(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Joshua 9:3–14, “And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up; And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far country: now therefore make ye a league with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of the LORD thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, which was at Ashtaroth. Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: therefore now make ye a league with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and it is mouldy: And these bottles of wine, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey. And the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the LORD.”
While most of the leaders of the city states in Canaan were planning to involve prosecute one massive military campaign, the people from the city of Gibeon decided on a more disingenuous strategy. They decided to use subtlety and lies to save themselves from defeat. They collected old clothes and other items then sent ambassadors to Joshua, telling him that they came from a distant country. They used their old items to substantiate their case, saying that when the left their home everything was new. Now the items were very old, proving that they had travelled for many weeks to meet with Joshua. They asked Joshua to sign a non aggression treaty even though they came from a distant country. On the face of it, their request seemed to be quite reasonable. After all, Joshua’s task to was brings the Lord’s punishment on the Amorites rather than on nations who lived outside the Promised Land. They said that they had heard all the great things that the Lord had done and wanted to on the Lord’s side and not against Him. They claimed to have heard of the great victories that the Lord had given to Israel. In the final analysis, the Lord was working so that all the nations would know that He is the Lord. (see Ex 7:5, “And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”) Joshua heard their arguments and felt that he was achieving the Lord’s plan because these people from a far country knew that the Lord is God. He listened to their offer of a treaty and then took some time to consider their offer.
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