Joshua 9:7-13: a reflection

7The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you live among us? How could we make a covenant with you?” 8They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Joshua said to them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?” 9They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of the LORD your God; for we have heard of his fame, all that he did in Egypt, 10and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. 11Our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take supplies in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them. Tell them, “We are your servants. Now make a covenant with us.”’ 12This our bread we took hot for our supplies out of our houses on the day we went out to go to you; but now, behold, it is dry, and has become moldy. 13These wineskins, which we filled, were new; and behold, they are torn. These our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.”

The Gibeonites, afraid of Israel, come with a clever deception. They dress in worn-out clothes and patched sandals, carry moldy bread and cracked wineskins, and claim to have traveled from a far country, so Israel will make a treaty with them rather than destroy them as near neighbors. And the props are convincing: look, they say, our bread was warm when we left and now it is dry and moldy; our clothes and sandals are worn out from the long journey. Israel examines the evidence, finds it persuasive, and makes the treaty.

Notice how Israel was taken in. Everything looked right. The physical evidence, the moldy bread, the worn clothes, all supported the Gibeonites' story, and Israel judged by what they could see and touch. The account notes the deeper failure a verse later: they did not ask counsel from the LORD. They made a binding decision on the basis of convincing appearances, without consulting God.

There is a caution here for our own decisions. Appearances can be convincing and still be deceiving; the evidence in front of us does not always tell the whole truth, and important matters can be misjudged when we rely only on what looks right and skip seeking God's guidance. Before a significant, binding decision, do not lean only on the persuasive evidence in front of you. Ask counsel from the Lord. The Gibeonites' moldy bread looked like proof; it was a trick. Seek God's wisdom before you commit, especially when everything seems to check out.

Lord, Israel was deceived by convincing appearances because they did not ask counsel from you. Keep me from leaning only on the evidence in front of me, which can look right and still deceive. Before important, binding decisions, help me seek your guidance, not just trust what seems to check out. Give me the wisdom to ask you first.