ye? He finds himself concerned to stand upon his guard against secret fraud, as well as against open force; we in our spiritual warfare must stand against the wiles of the devil, remembering he is a subtle serpent as well as a roaring lion. In all leagues of relation and friendship we must first try, and then trust, lest we repent at leisure agreements made in haste. (3.) they would not tell whence they came; but still repeat the same thing, We are come from a very far country, v. 9. They will have it thought, that it is a country Israel knows nothing of, nor ever heard of, and therefore would be never the wiser if they should tell him the name of it.
4. They profess a respect for the God of Israel, the more to ingratiate themselves with Joshua, and we charitably believe they were sincere in this profession, "We are come because of the name of the Lord thy God, v. 9. because of what we have heard of that name, which has convinced us that it is above every name, and because we have a desire toward that name, and the remembrance of it, and would gladly come under its protection.
5. They fetch their inducements from what had been done some time before in Moses's reign, the tidings whereof might easily be supposed ere this to have reached distant regions, the plagues of Egypt and the destruction of Sihon and Og, v. 9, 10. but prudently say nothing of the destruction of Jericho and Ai, (though that was the true inducement, v. 3.) because they will have it supposed that they came from home long before those conquests were made. We need not be long to seek for reasons why we should submit to the God of Israel; we may be furnished either with new or old, which we will.
6. They make a good submission, We are your servants, and humbly sue for a general agreement, make a league with us, v. 11. They insist not upon terms, but will be glad of peace upon any terms; nor will the case admit of delays, lest the fraud be discovered; fain would they have the bargain struck up immediately; if Joshua will but make a league with them, they have all they come for, and they hope their ragged clothes and clouted shoes will be no exception against them; God and Israel reject none for their poverty.
Now, (1.) Their falsehood cannot be justified, nor ought it to be drawn into a precedent. We must not do evil, that good may come. Had they owned their countiy but renounced the idolatries of it, resigning the possession of it to Israel, and themselves to the God of Israel, we have reason to think Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to spare their lives, and they needed not to have made these pretensions. It is observable, when they had once said, We are come from a far country, v. 6. they found themselves necessitated to say it again, v. 9. and to say what was utterly false concerning their bread, their bottles, their clothes, v. 12, 13. for one lie is an inlet to another, and that to a third, and so on. The way of that sin is down-hill.
But (2.) Their faith and prudence are to be greatly commended; our Lord commended even the unjust steward, because he had done wisely and well for himself, Luke 16. 8. In submitting to Israel, they submitted to the God of Israel, which implied a renunciation of the God they had served, a resignation to the laws of the true religion. They had heard enough to convince them of the infinite power of the God of Israel, and from thence might infer his other perfections of wisdom and goodness; and how can we do better for ourselves, than surrender at discretion to infinite wisdom, and cast ourselves upon the mercy of a God of infinite goodness? The submission of these Gibeonites was the more laudable, because it was, [1.] Singular; their neighbours took another course, and expected they should join with them. [2.] Speedy; they did not stay till Israel had besieged their cities; then it had been too late to capitulate; but when they were at some distance, they desired conditions of peace. The way to avoid a judgment is to meet it by repentance. Let us imitate these Gibeonites, and make our peace with God in the rags of humiliation, godly sorrow, and mortification, so our iniquity shall not be our ruin. Let us be servants to Jesus, our blessed Joshua, and make a league with him and the Israel of God, and we shall live.
15. And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them. 16. And it came to pass, at the end of three days, after they had made a league with them, that they heard that they were their neighbours, and that they dwelt among them. 17. And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon, and Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim. 18. And the children of Israel smote them not, because the princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes. 19. But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel: now, therefore we may not touch them. 20. This we will do to them; we will even let them live; lest wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them. 21. And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
Here is,
I. The treaty soon concluded with the Gibeonites, v. 14, 15. The thing was not done with much formality, but in short. 1. They agreed to let them live, and more the Gibeonites did not ask. In a common war this had been but a small matter to be granted; but in the wars of Canaan, which were to make a general destruction, it was a great favour to a Canaanite to have his life given him for a prey, Jer. 45. 5. 2. This agreement was made not by Joshua only, but by the princes of the congregation, in conjunction with him. Though Joshua had an extraordinary call to the government, and extraordinary qualifications for it, yet he would not act in an affair of this nature, without the counsel and concurrence of the princes, who were neither kept in the dark nor kept under foot, but were treated by him as sharers in the government. 3. It was ratified by an oath, they sware unto them, not by any of the gods of Canaan, but by the God of Israel only, v. 19. They that mean honestly, do not startle at assurances, but satisfy those with whom they treat, and glorify God, by calling him to witness to the sincerity of their intentions. 4. Nothing appears to have been culpable in all this, but that it was done rashly; they took of their victuals, by which they satisfied themselves that it was indeed old and dry, but did not consider that that was no proof of their bringing it fresh from home; so that, making use of their senses only, but not their reason, they received the men (as the margin reads it)
Vol. ii.—G
