We all have reputations, some are good and some are bad. When people hear your name, they immediately associate:
• A face
• But they also associate good or evil with your name
Illus: Two brothers were convicted of stealing sheep. As their punishment, they each were branded on the forehead with the letters ST, for "sheep thief."
One brother immediately ran away from the area and attempted to build a new life in a foreign land. Even there, people asked him about the strange letters on his forehead. He wandered restlessly, and eventually, unable to bear the stigma, took his own life.
The other brother took a different approach. He said to himself, "I can't run away from the fact that I stole sheep. But I will stay here and win back the respect of my neighbors and myself."
As the years passed, he built a reputation for integrity.
One day a stranger saw the old man with the letters branded on his forehead. He asked a citizen of the town what the letters stood for.
The townsman replied, "It happened a great while ago. I've forgotten the particulars, but I think the letters are an abbreviation for Saint."
Joshua also had a reputation, and when the people of that day heard his name, FEAR was the first thing that came to mind.
Remember Joshua 1:5, “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
What a promise! God told him four things:
• As I was with Moses, so I will be with you
• I will not fail you
• Nor forsake you
• No man will be able to stand against you
A man could not ask for any more from God than what God had promised Joshua.
God had given him:
• Victories before He crossed Jordan
• And now God gave him victories after he crossed Jordan
The enemies of Israel were talking about this great nation of Israel, whose God fought for them and no one could stand against them.
Let’s look again as Israel marches on to possess the Promised Land.
Let’s look at-
I. THE COALITION
Because his reputation was spreading, some nations were now getting together to see how collectively they could stop Israel.
Look at Joshua 9:1-2, we read, “And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof; That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.”
Notice who the Bible said was gathering together. All the kings:
• This side of Jordan
• In the Hills
• In the Valleys
• In the coastal areas
The Bible says, “They gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua and with Israel, with one accord.”
Notice, they are now in “one accord”. Evidently, before this time they were not in “one accord”.
WHAT CAUSED THEM TO COME TOGETHER?
Their common hatred for Joshua and Israel brought them together.
It is amazing how folks can not stand each other, but when they find a common ground of hatred for someone else, it will bring them together.
Illus: Everyone who has ever been involved in a church split has been amazed by how people in the church who never socialized with each other, and hardly ever spoke to each other, all come together and become best of friends when they find something to fuss about.
WHAT BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER? Their common interest of being disgruntled church members brought them together.
This is the case here. These kings were bitter enemies, but they knew they had to lay aside their differences and come together in “one accord”.
We have looked at THE COALITION of these nations that are coming together. But there was another nation that felt that THE COALITION was not the solution. They had a different solution.
II. THE CLEVERNESS
The people of Gibeon decided the best thing they could do was to establish peace with Joshua and Israel before they were smitten.
Who are the Gibeonites? The Gibeonites are the inhabitants of Gibeon. It consisted of four towns.
Look at Joshua 9:17, we read, “And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, Beroth, and Kirjathjearim.”
God had specifically told Israel not to make a peace treaty with any nation. God’s command was to wipe them from the face of the earth. Does that make God a cruel God? No! Because to wipe out evil, you must have a DECISIVE VICTORY!
Illus: Let me give you an example. Israel has signed Peace Treaty after Peace Treaty with the Palestinians. But if it were not for America and a few more countries, the Arab nations would form a coalition and drive them into the sea.
For years, Presidents have tried to get a Peace Treaty that will bring peace to that land. But they will never have peace until they have a full blown war, and one or the other is defeated. Victory comes at a high cost.
This is something that many do not realize today. They believe that you can sit around the table and draw up a “Peace Treaty” on paper, and that will end the conflict. But before the ink is dry, they are having skirmish after skirmish, with a few killed here and a few killed there.
War is not clean, war is nasty, and anytime you have war you are going to have killings galore!
But God commanded them to wipe out these evil nations, because you have to have a DECISIVE VICTORY!
These nations that Joshua was coming up against were wicked nations, and God’s plan was for Joshua to utterly destroy them and wipe them from the face of the earth.
But the Gibeonites outsmarted Israel.
WHAT DID THEY DO?
They came to Israel as if they were diplomats from a foreign land, who posed no threat to them whatsoever. But actually they came from about 18 to 20 miles from where Joshua was camped in Gilgal.
Look at verses 3-13, we read, “And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.”
Look at the word “wilily” in verse 4. This is the word, “Ormah” which means TRICKERY, SUBTLE, WISDOM.
In other words, through deception, they out smarted Joshua and Israel.
HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
Even though they were only three days away, they made Joshua and Israel think they were from a foreign country, and they posed no threat to them whatsoever.
Look how they did this. They did three things to make it look like they were foreigners from a far land.
1. In verse 12 they said, “This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy.”
2. Look at verse 13 they said, “And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent.”
3. Look at verse 13 they said, “And these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey.”
DID THIS CLEVER PLOT WORK?
It certainly did, look at Joshua 9:15, we read, “And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.”
Look at their discovery of this deception. Look at-
III. THE CONFRONTATION
Look at verses 16-21, we read, “And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjathjearim. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the LORD God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them. This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.”
Three days after they signed this Peace Treaty, Israel found out that they had been outsmarted by the Gibeonites.
And notice, Israel would not kill them because they had given them their word.
Isn’t it refreshing to come across people who believe that their word can be depended on?
They were upset when they found out that they had been deceived, but there was nothing they could do about it, they had given them their word.
• They knew God would forgive them for signing the Treaty because they did it in ignorance.
• But they knew God would not forgive them for giving their word, and then breaking the promise they had made to the Gibeonites.
But Joshua wanted to confront them once he was deceived by them.
IV. THE CONVERSATION
Look at verse 22, we read, “And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us?”
Joshua wanted them to know that they may have deceived them, but it was going to cost them something.
Look at verse 23, we read, “Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God.”
Joshua asked them why they did this, and they respond to that question.
Look at verses 24-27, we read, “And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing. And now, behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right unto thee to do unto us, do. And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not. And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.”
Conclusion:
HOW WERE THEY ABLE TO PULL THIS OFF?
The Bible gives us a clue. When they came to Israel with this deception, look at verse 14, we read, “And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.”
If they had sought the Lord, God would have revealed this deception to them. But since they did not ask, they fell for it “hook, line, and sinker”!
I. THE COALITION
II. THE CLEVERNESS
III. THE CONFRONTATION
IV. THE CONVERSATION
