Joshua · chapter 9 of 24
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Joshua 9 tells that, while several kings of Canaan band together against Israel, the people of Gibeon pretend to come from a distant country with dry bread, torn wineskins and worn clothes. Israel's leaders make a treaty with them without asking the Lord. Three days later they discover the deception, but they honor the oath, and the Gibeonites become woodcutters and water carriers for the altar.
After Jericho and Ai, the kings of Canaan gather to fight Israel, but the people of Gibeon choose another way: deception. Joshua 9 is a story about the danger of deciding by appearances and about the weight of an oath made in the Lord's name. It also shows how God turns even a mistake of his people into part of his plan.
When the kings west of the Jordan hear what happened at Jericho and Ai, they gather to fight Joshua and Israel. But the people of Gibeon, hearing the same news, resort to cunning. They pose as messengers from a far country: they load their donkeys with worn sacks and torn, patched wineskins, put on worn sandals and old clothes, and take dry, moldy bread. They come to the camp at Gilgal and ask the men of Israel to make a treaty with them.
The Israelites suspect they might live nearby. The Gibeonites declare themselves servants of Israel and say they have come from a very distant land because of the fame of the Lord and what he did in Egypt and to the Amorite kings across the Jordan. They show the dry bread and the wineskins, and the men of Israel take some of their provisions but do not ask the Lord. Joshua makes peace with them and lets them live, and the leaders of the congregation swear an oath to them.
Three days later they learn that these are neighbors who live nearby, with cities such as Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. The Israelites reach those cities but do not attack them, because of the oath made in the name of the Lord, though the congregation grumbles against the leaders. The leaders insist they cannot touch them and decide that they will be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation. Joshua calls the Gibeonites and rebukes them for the deception. They answer that they knew the Lord had commanded Moses to give Israel the land, and they greatly feared for their lives. Joshua rescues them from death and assigns them to be woodcutters and water carriers for the altar of the Lord at the place he would choose.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The people of Gibeon act with cunning and pose as ambassadors, with worn sacks and patched wineskins. They fear for their lives and seek to survive by a deception, but in their own way they seek the protection of the God of Israel.
The men of Israel take some of the Gibeonites' provisions and do not ask the Lord. The sin is not in making peace but in deciding by what can be seen without asking God.
The leaders answer that they have sworn by the Lord, the God of Israel, and so they cannot touch the Gibeonites. An oath made in God's name is taken seriously, even when it came from a deception.
Joshua makes the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the altar of the Lord. Those who sought to deceive end up serving in the place of worship.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: They carried worn sacks, torn and patched wineskins, worn sandals, old clothes and dry, moldy bread. — Joshua 9:4-5
Answer: At Gilgal. — Joshua 9:6
Answer: They took some of the Gibeonites' provisions and did not ask the Lord. — Joshua 9:14
Answer: Three days. — Joshua 9:16
Answer: Because the leaders had sworn by the Lord, the God of Israel. — Joshua 9:18-19
Answer: Woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord. — Joshua 9:21, 27
Joshua 9 warns against deciding only by what seems convincing. The Israelites saw hard bread and torn wineskins and did not ask the most important question of the Lord. Sometimes we make decisions about work, relationships or ministry based on good appearances and haste. In a small group you can talk about concrete habits for consulting God before deciding: praying, waiting, seeking counsel from mature people.
The chapter also shows the importance of keeping one's word. Israel's leaders kept their oath even though it was obtained by deception. And it offers a note of hope: God used this mistake to give the Gibeonites a place beside the altar, so that even our stumbles can be received by his grace, without excusing us from seeking his guidance.
Joshua 9 ends with the Gibeonites serving at the Lord's altar. But Gibeon has made peace with Israel, and the kings of Canaan know it. In Joshua 10, five Amorite kings will attack Gibeon, and Joshua will have to keep his commitment to defend his new allies.
Because it had been sworn in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. Although it was obtained by deception, the leaders judged that breaking it would bring wrath on the people. Later, another book of the Bible recalls that breaking an oath to Gibeon brought consequences, showing how serious God's name is.
The text gives no direct explanation. There is a warning: the men did not ask the Lord. At the same time, the account shows the Gibeonites confessing fear of the God of Israel and finding a place in his service, which anticipates that people from other nations can draw near to Israel's God.