Joshua 9:10-18
Jos 9:10
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.
24 And
Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon
unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of
Ammon was strong. 25
And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the
Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. (Numbers 21:24-25)
They had heard of how king Sihon refused Israel passage through his land
which resulted in him losing his kingdom.
Then later they faced king Og the king of Bashan who also fought against
Israel and lost. And they turned and went
up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he,
and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. (Numbers 21:33)
So they smote him, and his sons,
and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his
land. (Numbers 21:35)
Jos 9:11
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.
They told Joshua that the elders of their country along
with those who lived there told them to take victuals, which was food, and to go
to meet Joshua face to face and proclaim that they are their servants and would
they please make a league or a covenant with them.
If they could draw Israel into making a covenant then they would be safe
from destruction because they knew Joshua would not go back on his word and
break the covenant.
Jos 9:12
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:
Then they pointed to their props and showed them that
they had taken the bread right from the oven when they first started out their
trip and because of their long journey it became moldy.
Joshua should have asked them, “why didn’t you eat the bread and the
other victuals on your journey? Did
you not eat anything from your provisions?”
These questions would have opened up further investigation.
How could you go on a long journey with provisions and not eat them?
Jos 9:13
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.
Then they continued in their charade and brought up the
wine bottles which were new when they first started out but now because of their
long journey they have become old, weak, and torn.
Then they showed them the clothes on their backs and their shoes
emphasizing that they wore out because their journey was long.
They were trying to make their case more convincing with visible proof.
Jos 9:14
And the men took of their victuals, and asked not
counsel at the mouth of the LORD.
The men of Israel had taken their victuals probably to
discard them since they could not be eaten.
One other grave mistake they made, they did not inquire of the LORD as to
who they were and what should they do.
They were in the middle of a conquest and instead of realizing that they
could be deceived by liars sent from surrounding nations, instead they embraced
them.
Jos 9:15
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.
Instead of Joshua putting them in a tent and guarding
them and investigating them further and especially individually to see if their
stories would harmonize with the others. Joshua making a fatal mistake here
makes a league or covenant with them still not knowing where they came from.
Then the princes or the leaders of Israel swore to the emissaries that
they would keep the covenant which was made with them.
They would be granted life in contrast to the total destruction of
Jericho and Ai.
Jos 9:16
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.
Joshua must have concluded the covenant with them the
same day they arrived but after three days they found out the truth as to where
these people came from. Then they
realized it was one of their neighbors, that is, the Gibeonites did not dwell
with the Israelites but they were near to them, that is, they lived in in the
vicinity.
Jos 9:17
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 Kirjath-jearim.
The city of Gibeon was about 18 miles (29 KM) west of
Gilgal. These four cities were
located very close to each other.
Gibeon was the largest city of the four.
It took the Israelites 3 days to arrive at that cluster of cities.
Jos 9:18
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.