Faith Amongst Grasshopper HeartsSample

 God brings good out of brokeness. #1

Our passage for today starts a chain of events and raises some very interesting questions but also some amazing insights. It's about the people of the city of Gibeon who deceive Joshua and the Israelites by pretending that they have come from a far-away land to make a peace treaty with the Israelites.

God had instructed the Israelites NOT to make treaties with the people of the land, but to destroy them, lest the people of the land tempt them into idolatry and the worship of false gods. (See Deut.7:1-5)

The ESV Study Bible points out that Israel's 'bending of the rules' with Rahab of Jericho and now the Gibeonites, could be justified because both groups express faith in the power of Israel's God and submit to Israel.  

But the Gibeonite story is more complicated because they deceived the Israelites into thinking that they were from a far-away land. The deception is described in detail: worn out sacks and wine-skins with stale bread and cracked sandals. They present themselves a minor threat. There is an important lesson here: Things are seldom as they seem... 

While we should not be negative and cynical about others, we should also not be too naive. The secret to getting the right balance between cynicism and naivety is to do what the Israelites didn't do, which was to ask God for guidance.

The Israelites enter into a treaty with the Gibeonites and when the ruse is revealed, the Gibeonites once again declare their faith in the power of God, and submit to a future of servanthood to Israel - they become "woodcutters and water-bearers" for the Israelites, but, in a divine 'twist of fate' they have the honour of providing wood and water for the tabernacle and the temple - a very elevated status for servants.

The Gibeon treaty sets off a fascinating chain of events which we'll look at tomorrow.

The three important lessons from today's reading are:

• There will always be deceptive people in the world.
• It's vital to listen to God when we make important decisions
• God can use our mistakes and a little bit of faith and bring about great good (we'll see this more clearly tomorrow.)