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 neighbors 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…
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.
The inhabitants of Gibeon had a different spirit. Rather than fight they go and make peace with Israel via a covenant. 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, Gen 27 and now Jacob (Israel) is being deceived. Praise God that 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.
Consider the humility of the Gibeonites, “we are you servants’, Josh 9:8. 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.
The Gibeonites are spared, but more than this, rather than being cursed as Joshua says in vs 23, they had the privilege of serving “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. 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. Let’s rejoice in our callings this year as we serve our King and His house.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
For Cell Groups.
Reading was from Heb 10:1-17 - Title “What can you offer?”
1. The writer of Hebrews, likely Paul, says that the law was a shadow of the “good things to come”, vs 1. What does this phrase mean? Was there something wrong with the law?
2. Shadows are fine. They can provide many things including shade. But they point to an object that casts the shadow, something more substantial. Christ is the Cornerstone of the building. We are the living stones. Jay spoke about standing outside on the porch or verandah, but not be part of the building inside. What are ways some people can do this as part of being religious?
3. Jay asked what you are striving for in this life. What is important or valuable to you. Are you getting value for your money and time? If Christ has done the most important thing, He has made us perfect, but we are being perfected vs 14. What does this verse mean?
4. As Christians we are now slaves of righteousness and not slaves to self. We have been bought with the blood of Christ. As such we are to offer ourselves up as “living sacrifices, which is our spiritual (reasonable) worship (service) to God,” Rom 12:1. How is this achieved by you?
Prayer Points
1. Heavily rain affected areas – especially NSW.
2. Recharge leader for our Friday night ministry
3. Wedding and baptisms on the 18th April.
4. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
5. New families as they settle into church.
6. Church finances to meet our new staff and to put a roof over our café.
7. Getting drawings into council.
8. Sunday’s message – Pastor Jay.
Praise Points.
1. More visitors to church on Sunday.
2. We praise God for the rain but pray for those affected by potential flooding in Sydney and surrounding areas.
3. Praise the Lord for the Kids@church ministry. Thankyou Maddison.
4. Praise and worship – pray for continued growth and blessing.
5. Unity, peace and grace at CBC.
Announcements
1. Last Recharge event for this term on Friday night. Get youth to invite their friends, 6:30pm Friday to 8:30pm.
2. Wedding and baptisms coming up 18th April at Church and Colleges Crossing
3. Good Friday service 2nd April 9:00am and Easter Sunday service 4th April 9:30am.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
