April 10, 2000
CYBERCOLUMN:
Victory from mistakes
___The Gibeonites knew Israel was coming and knew what Israel had in mind (Joshua 9). The rumors raging through Canaan were amazingly accurate. Everyone knew the stories of how God had rescued Israel from Egypt and sustained them in the wilderness, how he defeated great armies along the way, and how he totally destroyed the first two cities Israel confronted, Jericho and Ai. The Gibeonites had good reason to be afraid. Their cities wereon the short list of Israel's targets. They probably would be next.
BERRY SIMPSON
___ I imagine their political council was quite frantic when they met to formulate a strategy. They knew they could not defeat Israel in battle, and they had no place to escape.
___ Someone made the suggestion, as if straight from a Mel Brooks movie, that they dress up in old clothes and carry stale food and try to convince Joshua they were from far away. They knew Israel was forbidden by God to make treaties with Canaanite nations; maybe they would feel differently about distant nations. "It's just wild enough," one of the counselors probably said. "Maybe they'll fall for it."
___ So the Gibeonites did it. They tricked Joshua and his leaders into thinking they were from a far away country. And Joshua, in spite of his suspicion that these road-worn travelers weren't who they said they were, made a treaty with them. Joshua 9:14 tells us, "The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord." They based their decision on what they could see and feel and taste but failed to ask God, the author of all their recent victories.
___ It was a big mistake on the part of Joshua and his leaders.
___ They should have asked God before entering a treaty.
___ When the truth came out, the Israelite people reacted violently. They wanted to destroy all the Gibeonites immediately. They were angry at being tricked into a treaty, and besides that, they just suffered through an embarrassing defeat at Ai because they disobeyed God. Now they were doing it again. The leadership disobeyed God by making this treaty, and the Israelites wanted to solve the problem by killing the Gibeonites.
___ But Joshua stood between the Israelites and Gibeonites. He knew if they backed down from a treaty, it would dishonor God even more. He was willing to live with the consequences of his mistake, but he felt obligated to stand by the treaty.
___ Well, treaties often lead to war. Once Gibeon's neighbors and former allies discovered they had gone over to Israel's side, they mobilized to attack.
___ Joshua kept his word to Gibeon. In spite of the fact the treaty had been tricked out of him and humiliated him in front of God and his own people, he responded to defend Gibeon. Like Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville, Joshua marched his army all night and surprised the enemy at dawn, throwing them into confusion. As they fled the battle, God intervened on Israel's behalf and sent a hailstorm that devastated the opposition. Verse 10:10 says, "The Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of Israel."
___ And if that wasn't miracle enough, the text says Joshua asked God to stop the sun in the sky--to maintain daylight for hours longer. He did not want to allow the enemy to escape is darkness. Verse 10:13 says, "The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day." Incredible.
___ What a great story, but full of questions for us. Are we, like Joshua, obligated to stick to agreements that were tricked out of us? If it's a legal matter, then no we aren't. But how do we honor God most? It isn't always neat and clean. We may have to do like Joshua and suffer the consequences and embarrassment in order to honor God in the process.
___ Do you expect miracles in your own life? Do you expect God to win battles for you?
___ And myself, do I expect God to defend me and fight miraculously for me, even after I mess up the whole deal? God endorsed Joshua's decision to defend Gibeon by interceding in the battle, twice, to ensure Israel's success.
___ Do I expect God to turn my mistakes into victories? I hope he does. I make way too many mistakes to hope otherwise.
___ I think the real message of Ai and Gibeon is how Joshua responded after he realized he had disobeyed God. He returned to God and re-established his relationship. The victory was this: No matter what happened, Joshua ran home to God. And so, God used him over and over.
___ Berry Simpson, a Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Church in Midland, is a petroleum engineer, writer, runner and mayor pro-tem of the city of Midland.
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