Joshua 5:1 when the same kings heard about the water of the Jordan being dried up.  In that story they were very discouraged.  But now, after hearing about how the Israelites had lost the first battle with Ai, they were encouraged to fight.  Achan’s disobedience to God had far a bigger impact than he could have imagined.  Keep that in mind for the next part of the story.

In the next part of the story the people of Gibeon trick the Israelites into making a treaty with them.  This treaty appears to be based on the rules for offering peace to cities outside of the land in Deuteronomy 20.  The problem is that Gibeon was a town about 5 miles north-west of Jerusalem (Which was called Jebus, home of the Jebusites, in those days) smack dab in the middle of the land promised to Israel.  The Giboenites were probably Hivites.  Gibeon was about 15 miles west of Gilgal where the treaty was made (Some scholars think this is a different Gilgal from the one mentioned in chapters 4 and 5.  Deuteronomy 11:29-30 mentions one closer to the two mountains were the dedication ceremony happened. It doesn’t really matter but I think it’s probably the Gilgal by Jericho).

Although the treaty was made in good faith and according the rules God had given there was a problem.  Joshua 9:13 tells us that the treaty was made without talking to God first.  It takes more than rules to stay on track in our relationship with God we need to stay I touch with him each day.  Ultimately wht God is doing is about a relationship with Him not about a religion.  It’s more about heart than hands.  Of course what we do matters but we cannot just follow a bunch of rules we need to communicate with God.  Lord help me be faithful to our relationship.  Help me remember to talk to you often, every day, and especially when I have decisions to make.  Guide me so that I do not make harmful promises.  And help me remember that the things I do send messages to the world about you.  Help me honor you with all that I say and do.