The story of the conquest is one of a mixture of victories, defeats and failures. It is not one of victory after victory. This is normal! Yet in all this progress is constantly made.
Some of the kings, on hearing what Israel was doing, came together to try and oppose Israel. The Gibeonites, however, adopted a different strategy. Israel was conquering the local nations, not the ones from afar. So the Gibeonites decided to try and deceive Israel into believing that she was a distant nation. They knew the deception would not last long, so she sought to make a treaty before the deception was realised.
They tried to make out that they had travelled from afar. The Israelites were suspicious, but investigated the matter. However, they did not inquire of the Lord. One of the proverbs warns against relying on our own understanding.
When the deception came to light the people were angry. Joshua, however, insisted that they observed the treaty they had made. So we see here how we should respond to mistakes we make. If we have made agreements, then we should keep to them. Throughout the Bible we see God working through, and despite, the mistakes that people make. To make the treaty was a mistake, but to break the treaty would have been a sin against God, and would have had really serious consequences. We need to apply this principle to our own lives.
So the Gibeonites became effectively slaves for Israel.
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