THEY DID NOT INQUIRE OF THE LORD

Joshua 9:1-15 / Keywords 9:14

The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD.

 

The Gibeonite Deception

9:1 Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)— 2 they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel.

3 However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded[a] with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. 5 They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

7 The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”

8 “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

9 They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. 11 And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, ‘Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; make a treaty with us.”’ 12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. 13 And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey.”

14 The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. 15 Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Footnotes

a. Joshua 9:4 Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts, Vulgate and Syriac (see also Septuagint) They prepared provisions and loaded their donkeys

1. The Israelites had just won a great victory against the king of Ai. As God promised, the Israelites were conquering the land of Canaan and winning the victory through God’s help. There were people of Gibeon who heard what God had done to Israel, and how God gave them victory over Jericho and Ai.

 

2. They knew that they would be conquered by Israel, who were being helped by God. So, they sent a delegation to the Israelites to deceive them, saying that they were from a faraway country and wanted to make a treaty with Israel. Israel had to be more alert when they received these people.

 

3. Verse 14 says, “but did not inquire of the Lord.” Worst of all, they failed to inquire of God. It is important to inquire of God in every matter. God is our wonderful counselor. When we inquire of God, he leads us in the best way. When they failed to inquire of God and seek God’s wisdom, they made a grave mistake and later were not able to annihilate the neighboring nation of Gibeon because of their foolish treaty. In our daily struggle, we need to come to God in prayer and ask for God’s wisdom. Then God gives us wisdom abundantly and leads us in the right direction.

 

Prayer Lord, help us to inquire of you in every matter.

One Word Inquire of God for each problem