Better Ask the Boss
Joshua 9
Intro:
Have you ever been deceived? Have you ever gotten burned by somebody who seemed sincere, whom you trusted, and who turned out to have been lying to you all along and took advantage of you?
Sadly most of us can relate all too easily. We have placed our trust in someone who offered their word, and we have been hurt and disappointed. A few years ago Joanne and I bought an old house, knowing that we would need to do quite a bit of renovating. So we asked quite a few questions, and even had an independent inspection. The guy with whom we did most of the discussing was open about a few of the obvious things that needed doing, but we later discovered he was less than truthful about some others. After the deal was done, we were renovating and had a plumber installing some fixtures in the bathroom and replacing a bunch of old cast iron water lines, which we had budgeted for. Suddenly Joanne came running upstairs to find me, because we had water spewing everywhere out of the plumbing stack (where all the waste water drains down into the main sewer) – something we had not budgeted to replace. At first we were convinced that our plumber (who actually had a few leaky pipes in his head, if you know what I mean…) had messed something (else) up, and was somehow to blame. But on further investigation, we could see that a huge crack in the stack had been repaired at some earlier time with roofing tar. And so we ended up saddled with an extra, unexpected expense because of the deceit of the previous owner.
I know that story doesn’t compare to some of the stories that I’ve heard in the course of pastoral ministry – that many of you have been deceived on far deeper, more painful levels. The story we are going to look at today from Joshua 9 shows us an example of the Israelites being deceived, and how they handled it.
Read Josh 9.
The Ongoing Consequence of Achan’s Sin (vs. 1-2):
Let me just review briefly what has been going on with the Israelites up to this point. God had been doing great and awesome things for His people, demonstrating His power in their defeat of two kings beyond the Jordan river (their names were mentioned in the passage), then in parting the Jordan river so they could walk across on dry ground, and then in miraculously leveling the fortress city of Jericho. Following the fall of the walls of Jericho, Joshua proceeded on to the next town (Ai) without knowing that God had withdrawn His blessing because of the sin of one man, Achan, who had took some of the plunder from Jericho. Without the presence of God, the Israelite force was humiliated by the smaller, weaker group at Ai. Joshua seeks God and discovers the reason for the defeat was the sin in the camp, and God instructs them in how to deal with this sin. They follow God’s instructions, God returns to fight for Israel, and they defeat Ai the second time.
But the first defeat at Ai has a secondary consequence – Israel’s enemies see that it is possible to defeat the Israelites. Previously, we read of how Israel’s enemies’ “hearts melting in fear,” because of their terror at the power of Israel’s God – this is what Rahab reported in chapter 2. But now, because of the defeat at Ai, the surrounding nations took courage and decided that it was possible to defeat the Israelites – that their God was not in fact all powerful. And so in vss. 1-2 we read of those kings organizing together, forming an alliance and preparing to wage war against the invading Israelites.
It makes one wonder what might have happened if Achan had not sinned – if the reputation of the God of Israel had remained as it had at the beginning. Would the people of Canaan resisted, or would they have recognized that the battle was futile and thus given themselves up to Israel, perhaps even recognizing the supremacy of Israel’s God and chose to worship Him? Of course we don’t know, but to me that sounds more like the plan of God than the record we have of history; doesn’t it to you? Doesn’t it sound more like God to come in power (even if that power is first shown in a military way, as at Jericho), and then expect all peoples to respond to Him in worship, than just to destroy everyone? I know I’m playing the “what if…” game, which is impossible to know, but I can’t help but wonder if God didn’t have a better plan. Sort of like the garden of Eden – God had a better plan but the entrance of sin made a big mess of it.
The Gibeonite Trick (vss. 3-15):
Not all of the surrounding nations chose to fight. These verses record the story of a group of peoples who looked at the evidence presented to them, and made a choice: to try to trick the Israelites into signing a treaty with them so that they would be preserved. As we read, they were successful.
It is quite a ruse, it seems they pulled out all the stops. They organized all the props so that their claim to be from a far away land would look authentic. They got worn clothes and shoes, old wineskins that had split, and dry/moldy bread. And then they travel a couple of days and claim to have been traveling for weeks and weeks.
Notice in vs. 7 that the Israelites ask the right question – they are suspicious; for whatever reason they wonder if something fishy is going on here. And we know already that they are right, but they get taken in anyway. Personally, I think it was vanity that sucked them in. They hear the Gibeonites talking about how strong the Israelites are, how powerful they are, how they have come such a great distance to make a treaty with them… and it goes to the Israelites’ head. It is a lie they want to believe because of what it says about them. “Hey look guys, it’s not just the locals that are terrified of us, it’s the whole world!”
Verse 14 is the key to understanding the entire story: “The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord .” They checked out the bread but didn’t check with the Lord. And so they believed the lie, made a binding covenant with them in the Lord’s name, and once again compromised. The feeling we get from this verse is that if they had asked the Lord, He would have let them know the truth.
The Deceit Is Found Out (vss. 15-27):
The lie doesn’t last long, but the damage is done. In fact, we see that it is only three days later that the Israelites discover that they have been lied to. They march up and confront the Gibeonites, demanding an explanation. And I believe they get an honest one: “24 They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you."
There is an important parallel here between the Gibeonites and Rahab from chapter 2. Both heard about the God of Israel, both believed, and both were spared. The main difference is that Rahab was honest with the Israelites, while the Gibeonites were deceitful. But the end result is the same – they recognized God and submitted to Him.
We understand that the covenant Joshua entered into with the Gibeonites was based on deception, so why didn’t God let them out of it? Why didn’t God order the Gibeonites slaughtered simply for their deceit, and end the story that way?? I believe that it is, at least in part, because they recognized who God is and acknowledged God’s superiority. The main factor is because Joshua and the Israelites had sworn an oath and entered into a covenant, and that is not something to be broken but rather to be honored. But I also think that it is significant that when confronted, they expressed their belief that God would keep His promises to Israel, that He had the strength and power to keep those promises, and that the only way to preserve their lives was to come under God’s protection (which is in effect what the covenant Joshua entered into did for them, as we shall see in the next chapter). This is, in reality, an expression of faith. In fact, about 400 years later King Saul attacks the Gibeonites and tries to wipe them out, and God punishes Saul’s house severely for this breach of the covenant (see 2 Sam. 21:1-6).
Did you notice the reaction of the people of Israel? They wanted to wipe out the Gibeonites, and when the leadership said “no,” “The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders” (vs. 18b). They looked and saw that a poor decision had been made, and it made them upset. They had a right to grumble, don’t you think? And yet do you notice what happens as a result of the grumbling? Nothing. They still don’t get to kill the Gibeonites like they want to; Joshua maintains his integrity (and, by the way, the integrity of God in whose Name they had entered into the covenant) and lets the people live.
I think it is pretty obvious that Joshua made a mistake. He should have asked God, maybe he should have listened more to the people who were skeptical, but he didn’t. He made a mistake. But he was still the leader. God had placed him in that position, and we see that God stood with the decision Joshua had made, even though it wasn’t the best one, and blessed Joshua’s choice to remain true to the commitment he had made. I see a lesson here worth mentioning: even if our leaders make a poor decision, our responsibility is to support them and follow through with commitments they might have made for the sake of integrity. I mention that because I’m a young leader, and though I plan to try hard and will always seek to be guided by God, I’ll probably still make some mistakes along the road. So I want to ask two things: first, grumble to me, not to others. If something is going on that seems off the mark to you, bring it right to me. To be blunt, there is a good chance that you simply don’t have all the facts or reasons or information or rationale, which I can maybe bring to light. But there is also a chance that I have made a mistake, and if that is the case come to me to talk about it rather than grumbling in a small group. That kind of grumbling can destroy a church, can destroy ministry, and balloons a problem into a huge mess which then takes a whole lot more to clean up. So that is my first request – complain to me. The second request is this: support me anyway, even if I blow it. That is a pretty counter-cultural request: in our culture, we don’t support people who have made an honest mistake, we hang them out to dry. We fire them. We distance ourselves from them, leave them holding the bag, say “It’s your mess, you clean it up…” But I don’t see that here in Scripture. The people support Joshua, and they abide by the terms of the covenant. And God blesses that integrity and even punishes His own people when they mis-treat them. So those are my two requests: first, if you have to grumble, grumble to me. And second, I ask for your support even if I make a poor decision.
The Gibeonites don’t get off scott-free, by any means. Joshua pronounces a curse on them, and condemns them to service to the nation of Israel. I see here a contrast with Rahab, who was welcomed fully into the people of God because of her honesty and lack of deception. The Gibeonites are spared, but they are punished.
So What Can We Learn From This Story?
There are several lessons for us in this story:
1. Always Pray Before Making A Decision:
I believe firmly that God wants to guide us into making the best possible decisions in our lives. Note that I didn’t say that God wants to make all our decisions for us, but rather that His desire is to guide us into making the best decisions. The Israelites failed to consult with God before entering into this covenant – they trusted their own eyes and were deceived. They didn’t make the best choice. So the first lesson I learn from this story is that God needs to be a part of our decision-making process, that we need to pray and ask Him which path is best. It sounds obvious, but we still need to be reminded of our need to seek God for wisdom and not rely on our own strength. Sometimes what is best is not what is obvious, and I believe God will reveal that when we ask, and He’ll guide us to the best decision when we seek Him.
2. When you make a poor decision, act with integrity.
Joshua’s covenant with Gibeon wasn’t a light, simple agreement. It was a covenant, a vow, a promise made in the name of God. Going back on that covenant would be a far graver mistake than being deceived and making a poor decision. The key here is to live with integrity. Sometimes that means reversing a decision, stopping something that we were doing that we now recognize as wrong. I don’t read in this story that we can never put things in reverse and change a poor decision – in fact where that is possible it is the best option. But other times it means that we have made a commitment, signed a contract, agreed to a deal, and have to stick with it even though something “better” comes along. Before Joanne and I bought our house, we lived in a condo which we rented from Joanne’s parents. When we moved, they put that property up for sail and verbally agreed to an offer that had been made. The realtors arranged to meet to formalize the agreement, but the other realtor got drunk and didn’t show up; he rescheduled for the next day. That evening, someone else made an offer to purchase which was substantially higher. Legally, there was no agreement in place to prevent ditching the first buyers and taking the second, higher offer, but Joanne’s parents had accepted the original offer verbally and so made the choice to live with integrity and follow through on that commitment. As Christians, we need to live with integrity because our lives reflect on God’s reputation. Like it or not, that is a fact: people judge the character of God by our integrity. We need to live with integrity.
3. Trust God to work things for the best.
We often have the idea that if we miss (or disobey) God’s guidance at one point in our lives, we are off the track and subject to “plan B” for the rest of our lives. We feel like God has a wonderful plan for our lives, and if we miss the clues we’ll stagger about in misery and only ever know “second best.” This is simply not true. I know people who have made a wrong decision, for example having sex before marriage, and ended up with very serious consequences of starting a family years before they were ready. Is that it for them? Or what about someone who feels like they married the wrong person – does God walk away with a pout on His face and say, “Fine, if that is how you want to be then just go ahead. But do it without me…” Absolutely not. God is there to redeem those decisions, to make something beautiful out of them, to continue to love and restore and bring blessing and wholeness. Of course He wants to guide and direct us to make the best choices, but even when we don’t He is still with us, walking with us and desiring to guide us. There are difficult consequences when we have made a decision we later realize wasn’t the best, but that never means that God abandons us. He continues to guide in this new set of circumstances, He continues to offer forgiveness and redemption – sometimes that is the power to change and set things right, sometimes that is the power to live with the decision that was made and make something beautiful out of it.
Conclusion:
We all make decisions every day, some large, some small. This story in Joshua 9 reminds me of the need to be constantly seeking God’s guidance, walking with Him all of the time, and trusting Him to reveal what decision might be the best. We need to involve God in our daily lives. It also shows the need to live with integrity, and follow through when we have made commitments. And most hopefully, I see how God blessed the Israelites for following through on a commitment they had made, even though it wasn’t the wisest course of action.
