Joshua 9:1-10
1 And it came to pass when all the kings who were on this
side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of
the Great Sea toward Lebanon--the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the
Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite--heard about it,
2 that they gathered together to fight with Joshua and
Israel with one accord.
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had
done to Jericho and Ai,
4 they worked craftily, and went and pretended to be
ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and
mended,
5 old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments
on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy.
6 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."
7 Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps
you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you?"
8 But they said to Joshua, "We are your
servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you, and where do you
come from?"
9 So they said to him: "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.
In many ways the Book of Joshua not only teaches us that we
as believers must live by faith to defeat our enemies, but it also teaches us
that we must face the realities of our flesh and weaknesses. One day we by
faith are crossing the Jordan River, conquering Jericho and Ai, big and small
challenges, but the next day, also find we still have an old sin nature
desiring the things of this world, and like Achan, we get ourselves and the
people around us in a mess.
In Joshua 9, Joshua and the people of Israel no sooner
enjoy a victory over Ai in chapter 8, they encounter a deceitful enemy but fail
to recognize it. The devil might show up as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), and
we easily recognize him and his temptation and we resist him in the Lord and
experience victory. But he never goes that far away and shortly returns to
deceive us with a lie to trick us into believing something that is not true.
Joshua 8 ends with Joshua and the people building an altar,
worshiping, making a new commitment to the Lord, reading God’s Word, and
determining to be more faithful and obedient to the Lord. Immediately after
that we read in chapter 9, that while Israel was at Mt. Ebal and Mt. Gerizim,
reaffirming their commitment to the Lord, the kings in Canaan were getting
ready to attack (vv. 1-2). They had heard about the defeat of Jericho and Ai
and were not about to give up without a fight. It was time for them to go on
the offensive and attack these Jewish invaders. The city-states in Canaan were
not always friendly with one another, but local rivals can often come together
when they have a common enemy (Ps. 2:1-2; Luke 23:12).
After an experience of great blessing, God's people must be
especially prepared to confront the enemy; for like Canaan, the Christian life
is "a land of hills and valleys" (Deut. 11:11). But Israel's greatest
danger wasn't the confederation of the armies of Canaan. It was a group of men
from Gibeon who were about to enter the camp and deceive Joshua and the princes
of Israel. Satan sometimes comes as a devouring lion (1 Peter 5:8) and
sometimes as a deceiving serpent (2 Cor. 11:3), and we must be alert and protected
by the spiritual armor God has provided for us (Eph. 6:10-18).
Today, may the Lord help us to remember that especially
after a victory and we make our strongest commitment to the Lord, that is when
we are in the most danger of being deceived by the enemy.
God Bless!
