Joshua: God's Power at Work

The Danger of Walking by Sight

Joshua 9:1-27

By Rev John R. Hannem, Calvary Baptist Church, North Sydney, NS – August 24^th 2008 AM

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   If you were here last time you’ll remember that after the conquest of Jericho Joshua sent 3000 troops to attack the little city of Ai. But the Jews were soundly defeated in that attack, because of the sin of Achan.  God had told them that if anyone broke His ban and took the treasures of Jericho all of Israel would suffer. And that is exactly what happened.

   Well, after Achan's arrest, trial, and execution, God told Joshua exactly how to defeat Ai. So, following God's instructions the armies of Israel set up a trap. Part of the army made a frontal attack on the city and when they did the King of Ai and all his soldiers went out to fight them, leaving the city undefended. Then the attacking Israelites pretended to run and the soldiers of Ai chased them, no doubt thinking they would do to them what they had done to them the last time. When they did this 30,000 Hebrew troops that Joshua had hidden behind the city beforehand entered it and burned it to the ground. Then they attacked the soldiers of Ai from the rear and the Hebrews who had been fleeing stopped, turned, and fought-catching the troops from Ai in a trap-totally wiping them out. After this victory Joshua led the people on a march some 25 miles north until they came to a valley that is dissected by two mountains: Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerazim. Here the people of God followed Moses' prior instructions and renewed their covenant with the Lord. An altar to God was built on Mt. Ebal and sacrifices were offered in worship. (Deut. 27) This was followed by a reading of all the law of God. Look at verses 34-35 of chapter 8:

   "Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law-the blessings and the curses-just as it is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the aliens who lived among them." 

   And here is how it was done. The Curses of the Law were read from Mount Ebal and the Blessings of the Covenant were read from Mount Gerazim. Now this was undoubtedly a high point in the experience of God's people. With God's help they had just turned an embarrassing defeat into a complete victory. Then they followed this up with a huge open-air worship service in which everyone rededicated themselves to God. I'm sure this was a great time of worship. I imagine tears were flowing freely and emotions were high. It was a time of renewal and re-commitment. Have you ever been in a worship service like that where you felt close to God, a service where people got serious about sin and made renewed commitment to follow Jesus more closely?

   By the way, in 1984 archeologists found this altar that Joshua built on Mt. Ebal. The ten-foot high altar is made of large uncut fieldstones, just as he Bible describes. Burned animal bones were found in layers, bones of the exact animals listed in Leviticus as sacrificial animals. Stairs ascend almost all Near Eastern altars, but the archeologists uncovered a narrow ramp leading to the top of this altar indicating a strict adherence to the law of Exodus 20:26 which prohibited steps. All this points to this being the actual altar where God's people celebrated their covenant with Him here in Joshua 8. It's but one more in a long line of archeological finds that support the Biblical account and remind us that everything that we read in this Book of books really happened.

   Well, Joshua 9:1-2 tells us that while the Israelites were worshiping at the foot of this altar several of the Canaanite city-states determined to band together and attack the Hebrews. They had heard of the defeats at Jericho and Ai and decided they weren't going to give up without a fight. They decided it was time to go on the offensive and drive these invaders from their land.

   Now, I want to point out two things here. First, this part of the story shows that when we have an experience of great spiritual victory and blessing, we should be especially vigilant for an attack by the enemy. I say this because it is often after these mountaintop experiences with God that Satan attacks. WE need to remember that we do have an adversary; one who will not sit by and just let us succeed, but will do everything he can to thwart the purposes of God. And he loves to attack when we least expect it, like after an experience of renewal and revival, so beware!

   The second thing I want you to note is that this alliance of the Canaanites was in itself another consequence of Achan's sin. You see these enemies heard how the men of Ai had at first defeated the Hebrew armies. This told them it was possible to beat the Jewish soldiers; that they were flesh and blood men after all. This gave them the courage to attack. Before this all of Israel's enemies' "hearts were melting in fear" because of their terror of the power of Israel's God. Remember, that is what Rahab reported in chapter 2. But now, thanks to their defeat at Ai, the surrounding nations got brave and believed they just might be able to defeat the Israelites after all; that their God was not in fact all-powerful. And so, verses 1-2 tell us that these kings, who until this time only fought each other, formed an alliance and prepared to wage war against the Jewish invaders.

   Well, not all the tribes who heard of the defeat at Ai chose to band together in this attack. One nation, the city-state of Gibeon, did indeed respond much like Rahab in that they were wise enough to know that God's people could NOT be beaten for long. So they reasoned, "if we can't beat them we should join them" and that's what they did - but in an underhanded kind of way.

Take your Bibles now and turn to Joshua 9 and let's read this account. We'll look at verses 3-16.

   When the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."  The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"  "We are your servants," they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"  They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that He did in Egypt, - and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan-Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.    …  And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us."  This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is.   And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey." The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.    Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.   Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them.

   Please note these Gibeionites really did their homework. They knew that in Deuteronomy 20 God had said that all the city-states of Canaan were to be destroyed to prevent pagan cultures from negatively influencing God's chosen people. But the Gibeonites also knew that God had said the Hebrews could make peace with cities outside of the Promised Land. With this in mind they came up with a very clever plan. They assembled a group of men and disguised them to look like a delegation from a foreign city. Their clothing, food, and equipment were all designed to give the impression that they had been on a long and difficult journey from a distant country. Please note that they wisely did not mention the defeats of Ai and Jericho, things that had happened only a few days ago, news far away nations would not yet have heard. They were sharp! They were very clever, very tricky.

   This should serve to remind us that not only do we have an enemy, but we have one that is very skilled at deceit. Remember, like the Gibeonites, Satan knows the Word of God. And the deceiver is good at twisting its teachings. So as Jesus said in Matthew 10:16, we must be wary. And one thing we must be shrewd about is the Word of God. We need to know our Bibles! We need to have a firm grip on the essential truths of the faith so that we are not led astray by the tricks and traps of the enemy-as the Hebrews did here.

   Moses had warned them back in Exodus 34:12, "Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you." But in their haste they forgot this warning. And because of that they were deceived; tricked into making a compromise with the enemy.

   Now, let me remind you that Satan loves to use this tactic as well. He loves to lead us to compromise, because by doing so, he gains inroads into our lives. For example, he tells us, "That movie is not that bad-why, you see worse on TV!" or "It's okay to buy that magazine. I know the pictures are a bit racy but it's got some great stories." Or "It's okay to cheat a little on your tax return. Everyone else does!" and so on and so on. Listen to me here, when we compromise and give him a foothold; we can count on him using it to drag us deeper into sin. As someone once put it, if Satan has an inroad into your life you can be sure he will come back again and again to admire his property. We need to resist compromise with the enemy. We must follow the admonition of verses like Ephesians 4:27 where it plainly says, "Do not give  the devil a footholod." 

   Now, I must give the Israelites a little credit because they were at least suspicious. They asked a few questions. But in the end they were taken in. The Gibeonites played on their sympathies by appearing as weary travelers who had been on a long journey. And they also appealed to their vanity. The Hebrews no doubt heard the Gibeonites talking about how strong they thought the Israelites were and how all they wanted was to be their servants-and it went to their head. They probably said to each other, "Hey, did you hear these guys? It's not just the locals who are terrified of us. It's the whole world!"

   Now, the Gibeonites were willing to do anything to save their necks so they resorted to lying. This reminds me of something Adlai Stephenson said, "A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of trouble." ……Well, lies only help postpone the inevitable because as I told you last week, our sins are sure to find us out and that's what happened in this case. In fact it only took three days for their trick to be discovered. Now, I don't know how they were found out. But we do know that according to verse 18, when their true identity was discovered, the Jews were furious. And we can understand that. No doubt their anger was intensified when it hit them that this treaty meant they would get no spoils from the Gibeonite city. In fact many people took it a step further and said that since this treaty had been entered in under false pretenses it should not be honored.

   But the leaders disagreed reminding them that they had pledged in the name of God. Look at verse 19-20: "We have given them our oath by the LORD, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them."

   However, the Gibeonites didn't get off scot-free, by any means. Because of their deception, Joshua pronounced a curse on them and condemned the nation to service to the nation of Israel. The Gibeonites were spared but they were still punished. They were to gather wood and water for the Hebrews-specifically for the tabernacle. And the tabernacle required a lot of wood for sacrifices and a lot of water for the ritual washings.

Okay-what can we learn from Joshua's blunder? I want to point out three things.

(1) First, Joshua's blunder shows us that we must PRAY before every decision.

   Unfortunately Joshua and his leaders didn't do this. As verse 14 says, "The men of Israel sampled their provisions [they checked out the moldy bread and the worn wine skins] but they did not inquire of the LORD." In other words they repeated the mistake they had made the first time they attacked Ai; they made a decision based on sight instead of faith. They depended on their own senses, examined the "facts," but left God out of the decision.

   Now think of it. Joshua had just read the entire law of God but he neglected to ask God's input as to what to do here. Then as verse 19 tells us they proceeded to swear an oath with the Gibeonites in God's name but they left Him out of the decision-making process. In a sense God was asked to be a part of what they were doing without being asked His opinion on it; very strange behavior indeed!

   But be honest. How often do we make the same kind of mistake! As Christians we say we have a personal relationship with God, but we don't act that way. We don't talk to God as we would a close personal friend, someone we talk to about everything, someone whose advice we always seek. I mean the truth is, for many of us our relationship with God is very impersonal, because time and time again we make decisions without asking His input. In fact, even though we bear His name, Christian, we usually don't consult Him until we've tried and failed because we relied on our own limited wisdom.

   We would be wise to learn from Joshua's mistake. This unvarnished chapter in the history of his life can teach us that we must not neglect to pray whenever we face a decision because God knows things we don't know, things we need to know, things He is willing and ready to tell us. As James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

   Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."     And as Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in ALL YOUR WAYS acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths."

   You know, the plain truth is that God sees our paths better than we do so it makes sense to ask His input.

 (2) A second lesson we can learn from Joshua's blunder is this ….no matter what happens we must keep our promises.     In other words when we make a foolish decision, we mustn't compound it with a lack of integrity. As I said a moment ago, once the people realized they had been duped they pressured Joshua to attack the Gibeonites but he wisely said, "No-we have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now." Sure, the Gibeonites lied, but that is what pagan people do. As one of God's chosen people Joshua knew better and so he lived up to his treaty. He kept his word.

 You know, we live in a society where promises are all too easily and quickly broken. We can see this in many different realms. We see it in marriage where spouses do not keep their vows. We see it in parenting where moms and dads only discipline their kids when it's convenient or easy to do so. We see it in churches when Christians say Jesus is Lord but act otherwise. Well, we need to repent of this and remember that as Psalm 15:4 says, "[The Lord] honors those who fear Him, those who keep their oath, even when it hurts." We must remember that as Ecclesiastes 5:5 says, "It is better not to make a promise than to make a promise and not keep it."

 Living with integrity-keeping our promises is so very important!

  I believe that the fact that Joshua kept his promise to the deceitful Gibeionites moved them. They knew how they deserved to be treated. I believe the fact that Joshua treated them with grace-filled integrity pushed them toward belief in the one true God.

So Joshua's experience teaches us the importance of praying before every decision and of always keeping our promises, and then it also teaches us that

(3) We must trust in God's sovereign PROVIDENCE.

Let me put it this way. We must trust that as God promises in Romans 8:28, "He [can and] will work in all things for our good." As I said earlier, the Gibeonites did not escape punishment for their deceit. They were given the huge task of carrying water and providing wood for the tabernacle, and in later years the temple. Well, the Bible tells us that the Gibeonites worked hard to meet those daily needs of worship. I mean, never once in the record of that long conquest do we hear of any Gibeonite slacking in these duties or defecting to the original side. No, over the years the Gibeionites were at the altar day in and day out. And because they were, they saw the sacrifices. They observed true worship of the true God and the Biblical record makes it clear that these people were eventually fully incorporated into the congregation of Israel. Despite their deceitful beginning, they came to know and serve the God of Israel. It's a great reminder that as Joel 2:32 says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

   Over the years this menial activity on behalf of the worship of the living God gave the Gibeonites a place of religious honor in the nation of Israel. I say this for many reasons. When the land was divided at the end of Joshua, Gibeon was one of the cities that was given to the line of Aaron. About 400 years later, David put the tabernacle at Gibeon. The altar and the priesthood were there. At least one of David's military advisors, his mighty men, was a Gibeonite. Then, much later, when the Jews returned to the land after the Babylonian captivity, the Bible tells us that there were 500 Gibeonites among them. In his writings after the captivity Ezra tells us they were totally committed to the Lord and His house. Nehemiah says that there were Gibeionites involved in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. So history shows that in His sovereign providence God blessed these people and that the nation of Israel was blessed by their presence and their contribution. This should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God does work in all things for our good. As Warren Wiersbe puts it, "The mistakes we make embarrass us, especially those mistakes that are caused by our running ahead of the Lord and not seeking His will. But we need to remember no mistake is final for the dedicated Christian. God can use even our blunders to accomplish His purposes."

#379 – Take My Life & Let It Be