Joshua 9

The boldness of the other rulers in this passage spills over from Achan's sin and Israel's defeat at Ai. They thought that if Israel were defeated once, they could be defeated again.

Joshua was rightly suspicious of the Gibeonites as they tried to deceive them, he knew that a treaty would be a serious thing. They even feigned a fear of God to trick the Israelites. Israel's mistake was not asking about God, and allowing their ego to be boosted.

They also put their faith in an allegiance, rather than trusting solely in God. They disobeyed God's command to wipe out all of the people of that land. They made a covenant with someone other than God.

Often we are the same. We are very eager to jump at opportunities and make decisions without first seeing if that's really what God wants for us. Put on the brakes and listen to God before you decide. Include His will in your decision-making.

When the truth about Gibeon is revealed, Joshua is put in a lose-lose situation. But he responds quite well. What's important for us when we make mistakes is the next steps that we take. We as sinful beings will make mistakes but we must live faithfully in the chaos that we have created. Joshua responds by honouring the promises he made as well as upholding the law and covenant of God.

The bad choices we make can lead to hard situations, but we can ask Him to guide us to respond to it in a faithful and obedient way, like Joshua did. God is forgiving, but the physical consequences are still very much there and we must keep going in them, to show our repentance and faith.

God's response is quite unexpected. Fast-forward to the future and when Israel returns from exile, the Gibeonites are still there! God brings them close, showing His ultimate purpose in the world to bring all nations to Him in worship.