Ep. 52 - The Gibeonites

After destroying Ai, the Israelites marched north to a place called Shechem.  Shechem was kind-of in the middle of Canaan.  And actually, Shechem has already come up a few times in our stories.  If you kidzos remember way back in episode 7, Shechem was the very first place that Abraham lived when he arrived in Canaan all those years ago.  And then in episode 15, Shechem was the place where Simeon and Levi (who now have tribes named after them) killed a whole bunch of people, much to the annoyance of their father.  This time, it was the Israelite nation coming to Shechem, where they renewed their covenant with God after all the unfortunate things that happened at Ai.  And then…instead of continuing to their attack and pushing further into Canaan…the Israelites marched back to their camp…which was all the way back at the edge of Canaan where they had first crossed the Jordan river…at Gilgal.  And at Gilgal the Israelites began to plan the rest of their invasion.

Now, while all this was going on…while the Israelites were attacking Jericho, attacking Ai, and marching to Shechem and back…the people who lived in Canaan – the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, the Jebusites…all the “ites” – well they were watching all this with horror.  Jericho…gone in a week.  Ai…gone in a few days.  The Jordan River…didn’t even slow them down.  Anyone who had thought that there was no way that the Israelites would invade Canaan…well they knew better now.  And now everyone also knew the whole story of the Israelites…about how they’d been slaves in Egypt, about the plagues, about how they’d crossed the Red Sea…and they knew that God was with them…and they knew that God had given all of Canaan to the Israelites.  And everyone in Canaan knew about their 2 choices, they could run…or they could stay and fight.  And with the Israelites right there in Canaan roaming about the countryside, the people in Canaan had run out of time…they had to make a decision.  What were they going to do?

Well, while they were mulling over the two choices, it seems that some of them came up with a creative 3^rd choice.  The Bible says that “when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they worked craftily.” (Josh. 9:3-4 NKJV) Now Gibeon was a large city in in the middle of Canaan…in the area where the Hivites lived.  The Bible also says that the city of Gibeon was super rich like a “royal city”, and that the men in Gibeon were super strong (10:2). But even though the Gibeonites were super rich and super strong, they were also super scared of the Israelites.  They couldn’t believe their ears…Egypt, the Red Sea, the Amorites, King Og, the Jordan River, Jericho, Ai…it seemed that nothing could stop the Israelites.  So, the Gibeonites wisely realized that the “stay and fight” option was not really an option.  But they also really didn’t want to run.  They liked their homes…they liked their royal city…they liked living Canaan.  So, what could the Gibeonites do?  Well, the Gibeonites got together and plotted and schemed and “worked craftily”, and eventually came up with a sneaky plan.  They decided that they would try to trick the Israelites into making peace with them.  

Now, the Gibeonites knew that God had told the Israelites that they could not make peace with any of the people in Canaan…including the Gibeonites.  In fact, God had specifically told the Israelites, “You shall make no covenant with them.” (Ex. 23:32) (…talking about the people who lived in Canaan.)  But people outside of Canaan…well that was ok.  The Israelites could make peace with whomever they wanted outside of Canaan.  So, the Gibeonites decided…you know what let's pretend like we live outside Canaan…like we’re from some far-off place.  We can send the Israelites a few “ambassadors” and dress these ambassadors in really old clothes and give them really old food…and really sell it to the Israelites like they they were from some far-off place.  And if the ambassadors could convince Joshua and the Israelites that the Gibeonites really were from outside Canaan, then maybe…just maybe…the Israelites would make peace with them.  Now back in those days, people really didn’t like to go back on their word…even if they’d been tricked into giving their word.  If you said you were going to do something, well you were going to do it.  So, all the Gibeonites needed to do was get the Israelites to give their word that they would not attack them…that is to say to make a peace covenant with the Gibeonites…and once they had that, well they should be safe.  And this is exactly what the Gibeonites did.  And the Bible says that the Gibeonites, “pretended to be ambassadors.  And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wine skins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.  And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us.’” (9:4-6)

Now, at first, both Joshua and the Israelite leaders were a bit suspicious.  I mean, they’d never even heard of the Gibeonites before…and then suddenly they show up and right away ask for a peace covenant?  Something seemed off.  And so, the Israelite leaders said to the ambassadors, “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?” (9:7) So yah, the Israel leaders were basically like…we have no idea who you are or where you come from…and we have no way of proving anything you say…so why would we make peace with you?  Now the Gibeonites had probably heard about how Joshua in particular could sometimes rush into things without thinking about it too much or without asking God about it.  Remember at Ai, how Joshua had at first very unwisely sent just a few thousand soldiers to defeat Ai?  Yah.  So, knowing this about Joshua, the Gibeonites just kind of ignored the Israelite leaders and went right to Joshua and said, “We are your servants.” (9:9)

But Joshua was a little suspicious too.  And so Joshua said to the the Gibeonites, “Who are you, and where do you come from?” (9:9) And then the Gibeonites said to Joshua, “From a very far country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame, and all that He did in Egypt,  (10)  and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan — to Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.  (11)  Therefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say to them, "We are your servants; now therefore, make a covenant with us.”” (9:9-11) So the Gibeonites were basically saying, yah we’ve heard about you and your God, we’ve heard about what happened in Egypt, and we’ve heard about what happened to King Sihon and King Og.  And, yah know, since you guys are obviously here to stay, we’d love to make a peace covenant with you.  Now, you kidzos notice that the Gibeonites are being really sneaky here, because they are only mentioning places that are far away – Egypt (which was way to south) and Heshbon and Bashan (which were way to the northeast).  The Gibeonites were careful not to say anything about crossing the Jordan, or about defeating Jericho or Ai…because those things happened really close by. 

But Joshua wasn’t quite convinced.  And when Joshua hesitated a little, the Gibeonites really poured it on thick, and said, “This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy.  (13)  And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.” (9:12-13) So the Gibeonites were like, you see this bread…it came hot from the oven…now look at it!  You see this wine, it came fresh from the grapes…now look at it!  Our clothes and our shoes were brand new when we left…now look at them!  The Gibeonites sure were putting on quite the show trying to convince Joshua that they really were from a faraway place.

So what did Joshua do?  Well, Joshua looked at their bread…and yah…it was dry and moldy.  And Joshua looked at their wine skins…and yah…they were old and torn.  And he looked at their clothes…and yah…they were really worn out.  And they were talking about faraway places.  So, these people must be from a faraway place…right?  I mean, what other explanation could there possibly be?  And so, again making the mistake of not thinking about it too much and not asking God about it, the Bible says that Joshua, “made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.” (9:15) So both Joshua and the Israelite leaders went ahead and made peace with the Gibeonites.  The Gibeonites’ sneaky plan had worked…they had gotten the all-important peace covenant with Israel…and as long as the Israelites didn’t go back on their word…the Gibeonites should be safe.

Now of course, it didn’t take long for the Israelites to realize that they’d made a big mistake.  Just three days later someone heard from somewhere that Gibeon was in fact a city right in the middle of Canaan…just a three-day walk down the road.  Joshua probably couldn’t believe his ears.  What!  The Gibeonites actually lived in Canaan?  It can’t be!  And not wanting to believe that they’d been tricked so easily, the Israelites decided to go see for themselves.  And so, the Israelite army packed up and went to go check it out.  And sure enough, after a three-day journey, there was the city of Gibeon…smack dab in the middle of Canaan…exactly in the place where they weren’t supposed to be making covenants with people.  What a disaster!  What were the Israelites going to do?

Well, as for the Israelite army…they were ready to just go in there and attack Gibeon regardless of whatever peace covenant that the leaders had made.  Because for the regular everyday Israelite, this was just another Canaanite city that needed to be destroyed like God had told them.  Joshua may have promised peace…but they hadn’t.  And the frustrated Israelites complained to the leaders and tried to get them to attack Gibeon regardless.  But the leaders plead with the Israelites, and said, “We have sworn to them by the LORD God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them.  (20)  This we will do to them: We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us because of the oath which we swore to them.” (9:19-20) So the leaders wanted to keep their word and let the Gibeonites live.  But the Israelite leaders also knew that they couldn’t just let the Gibeonites get away with tricking them.  Not to mention that the whole point of the Israelites invading Canaan was to stop all the bad things that were going on there.  So they obviously couldn’t just let them be. 

And so, the Israelite leaders talked with the Gibeonite leaders and came to an agreement.  Indeed the Israelite leaders would keep their word and let the Gibeonites live.  But as punishment for tricking the Israelites, the Gibeonites would become servants.  The Bible says that they would become, “woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation.” (9:21) Back in those days, most people spent a lot of time cutting wood for cooking and carrying water for drinking, washing, and all the other things we do with water.  These were just things that everyone had to do.  And depending on how far away the trees were, or how far away the nearest well was, you could spend a lot of your day just taking care of these basic things…which wouldn’t leave you with much time to do anything else…like farming, or starting a business, or studying.  (BTW kidzos, this is still the case in many parts of the world even today.  And actually, it’s part of what Papa does for a job…I try to make it easier for poor communities to get the basics of life…especially water…so that they can spend more time doing things that will help them to not be poor anymore.  So, sometimes things change…sometimes things stay the same.)  You can imagine how humiliating it was for the very rich and very strong Gibeonites to be stuck doing this work for the Israelites…this was not going to be fun.

Another part of the agreement with the Gibeonites that the Bible doesn’t quite make obvious, is that the Gibeonites would have to stop doing bad things and become worshippers of God.  Now, the Bible doesn’t say this directly, but what it does say is that the Gibeonites would be woodcutters and water carriers for the Israelites “and for the alter of the Lord” (9:27) So some of the Gibeonites would be serving the tabernacle.  And it really wouldn’t make any sense to let the Gibeonites do this unless the they had agreed to worship God.  So, along with being woodcutters and water carriers, the Gibeonites would also have to give up whatever false idols they’d been worshipping and to give up whatever bad things they’d been doing, and to basically become part of Israel…to become part of the people who worshipped the one true God.  And it seems that the Gibeonites readily agreed to this.

Now, this kind of makes us ask the question…how is this possible?  I mean, weren’t the Israelites all descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?  Didn’t you have to be from one of the twelve tribes to be an Israelite?  Well…as it turns out…no.  No you didn’t have be a descendant of Abraham in order to be an Israelite.  In the laws that God had given the Israelites, he had made room for what the Bible calls “strangers”…that is to say people who weren’t born Israelites.  God had told them, “One ordinance shall be for you of the assembly and for the stranger who dwells with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD.” (Num 15:15) So God had told the Israelites that any people who came to live with them should follow the same laws as the rest of the Israelites…that there shouldn’t be one set of laws for the people born as Israelites and another set of laws for everyone else.  (BTW kidzos, this idea is called “equality under the law” these days.)  God had also said, “If a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him.  (34)  The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself.” (Lev 19:33-34) So God had even told the Israelites to not be mean to people who weren’t born Israelites…and that they should be loved as if they were born an Israelite.  So yah, as it turns out, anyone could become an Israelite.  All they had to do was give up doing bad things and to worship God…which the Gibeonites seemed more than willing to do.

And this is why, after the Gibeonites had been punished as woodcutters and water carriers, that Joshua asked them, “Why have you deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you dwell near us?  (23)  Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves—woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” (9:22-23) Basically what Joshua is saying is hey you guys didn’t have to lie to us.  If you had just told us that you were willing to worship God and to become part of Israel, we would have taken you in.  But because you lied to us, well, now you’ve become servants.  It didn’t need to come to this.  And the Gibeonites answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were clearly told that the LORD your 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 very much afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.  (25)  And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us.” (9:24-25) They were basically saying, it’s because we were scared…and because were were scared…we lied to you.  The Gibeonites understood that they had done something wrong, and they were willing to accept the consequences. 

But even though they now knew that things could have been much easier for them, instead of thinking about that the Gibeonites seemed to be counting their blessings.  At the end of the day the Gibeonites were still alive, and they could stay in Canaan.  And while things could have been a lot better, things could also have been a lot worse…they could be dead or running for their lives.  And it seems that the Gibeonites really came to accept their punishment…because for many years…at least up until the time that Joshua died…the Gibeonites were still cutting firewood and carrying water.  It also seems that the Gibeonites truly accepted worshipping God.  And because of this they eventually, many many years later, became just a regular part of Israel.  Gibeon and the Gibeonites are mentioned here and there in the Old Testament like any other part of Israel.  At one point, even the tabernacle…the most special thing on earth…came to be setup right in Gibeon.  So even though the Gibeonites had lied, even though they had made a big mistake…because they humbly accepted their punishment, because they stopped doing bad things, and because they accepted worshipping God…things really turned around for them in the end. And what had begun as a punishment, by God’s grace, eventually became a blessing.