The Gibeonites: Deception and Mercy

The Gibeonites' trick worked because it looked so real. The bread really was moldy, and the sandals really were worn out. Only the story was false. Learning to see through tricks is part of following Jesus.

Looks can fool us. When God sent Samuel to choose a king, He said, “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Israel looked at bread. God sees what is really true.

The great deceiver. Paul wrote, “I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). The devil's favorite tool is a lie that sounds true.

Jesus is the truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The closer we stay to Jesus, the easier it is to spot what is false.

Ask God first. Israel's mistake was simple: “they did not ask counsel of the Lord” (Joshua 9:14). God promises, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go” (Psalm 32:8).

God gives wisdom. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

Check with God's Word. “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). When something does not match what the Bible says, it is not from God, no matter how good it looks.

Ask wise people. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). Talk to parents, pastors and older Christians before big choices.

Take your time. Israel decided quickly. A good question to ask is, Why does someone want me to decide right now? Tricks often rush us.

Don't be the trickster. The Gibeonites lied because they were afraid. God says, “putting away lying, ‘Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor’” (Ephesians 4:25). Fear is never a reason to lie.

Strong in the Lord. “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).

What to do. Before you say yes to something new this week, stop and pray. Ask God to help you see what is true, and ask a grown-up you trust.

The Gibeonites were Canaanites, outsiders who did not belong to God's people. They came the wrong way, with a lie. Yet God's mercy found them, and their story ended near His altar.

They believed God's word. They said, “Your servants were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you all the land” (Joshua 9:24). They believed God would do what He said.

Like Rahab. Rahab had said, “I know that the Lord has given you the land” (Joshua 2:9). She and the Gibeonites had heard about the same mighty acts of God, and both sought mercy.

Rahab's faith. “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe” (Hebrews 11:31). God has always welcomed outsiders who turn to Him.

Spared. Joshua “delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them” (Joshua 9:26). Their lives were saved.

A place near God. They served “for the altar of the Lord, in the place which He would choose” (9:27). Every day they were close to the place where God met His people.

A happy place to work. The psalm writer said, “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!” (Psalm 84:1). Being near God's house is a privilege.

God fights for them. Soon five kings attacked Gibeon. The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua, “Do not forsake your servants; come up to us quickly, save us and help us” (Joshua 10:6). Israel came, and God fought for Gibeon.

A city of God's servants. Later, Gibeon became one of the cities given to the priests (Joshua 21:17). The tabernacle stood there in King David's day (1 Chronicles 16:39), and King Solomon worshiped God there (1 Kings 3:4).

Helping to rebuild. Hundreds of years later, men of Gibeon helped rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 3:7). The outsiders had become part of God's people.

Outsiders brought near. “You who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). We are “no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

Every nation. In heaven John saw “a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9).

What to do. Think of someone who seems like an outsider at school or church. Be kind to them this week, the way God was kind to the Gibeonites and to us.