May the mumbling commence!
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me…
Have you ever been fooled? What is a way to keep from being fooled?
The Israelite people were fooled
when they were conquering the Promised Land.
Read from Joshua chapter nine:
But when the
people of Gibeon heard what had happened to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to
deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered
saddlebags and old patched wineskins.
They put on ragged clothes and
worn-out, patched sandals. And they took along dry, moldy bread for provisions.
When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and
the men of Israel, "We have come
from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with
us."
The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we
know you don't live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with
you."
They replied, "We will be
your servants."
"But who are
you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do
you come from?"
They answered, "We are from a very
distant country. We have heard of the might of the Lord your God and of all he did in Egypt. We have also heard what he did to the two
Amorite kings east of the Jordan River – King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of
Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth). So our
leaders and our people instructed us, 'Prepare
for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and declare
our people to be their servants, and ask for peace.'
This bread was hot from the ovens when we left. But
now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and cracked. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our long, hard trip."
So the Israelite
leaders examined their bread, but they
did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace
treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a
binding oath.
Three days later, the
facts came out – these people of Gibeon lived nearby! The Israelites set out at once to investigate
and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon,
Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim. But
the Israelites did not attack the towns, for their leaders had made a vow to
the Lord, the God of Israel.
The people of
Israel grumbled against their leaders because of the treaty. But the leaders
replied, "We
have sworn an oath in the presence of the Lord,
the God of Israel. We cannot touch them. We must let them live, for God would be angry
with us if we broke our oath. Let them live. But we will make them
chop the wood and carry the water for the entire community."
So the Israelites kept their promise to the Gibeonites. (Verses 3-21)
What an intricate and planned deception! They planted proofs of their long journey
through worn clothes and sandals, through patched wineskins and moldy
bread. And Israel took the bait – hook,
line and sinker.
Israel did not consult the Lord. Israel went ahead and made the peace
treaty. But, as in all things, the truth
eventually comes out. It was three days
in this case. And the people of Israel
were not happy at being duped.
Still, the leaders knew that they had to live by their
oath. So the promise was kept and the
Gibeonites were forced into labor for Israel – just as they had asked. They paid the price for their
indiscretion. Perhaps we can learn from
their mistake and consult the Lord in all we do.
Lord, help us to keep from being fooled by your enemies.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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