Our first sampling of Scripture comes from the book of Joshua. I love the book of Joshua. It is full of exciting stories that portray the best and worst of humanity and the faithfulness of God. Let me quickly set the scene. God is finally about to lead the Israelites into the promised land after wandering in the desert for 40 years. Moses has died and Joshua is their brave and faithful leader. Keep in mind this was a very violent time. God actually told them to conquer everyone in the promised land. This is where we pick up the story.
Read the passage below and remember, try not to get bogged down with details. As our Spiritual Growth study book says, “read the Bible with the intent of knowing God better,” not to memorize all of the details.
Let’s say a quick prayer before you dive in.
Lord, please speak to us as we read your Word. Thank you for providing it for us so we can hear from you. We want to know you better. Amen.
Enjoy!
Here are some questions to think about as you reflect on this chapter. Feel free to pick one to answer as a comment for all of us to see, ask a question of your own or tell us your thoughts.
These questions may sound familiar, they are from our Spiritual Growth study book.
I’ll respond to some of your comments, but hint hint, I underlined the part that stood out to me the most. I’d love to hear your take!
Read the passage below and remember, try not to get bogged down with details. As our Spiritual Growth study book says, “read the Bible with the intent of knowing God better,” not to memorize all of the details.
Let’s say a quick prayer before you dive in.
Lord, please speak to us as we read your Word. Thank you for providing it for us so we can hear from you. We want to know you better. Amen.
Enjoy!
Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things [from the previous chapters of Joshua]—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) [don’t get lost with all these names, keep reading!]— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.
3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded[a] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”
7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?” 8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua. But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”
9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”
14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
16 Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. [keep reading!] 18 But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel.
The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, 19 but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the LORD, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” 21 They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.
22 Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, “Why did you deceive us by saying, ‘We live a long way from you,’ while actually you live near us? 23 You are now under a curse: You will never be released from service as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
24 They answered Joshua, “Your servants were clearly told how the LORD your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. 25 We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.”
26 So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. 27 That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the LORD at the place the LORD would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
Here are some questions to think about as you reflect on this chapter. Feel free to pick one to answer as a comment for all of us to see, ask a question of your own or tell us your thoughts.
These questions may sound familiar, they are from our Spiritual Growth study book.
- What did you see in the passage for the first time?
- What surprised you?
- What bothered you?
- What did you learn about God?
- What did you learn about loving God?
- Did anything in your life come to mind as you read?
I’ll respond to some of your comments, but hint hint, I underlined the part that stood out to me the most. I’d love to hear your take!
brooke
Honestly as I started to read this the first time I got super bogged down with the details as I tend to do when reading the Old Testament so I had to go back and read through it a few times. Even after a few times I was still lost and the passage just wasn't speaking to me. I may have used some help from some other bloggers but at the end of the day I think this passage is trying to tell us that we need to consult God through prayer with important life decisions. While we make think we have all the facts in front of us to make a decision, it tends to be self serving rather than severing the Lord. Without seeking God in our important life decisions we could end up with life altering consequences just like the Gibeonites.
ReplyDeleteLord, thank you for the amazing women in our small group and providing a way for us to be connected throughout the summer. Please help me to consult you on a more regular basis through prayer as it will not only strengthen our relationship, but also help serve your will rather than my own. Amen.
Kimi, thanks for your response! It is a challenging passage and the Old Testament can be difficult to dive into so I'm with you Kimi! It's hard to jump into a story without much background on the people and circumstances.
DeleteHere's a brief summary: Some people living nearby (the Gibeonites) heard about how the Israelites were defeating everyone in the area in battle and they didn't want to die too. So they resorted to a ruse to trick the Israelites into letting them live. And it worked! They wore worn out clothes and carried moldy bread with them to pretend like they had been traveling for a long time as if they lived far away. The Israelites believed them and did not ask the Lord before swearing an oath to not kill the people. They found out later who they actually were, but they had already sworn an oath that they couldn't revoke. So they let the people live as their slaves as punishment for tricking them. We're going to see some of the consequences of their decision to let them live without asking the Lord in the next post.
So even though you don't feel like you understood it very well, you got the same thing out of it that I did! I know I tend to make decisions based on the information I have in front of me without praying about it. But what if the information is false or there are other things going on that I don't know about? Things aren't always as they seem, and I am not always the best judge of that. I need to ask God what decision to make because He is the only one who has all of the information and who knows what's best for me. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and what a beautiful prayer!