1 And it came to passe when all the kings which were on this side Iordan in the hilles, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea, ouer against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hiuite, and the Iebusite heard thereof:
2 That they gathered themselues together to fight with Ioshua, and with Israel, with one accord.
3 ¶ And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Ioshua had done vnto Iericho, and to Ai,
4 They did worke wilily, and went and made as if they had beene embassadours, and tooke old sackes vpon their asses, and wine-bottels, old, and rent, and bound vp,
5 And old shooes and clowted vpon their feet, & olde garments vpon them, and all the bread of their prouision was drie and mouldie.
6 And they went to Ioshua vnto the campe at Gilgal, and said vnto him, and to the men of Israel, Wee be come from a farre countrey: Now therefore make ye a league with vs.
7 And the men of Israel said vnto the Hiuites, Peraduenture yee dwell among vs, and how shall wee make a league with you.?
8 And they said vnto Ioshua, Wee are thy seruants. And Ioshua said vnto them, Who are ye? And from whence come ye?
9 And they said vnto him, From a very farre countrey thy seruants are come, because of the Name of the Lord thy God: for wee haue heard the fame of him, and all that hee did in Egypt,
10 And all that hee did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Iordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth.
11 Wherefore our Elders and all the inhabitants of our countrey, spake to vs, saying, Take victuals with you for the iourney, and goe to meete them, and say vnto them, Wee are your seruants: therefore now make ye a league with vs.
12 This our bread, wee tooke hote for our prouision out of our houses, on the day we came forth to goe vnto you: but now behold, it is dry, & it is mouldy.
13 And these bottels of wine which we filled, were new, and behold, they be rent: and these our garments, and our shooes are become old, by reason of the very long iourney.
14 And the men tooke of their victuals, and asked not counsell at the mouth of the Lord.
15 And Ioshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them liue: and the princes of the Congregation sware vnto them.
16 ¶ And it came to passe at the end of three dayes, after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them.
17 And the children of Israel iourneyed, and came vnto their cities on the third day: now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kiriath iearim.
18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the Princes of the Congregation had sworne vnto them by the Lord God of Israel: And all the Congregation murmured against the Princes.
19 But all the Princes said vnto all the Congregation, We haue sworne vnto them by the Lord God of Israel: now therefore we may not touch them.
20 This we will doe to them; wee will euen let them liue, lest wrath be vpon vs, because of the oath which wee sware vnto them.
21 And the Princes said vnto them, Let them liue, (but let them bee hewers of wood, and drawers of water, vnto all the Congregation,) as the Princes had promised them.
22 ¶ And Ioshua called for them, and he spake vnto them, saying, Wherefore haue ye beguiled vs, saying, We are very farre from you? when ye dwell among vs.
23 Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you bee freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood, and drawers of water, for the house of my God.
24 And they answered Ioshua, and said, Because it was certainely told thy seruants, how that the Lord thy God commanded his seruant Moses to giue you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our liues because of you, and haue done this thing.
25 And now behold, we are in thine hand: as it seemeth good and right vnto thee to doe vnto vs, doe.
26 And so did he vnto them, and deliuered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
27 And Ioshua made them that day, hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the Congregation, and for the Altar of the Lord, euen vnto this day, in the place which he should choose.
The kings combine against Israel. (1,2) The Gibeonites apply for peace. (3-13) They obtain peace, but are soon detected. (14-21) The Gibeonites are to be bondmen. (22-27)1,2 Hitherto the Canaanites had defended themselves, but here they consult to attack Israel. Their minds were blinded, and their hearts hardened to their destruction. Though often at enmity with each other, yet they united against Israel. Oh that Israel would learn of Canaanites, to sacrifice private interests to the public welfare, and to lay aside all quarrels among themselves, that they may unite against the enemies of God's kingdom!
3-13 Other people heard these tidings, and were driven thereby to make war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and the grace of God in the gospel, is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death, #2Co 2:16|. The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified. We must not do evil that good may themselves to the God of Israel, we have reason to think Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to spare their lives. But when they had once said, "We are come from a far country," they were led to say it made of skins, and their clothes: one lie brings on another, and that a third, and so on. The way of that sin is especially down-hill. Yet their faith and prudence are to be commended. In submitting to Israel they submitted to the God of Israel, which implied forsaking their idolatries. And how can we do better than cast ourselves upon the mercy of a God of all goodness? The way to avoid judgment is to meet it by repentance. Let us do like these Gibeonites, seek peace with God in the rags of abasement, and godly sorrow; so our sin shall not be our ruin. Let us be servants to Jesus, our blessed Joshua, and we shall live.
14-21 The Israelites, having examined the provisions of the Gibeonites, hastily concluded that they confirmed their account. We make more haste than good speed, when we stay not to take God with us, and do not consult him by the word and prayer. The fraud was soon found out. A lying tongue is but for a moment. Had the oath been in itself unlawful, it would not have been binding; for no obligation can render it our duty to commit a sin. But it was not unlawful to spare the Canaanites who submitted, and left idolatry, desiring only that their lives might be spared. A citizen of Zion swears to his own hurt, and changes not, #Ps 15:4|. Joshua and the princes, when they found that they had been deceived, did not apply to Eleazar the high priest to be freed from their engagement, much less did they pretend that no faith is to be kept with those to whom they had sworn. Let this convince us how we ought to keep our promises, and make good our bargains; and what conscience we ought to make of our words.
22-27 The Gibeonites do not justify their lie, but plead that they did it to save their lives. And the fear was not merely of the power of man; one might flee from that to the Divine protection; but of the power of God himself, which they saw engaged against them. Joshua sentences them to perpetual bondage. They must be servants, but any work becomes honourable, when it is done for the house of the Lord, and the offices thereof. Let us, in like manner, submit to our Lord Jesus, saying, We are in thy hand, do unto us as seemeth good and right unto thee, only save our souls; and we shall not repent it. If He appoints us to bear his cross, and serve him, that shall be neither shame nor grief to us, while the meanest office in God's service will entitle us to a dwelling in the house of the Lord all the days of our life. And in coming to the Saviour, we do not proceed upon a peradventure. We are invited to draw nigh, and are assured that him that cometh to Him, he will in nowise cast out. Even those things which sound harsh, and are humbling, and form sharp trials of our sincerity, will prove of real advantage.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.