JULY 17, 2016
A CONFEDERACY IS FORMED AGAINST ISRAEL
INTRODUCTION:
1. Up to this point in the conquest, the Israelites had been the sole aggressors. Their enemies had been pretty much on the defensive until now.
2. It would appear however, that Israel’s struggles in the taking of Ai had affected some changes, not only with them, but also with their enemies. Before Ai, it was almost as if the Canaanites were simply biding time, waiting their turn to be destroyed. They had heard about Jericho, but even before that we were told that the king of the Amorites west of Jordan and the kings of the Canaanites which were by the sea were without spirit and frightened to the point of complete inaction. (Ch. 5:1) They saw the children of Israel as invincible, because of the spectacular ways in which they had entered the land, “…when all the kings…heard that the Lord had dried up the water of Jordan before the children of Israel.”
3. As we come to chapter 9, clearly we no longer see the passivity which the enemy kings had shown before, at least not with some of them. We can only assume that the whole ordeal concerning Ai had encouraged them to take a more proactive approach, and to try and unite their forces against Israel.
4. However, in this chapter we have two kinds of confederacies that are quite different in nature; one is formed for purposes of war (Verses 1, 2), and the other for purposes of peace. (Verses 3-15)
I. A CONFEDERACY OF HEATHEN KINGS AGREED TO JOIN FORCES TO MAKE WAR WITH ISRAEL. (VERSES 1, 2)
A. HAVING WITNESSED ISRAEL’S MIGHTY POWER TERRIBLY DISPLAYED, THE KINGS OF CANAAN SAW THE WISDOM OF FORMING A COALITION.
1. Jesus acknowledged that the people of this world can be very wise in their generation, that is, they often show great wisdom in worldly affairs. (Luke 16:8) The invading army appeared to be so powerful that individually they could not hope to succeed, thus the wise thing for them to do was to join forces.
a) Though we may see the wisdom in this strategy, and fully understand the reasoning behind it, still man’s shrewdest schemes can never give the advantage when God is fighting for His people.
b) When Israel went to war without God’s help, they fell before a very insignificant enemy. But, when they have God’s blessing, one man shall chase a thousand, and two shall put ten thousand to flight.
2. No doubt, these kings had engaged in many conflicts with each other in the past. But now, because they share a common enemy, for sake of survival they are able to put their differences aside in order to have the kind of strength that allied forces can provide.
3. It is a shame when Christians allow themselves to be divided over non-essential matters. In doing so we sacrifice the advantage of a united front against our common enemy, allowing him to carry away the prize for which we are contending.
B. IT IS UNDERSTANDABLE WHY THE KINGS OF THE LAND SUDDENLY DECIDED TO JOIN FORCES.
1. Because of the troubles which Israel met with at Ai, the enemy no longer saw them as invincible. Of course, they were never unconquerable in their own strength. It was God Who made them so. Therefore, this was a serious miscalculation on the part of the enemy kings, because once the accursed thing was put away, and God’s favor restored, Israel was as invincible as ever they had been.
2. The kings of Canaan reasoned that if Ai, being so small, could by itself give Israel such trouble, surely all together they might be able to defeat them completely. Israel had once suffered defeat because of sin, but even after sin was put away, they learned that, as a lingering consequence, it exposed them to even more intense assaults from the enemy. The same is still true with us today.
3. It cannot be overlooked that Joshua had just recently published God’s Law in Mount Ebal, which would henceforth become the Law of the land. (Ch. 8:32)
a) Satan’s house may be divided on many fronts, but regarding God’s Law and the world’s hatred for it, there is complete solidarity.
b) The publication of the Law of God was announcing to these heathen monarchs that there was one Lord and one King over all the land. Their unanimous response was like to that of Pharaoh. (Exod. 5:2)
c) The world will tolerate many things with respect to religion, but it will not tolerate the publication and proclamation of God’s holy Law.
4. So, the kings of Canaan responded to Israel’s recent conquest by forming a coalition for war, but there was a second kind of reaction seen in the following passage.
II. THE GIBEONITES DEVISED A SCHEME BY WHICH THEY HOPED TO MAKE PEACE WITH ISRAEL. (VERSES 3-15)
A. THIS PLAN WAS DECIDED UPON WHEN THE GIBEONITES HEARD WHAT THE LORD DID AT JERICHO AND AT AI. (VERSE 3)
1. They determined that they could in no way stand against Israel, so if they were to avoid death they must somehow join them.
2. There are sometimes those in the world who respond positively to what it hears about God and His Word, while others only have a negative reaction. Neither of these can be embraced by the church.
a) Some will find reasons to vent their hatred for God and His Word.
b) Others may want to somehow become part of the church and may be willing to present themselves under false pretenses. The church must be careful.
B. THE SCHEME DEVISED BY THE GIBEONITES WAS CLEVER AND ELABORATE AND DESIGNED TO DECEIVE. (VERSES 4-6)
1. Knowing that their destruction was imminent, they hastened to escape death by trickery.
2. They were very thorough in their efforts to deceive, and were well rehearsed in their speech.
C. THEIR STORY WAS CHALLENGED BY THE MEN OF ISRAEL AND ALSO THEIR HUMBLE OFFER TO SERVE WAS QUESTIONED. (VERSES 7, 8)
1. So far, so good, as we say. Joshua and the men of Israel seem determined to be very cautious, knowing that things aren’t always as they seem.
2. Their recent troubles no doubt made them wary, yet their one omission is quite glaring. “and the men…asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.” (Verse 14)
D. THE ANSWER GIVEN BY THE GIBEONITES WAS INGENIOUS AND CONVINCING. (VERSES 9-14)
1. How like the words of Rahab. (Ch. 2:9-12)
2. This sounded very good. False professors can often put into words a very sound confession.
3. They appeared to have already suffered greatly for their faith, and had made great sacrifices in order to be among the Lord’s own.
4. We cannot fault Joshua for being deceived by the Gibeonites. Only God knows the hearts of men. The fault lies in his failure to consult the Lord.
5. Joshua and the men of Israel were convinced of their sincerity by the physical evidence they observed. “…and the men took their victuals,” that is, “they received them by reason of their victuals.” (Verse 14a)
6. We must blame Joshua for neglecting to ask counsel of the Lord. There was no excuse for such an oversight. (Verse 14b)
a) Had he not just recently been made to suffer greatly for this same failure? (Ch. 7:2-5)
b) He had learned at Ai that things are not always what they seem to be.
c) Eleazar was at hand, whose job it was to inquire of the Lord for him by his breastplate.
d) He had just come from Mount Ebal and that solemn assembly where the Law was read in all their hearing.
e) He had returned to Gilgal (Verse 6), where the reproach was rolled away and the sign of their covenant relationship with God had been renewed. (Ch. 5:7-9)
E. WITHOUT CONSULTING THE NAME OF THE LORD, JOSHUA AGREED TO GRANT THE REQUEST OF THE GIBEONITES, AND HE AND THE PRINCES MADE THE AGREEMENT BINDING WITH AN OATH. (VERSE 15)
1. We can understand why Joshua was negligent and was therefore duped.
a) It seemed so obvious what was right.
b) It seemed a rather trivial matter.
c) It was one of those sudden incidents.
d) He had recently been so careful in holy duty and worship.
2. All of the above form a partial list of reasons why we too sometimes become victims of Satan’s devices.
F. THE OATH THAT WAS SWORN, EVEN UNDER THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, WAS NONETHELESS BINDING. This we shall see in our next lesson. God will not have His Name taken in vain.
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