| “And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai … 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 Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them … 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” (Joshua 9:3, 6, 15-16). |
| If you read this whole chapter (Joshua 9), you will see that when Joshua and the Israelites began to conquer the land of Canaan, no one could stand before them. The two cities of Jericho and Ai were both defeated. A group called the Gibeonites decided to deceive Joshua and the others in Israel by pretending to have come a long journey from a faraway place. They wore old shoes and clothes, brought mouldy bread with them, and brought old wine bottles with them. Then they asked Joshua to make a league (a peace treaty) with them, and to let them live. Joshua and the Israelites believed them, but it says clearly that they “asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord” (Josh. 9:14). The Israelites made a league with the Gibeonites to let them live, and swore an oath in the name of the Lord. A few days later they found out that the Gibeonites had not come from a faraway place, but were actually some of the Canaanites whom the Lord had told the Israelites to destroy. However, since they had sworn to them in the name of the Lord, they could not touch them. They had to let them live, although they made them servants to cut wood and draw water (Joshua 9:27). |
| What lesson do we learn from this story? This is actually the second time that Joshua had neglected to go to the Lord for guidance. If you read about the city of Ai in Joshua 7 and 8, you will see that Israel decided by themselves how to go and fight against Ai, without consulting the Lord. But a man named Achan had sinned and had taken some valuable things from the city of Jericho, which the Lord had told them not to do. Joshua did not know this, but if he had looked to the Lord for guidance, the Lord would have told him. Now, with the Gibeonites, once again they acted without asking the Lord what to do, and ended up believing a lie. The Gibeonites remained in the congregation of Israel, and there was trouble with them hundreds of years later, in the reign of King Saul. |
| It is very important in our lives always to ask the Lord for guidance in any decision that we make. If you get used to doing this when you are young, it will become a habit, and you will continue to do it all your life. We may hear something that seems good to us, or we may read something that impresses us. Someone may give us some advice that we like, and perhaps we think we should act on it. But it is always good to ask the Lord what to do. He knows best, and He will never guide us in the wrong way. |
