Joshua 9 – 11

Joshua 9-11

Shortly after Moses went back up on Mount Sinai after he confronted the people about the worship of the golden calf, God told him (Exodus 34:12), “Be very careful never to make a treaty with the people who live in the land where you are going. If you do, you will follow their evil ways and be trapped.” The people of Gibeon used deception to save themselves. The other kings of the area banded together to fight against the Israelites.

The Gibeonites, who were part of the Hivites the Israelites were supposed to destroy, pretended that they were from a “very distant country.” Joshua knew he couldn’t make a pact with anyone who lived nearby and told these guys so. They convinced him they were telling the truth and he made a treaty with them. In just three days, he finds our about the deception, but did not attack the towns of the Gibeonites because the Israelite leaders had made a vow to them in the name of the Lord. Instead, they made them woodcutters and water carriers, keeping them in close contact with the community. It seems to me it would have been better for the Israelites to drive them from the area, to exile them from the Promised Land.

Pretty soon, five Amorite kings get together to attack Gibeon. They call on the Israelites for help and the Israelites defeat the five kings and their armies. Joshua calls for the sun to stand still over Gibeon and it did. According to Joshua 10:13, “ So the sun stood still and the moon stayed in place until the nation of Israel defeated its enemies.”

Joshua and the Israelite army captured a number of places and defeated the southern armies in a single campaign because the Lord was fighting for his people. Shortly after that, he defeated the northern armies too. Joshua 11:23 sums it up well: “So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses…”

Tomorrow, it’s Joshua 12-15.

Until next time…