After the Deception

“And now we are in your hand: do as it seems good

 and right in your sight to do to us.”

Joshua 9:25

Long ago when Moses spelled out the norms of warfare for God’s people he distinguished between the native peoples of Canaan and those who lived far away. For the former, the Israelites were to show no mercy lest Canaanite religious practices dilute the people’s devotion to God. Yet if the army encountered people from other lands they were first to attempt a peace treaty. 

Prior to the verse we just read, the army of Israel had destroyed the cities of Jericho and Ai.  The Gibeonites, a nation just a few miles away, hears about those events and hatches a creative plan to prevent their own annihilation. Wearing worn-out clothing and taking provisions that are clearly unappetizing they go to Joshua, Moses’ successor as leader of the people. “We have come from a far country” they say “so now make a treaty with us.” 

“Perhaps you live among us,” the Israelites reply “then how can we make a treaty with you?” The delegation shows moldy bread which they claim was fresh when they set out, point to patched wineskins which were new at departure and how their clothing is clearly worse for the wear to prove how far they have journeyed. The Israelites buy the story noting that “the leaders partook of [The Gibeonites’] provisions and did not ask direction from the LORD.”  Joshua makes peace with the delegation and other leaders of Israel swear an oath to God ensuring their safety, too.

Three days later the Israelites learn they have been tricked. When Joshua confronts those who had negotiated the peace, he asks why they deceived him. “We were in great fear for our lives because of you,” they say “and did this thing. And now we are in your hand: do as it seems good and right in your sight to do to us.”  Joshua decides to honor the treaty even though it began under false pretenses and sentences them to labor as the ones who will cut wood and draw water for the people and their worship space. That arrangement endured for generations.  

We should not conclude from that account and other ones in Scripture where a trickster wins to suggest that God encourages deceptive actions. Jacob deceiving his older brother Esau is a ready example. (Genesis 27) Instead, God’s intention for us to be up front and ethical in our dealings with others and this scene is not suggesting otherwise.  Yet Scripture does reveal that God is not adverse to using times when we are deceived to teach important lessons.

When I started college, I was quite unsure of myself around the opposite sex and always cautious in romantic matters. Thus, it was a pleasant surprise only a month or so after school started when I received an unsigned birthday card. There was one word printed inside–“enchanted”–and a drawing of a tennis racquet.  My mind began to ponder who might have sent it to me and soon I settled on an attractive freshman that I knew only in passing. She was in one of my classes and a member of the school’s tennis team so I told my buddies that I was sure this card was from her.  I even boasted about how none of them had received such a card.  It was only after I asked her out and she said “no” that my roommate told me another guy had sent the card as a joke. I was humiliated and seethed.

The next year, the perpetrator of that hoax lived next door and had one of those erasable message boards. One day while he was in class I left a message in what I decided was the most feminine-looking handwriting I could muster. It was an innocuous note, saying something like “David, sorry I missed you,” but it was signed simply with the letter “B.” Later, he asked me later if I had seen someone come by his room. “No one out of the ordinary,” I replied. Encouraged, I began months of leaving notes just after he had left the room that expressed growing fervor from this anonymous “B.”  Over Christmas break, I even had classmates take letters and mail them to him from various cities so as to add to his confusion. I clearly had too much time on my hands!   

At any rate, David began dating someone named Bev that spring so I stopped sending the notes, letting him conclude that she had been the secret admirer. It wasn’t until the summer after that relationship ended when I finally told him the truth about the notes and letters. I expected to feel a great sense of victory, but instead felt foolish for having wasted my time for so long.   

Joshua chose a better path after being tricked, choosing to learn from his mistake and consult God before proceeding in any future military efforts.  That approach worked and at the end of the book bearing his name he calls upon the people to declare their ultimate loyalty to and reliance upon God in every moment.

The outcome does not suggest that by actively seeking God’s direction we will never be tricked by others. There’s no implied word that if we pray for insight before making a big decision we will always choose the right path either. We are still human after all and even when we open ourselves to God’s direction our frail natures can win out despite our best efforts.  

Still, an embarrassing Biblical event and one from my college years reveal what can happen when we cut ourselves off from or choose to ignore an ever-present source of direction. Pointing by contrast to a very different history we will experience if we seek God’s leading first, especially in those moments when we’re sure we don’t need it.

Wise One, you are never deceived.  The same can’t be said for me.  Help me always turn to you first before I react. Amen.