Scripture Daily

Context No. 778 of 4322 · Joshua

Context · Reflection

Joshua 10:1-6: in context

1Now when Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them, 2they were very afraid, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all its men were mighty. 3Therefore Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying, 4“Come up to me and help me. Let’s strike Gibeon; for they have made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel.” 5Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together and went up, they and all their armies, and encamped against Gibeon, and made war against it. 6The men of Gibeon sent to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, saying, “Don’t abandon your servants! Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us; for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the hill country have gathered together against us.”

In the chapter before this, the Gibeonites had tricked Joshua into a peace treaty, pretending to be travelers from far away when they were really neighbors. Now that deception has consequences none of them saw coming. The king of Jerusalem hears that Gibeon, a great city with capable men, has gone over to Israel, and it terrifies him. So he gathers four other Amorite kings, and the five of them march on Gibeon, not to attack a distant enemy but to punish a defector. Gibeon's crime, in their eyes, is that it made peace with Joshua and the people of God.

That peace, which had looked like Gibeon's clever escape, has now made it a target. The very act of joining Israel drew the armies of five kings down on the city. And so the Gibeonites send a desperate message to Joshua at Gilgal: do not abandon your servants; come up quickly and save us. They have learned the first lesson of choosing a side. Joining the right people does not always buy you safety; sometimes it is exactly what brings the opposition down on your head. But it also gives you someone to call. The ones they aligned with are the ones who can come, and, bound by his oath, Joshua does.

Gibeon was attacked precisely because it had allied itself with God's people. When choosing the right side brings opposition rather than safety, do I regret the choice, or do I turn to call the very one I joined?

Sources