Context No. 3885 of 4322 · Joshua

Joshua 9:22-27: in context

22Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you live among us? 23Now therefore you are cursed, and some of you will never fail to be slaves, both wood cutters and drawers of water for the house of my God.” 24They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were certainly told how the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25Now, behold, we are in your hand. Do to us as it seems good and right to you to do.” 26He did so to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they didn’t kill them. 27That day Joshua made them wood cutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the LORD’s altar to this day, in the place which he should choose.

When Joshua discovers that the Gibeonites deceived Israel into a treaty by pretending to come from a far country, he confronts them, and though they gained the covenant by a lie, Joshua does not break it. Instead of destroying them, he honors the oath Israel had sworn in God's name, sparing their lives while assigning them the humble role of woodcutters and water-carriers for the house of God.

What stands out is Israel's integrity in keeping their word, even when the word had been obtained by deception. They could have argued that a treaty gained by fraud was not binding, and destroyed the Gibeonites; but they had sworn by the LORD, and they would not treat that oath lightly, even to their own inconvenience. There is a challenge here about the seriousness of our promises. Israel kept a costly oath sworn even under false pretenses, because they had invoked God's name. How much more should we keep the honest commitments we make. Our word, once given, especially before God, is a serious thing, to be honored even when keeping it proves costly or inconvenient.

Do I keep my word once I have given it, honoring my commitments even when they prove costly or inconvenient, as Israel kept a costly oath rather than treat a promise made before God lightly?

Sources

Joshua 9:26: "He did so to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they didn't kill them."
Joshua 9:19: "We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Now therefore we may not touch them."
Psalm 15:4: "He who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn't change."