"And Joshua made peace with them, (the Gibeonites) and he made a covenant to leave
them alive, and the princes of Israel made them an oath." Joshua 9:15
The Gibeonites were the first to surrender to Israel, being filled with fear. They realized they didn't stand a chance
against Joshua's army, so they devised a plan to save themselves by tricking Joshua into signing a peace treaty. But why didn't
they just surrender without resorting to trickery? Surely, they must have realized that sooner or later, their true identity
would be discovered.
Even though the Gibeonites realized that Joshua would ultimately dicover their true identity, they thought that if they
could secure a treaty in Yahveh's Name, even if signed under false pretenses, Israel would have to honor it. They were very
careful to secure a treaty that included an 'oath' in Yahveh's Name, stipulating that they would not be killed.
How did the Gibeonites know that Israel would not break any type of oath made in Yahveh's Name?
For The Sake Of Yahveh's Name
"And they answered Joshua saying: We, your servants, have come from a land very far away for
the sake of the Name of Yahveh your Elohim, for we heard His reputation and everything He had done to Egypt.
Now make with us a covenant." Joshua 9:9-11
Had the Gibeonites not made up this "reason" for their journey, Joshua would have been more suspicious
of their story. What led them to assume that Israel would be impressed by their reason of 'for the sake of Yahveh's Name'?
And how did they know that Israel would not break any type of oath made in Yahveh's Name?
It appears that the Gieonites were not only aware that Israel was commanded to conquer the seven nations of Canaan, they
also heard that they were destined to represent Yahveh to the other nations.
Because respect for Yahveh's Name was so important to the Israelites (see the Third Commandment), the Gibeonites
assumed that Israel would not go back on this oath, for doing so would be a desecration of Yahveh's Name. (Joshua 7:9,
Numbers 14:15-16 and Deuteronomy 9:28-29)
The Gibeonites also assumed that Israel would be excited and eager to accept their story, that they came
from far away for the sake of Yahveh's Name. And that is exactly what happened. Their story was quickly accepted and ratified
with an oath, without consulting with Yahveh. Three days later the leaders of Israel realized that they had been duped but
as was expected, they kept their oath not to kill the Gibeonites, because of the treaty in Yahveh's Name. (Joshua 9:14-19)
When Joshua asked the Gibeonites why they lied, their answer was: "We were told
that Yahveh commanded that you should conquer this land, and destroy all the inhabitants of this land, and we feared greatly
for our lives." Joshua 9:24
A New Deal
Even though Israel kept their oath not to kill the Gibeonites, the treaty itself was nullified, because it was made under
false pretenses. Instead, Joshua reached a new agreement ~ the Gibeonites will serve Israel as water carriers
and woodcutters for the needs of the Tabernacle. (Josh 9:23, 26-27)
Based on Deuteronomy 20:10-11, any Canaanite nation had the option to make peace with Joshua, as long as they accepted
servitude. The Gibeonites could have made peace agreement with Joshua without deception, but they resorted to trickery
because they were not aware of that possibility. The end result, however, was the same.
Joshua's 'mistaken treaty' with the Gibeonites led to a series of events that created a military adventage for Israel,
allowing him to conquer the entire southern half of the country quite easily. In hindsight, Joshua and the tribal leaders
made a very 'good mistake' by believing the Gibeonites.
"All things work together for good..."
