Joshua now enters into war with all the nations within Canaan. But as he finds out, not all deception has a wicked purpose. The Gibeonites in our reading used it to seek a noble pursuit.
Joshua 9: The Gibeonite Deception
1 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 neighbours 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.
Things to think about…
1. When God acts you can be sure that Satan will not allow it to go unnoticed. The Canaanite nations gather for war after they heard about the defeat of Ai, Josh 9:1,2. Satan does not like the fact that CBC has a physical and spiritual building program. He will do all he can to disrupt the process. Pray for wisdom, peace and blessing. Let us take the land and not see the church influenced or silenced by the world.
2. The inhabitants of Gibeon had a different spirit, Josh 9:3, 4. Rather than join with the other cities and fight, they go and make peace with Israel via a covenant. This is not cowardice, but faith. They knew Israel would honour any covenant made with them. They had no doubt heard of Rahab’s rescue. But they must do so with cunning because they knew Israel was called to wipe out the entire land with its people groups. This wasn’t the first time in the scriptures where the Lord had blessed a covenant that was brought about by deception? Jacob deceived Isaac and forced a covenant, Gen 27 and now Israel is being deceived into making a covenant. Praise God He honours covenants that are made in His name regardless of the way they came about. Jesus was deceived by Judas, yet the result was that the covenant of salvation was confirmed through His blood.
3. Consider the humility of the Gibeonites, “we are you servants’, Josh 9:8. The Gibeonites have faith and want to join with Israel. They know Israel’s history and how the Lord has mightily delivered them, Josh 9:9-11. With this knowledge they act in faith knowing that the Lord is with Israel. Even after the Israelites had found out about the deception and had assigned them as “cutters of wood and drawers of water”, vs 21 their attitude was “Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it", vs 25. Can we honestly say we have this disposition even as Christians. I think we can get very comfortable and lazy and as such expect the Lord to give us a life of ease. Not so.
4. The Gibeonites are spared, but more than this, rather than being cursed as Joshua says in vs 23, they had the privilege of serving in “the congregation and …the altar of the LORD”, vs 27. What an identity change. It is a privilege to serve in the Lord’s house and serve His people, even as a woodcutter or water drawer. Israel now has the house of Rahab, but also the cities of “Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim” as part of it’s covenant keeping people. The Lord blessed Israel with people of faith who lived inside Canaan. Our Lord has called us as those who are not of Jewish origin, but are united in His covenant through the blood of His Son. May we extend His kingdom and see His grace poured out upon many in our city.
5. We know that later the Gibeonites would call upon Israel to deliver them as part of the covenant under the persecution of King Saul. The Lord then sent a drought over Israel because Israel under Saul had broken the covenant. King David had to then make amends in order for the drought to be lifted. The story is found in 2 Sam 21.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson group Wednesday night 6:30pm.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group looking at who is the anti-Christ Sunday week.
Prayer Points
1. Pray about the boldness to live for Christ knowing we have full assurance in our faith.
2. Anna has started a Playgroup and it was blessed, pray for more families to be reached.
3. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
4. Church finances to cover all expenses.
5. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups and Mothers Day event on Saturday.
6. Tad has colonoscopy this Thursday o pray is well. Continue to pray for Glenys as she continues to recover at home. Any encouragement you can give will be greatly appreciated
7. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons in the church cafe. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
8. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for Sunday’s service . Communion, message and discussion afterwards.
2. Praise the Lord for ministry opportunities at Playgroup as it started back.
3. .
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Playgroup 9:30-11am on Friday.
2. Mothers Day event at church Sat morning, 11th May 10am.
3. Members meeting 26th May after church.
4. Monday evening prayer with Mathys on the café 5:30-6pm
5. Life Groups Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
6. Kids@Church every Sunday.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q. 20. How do you know that you have a soul? A. Because the Bible tells me so.
