We Have Met the Enemy Joshua 9:1-27 There’s a popular television game show on ABC called To Tell the Truth. The original version of the show began in 1956 and ran through 1968. If you’ve not seen it, there are three contestants on a panel who are questioned by four celebrity judges. The central character on the panel has an usual job or has had a significant life experience of some kind. Two of the people on the panel are imposters and one is the actual person. The judges question each contestant and then have to decide which person they think is telling the truth. In many cases, the celebrity judges pick one of the imposters because they’re so convincing and skilled at deception. Have you ever been deceived by someone? I’m sure all of us have. Our study today in the book of Joshua brings us to chapter 9. In Joshua chapter 9, we find the story of a lie that Joshua and the children of Israel fell for. It was a lie that could have been detected had they sought God’s wisdom. But instead, they made a binding covenant with one of their enemies. What happened as a result of falling prey to this deception? What lessons can we learn about spiritual discernment and why it’s so vital in our walk with God? Let’s take a moment to put Joshua chapter 9 into context. In taking possession of the Land of Promise, the sequence of battles recorded in the first half of this narrative shows that Joshua’s first objective was to conquer the center part of the land. Jericho was first city they conquered – then came Ai. Joshua and his army were moving west toward the next city – which was Gibeon. The Gibeonites posed a unique challenge because, as we’ll see in this 9th chapter, they were skilled at tradecraft. Chapter 9 begins: Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things—the kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)—they came together to wage war against Joshua and Israel. However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said 2 to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.” As we see in verses 1-6, this chapter begins with: 1. A daring deception. When verse 1 mentions that the Canaanite kings heard about “these things” it’s talking about how they heard that Jericho and Ai had been conquered by Joshua and the army of Israel. They undoubtedly heard that Joshua and his army were taking no prisoners. That’s why these kings decided to form a coalition of forces. It was their only hope of survival. But the Gibeonites came up with a more clever strategy. They knew that Joshua and his army wouldn’t willingly enter into a deal to spare them – so they employed the use of deception. The late politician Adlai Stevenson once said tongue-in-cheek that “a lie is an abomination unto the Lord—but it’s also a very present help in times of trouble.” The Gibeonites would prove both sides of that statement. What did they do? First: a. They pretended to come from a distant land. They put on worn shoes and clothing and packed moldy bread and cracked wineskins to make it look like they had been traveling for a long time. This ruse worked better than they could have imagined. When they got to Gilgal, Joshua and his army questioned them and decided they were telling the truth. Second: b. They used flattery. Look at verses 9-10: They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the LORD your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan—Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. It’s interesting to note in this passage that the Gibeonites used the name of God – Yahweh – God Almighty. They had their spiritual lingo down. They said, “We’ve heard stories about your powerful God and how He delivered you from Egypt and gave you victory over the kings east of the Jordan. You guys are awesome!” The use of flattery was clever because it appealed to their pride - and their belief that with God on their side, they were invincible. Hank Ketchum was an artist and creator of the Dennis the Menace cartoon series. He once said, “Flattery is like chewing gum – enjoy it, but don’t swallow it.” Joshua and the other leaders were skeptical at first about the 3 sudden appearance of these strangers - but they swallowed the chewing gum because they weren’t expecting a ruse. All things considered, it’s surprising how easy it was for the Gibeonites to fool them. But herein lies an important spiritual lesson we dare not miss: Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and a servant of righteousness. Elsewhere in Scripture, we read that Satan’s emissaries – his false prophets go out among God’s people as wolves in sheep’s clothing. Satan is a master of deception and the father of lies. It may sound like a strange question to ask, but do you believe Satan is real? You may be surprised, but I don’t take it as an accepted fact that all Christians believe that Satan is real. In my first ministry, one of the most devoted, sincere followers of Christ in the church I served didn’t believe Satan is real. She had been a member of a conservative Baptist Church her entire life. I remember her saying that Satan was invented by pre-scientific man to explain the problem of evil in the world. I nearly fell out the chair in her kitchen when she told me that. In 2013, a Barna Organization poll revealed that 32% of people who claim to be born again don’t believe Satan is real. But when we look in the Scriptures, we find that Satan and his diabolical work is talked about as a matter of fact. 20% of the miracles of Jesus recorded in the gospels have to do with Him casting demons out of people. Satan is alive and active in this world. He hates Jesus - and those of us who follow Jesus. His goal is to devour us and to destroy our faith in God – and he’ll use any means necessary. The next thing we see in this narrative is that the deception of the Gibeonites caused Joshua and his people to make: 2. A foolish blunder. Look at verse 15: Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath. In swearing this oath, they promised before God not to harm the Gibeonites. In Scripture, swearing an oath before God is serious business. The Bible says that we can’t make a promise in God’s name and then break it because we decide sometime later that we don’t like the deal anymore. Psalm 15 begins with a question: Who may dwell in your sanctuary? What’s the answer to that question? He who keeps an oath even when it hurts. God 4 takes our promises seriously, even when we don’t. That’s why Ecclesiastes 5 tells us that it’s better not to make a promise before the Lord than it is to swear an oath and break it later. God expects us to keep the promises we make. Having sworn an oath, the Gibeonites were spared from harm. This narrative begs us to ask: Why did Joshua and his leaders enter into this covenant with the Gibeonites – and, quite possibly, imperil their security and their spiritual life as a nation? We find the answer in verse 14: They did not inquire of the LORD. Think about this for a moment. Joshua made a costly mistake shortly before this when he listened to his spies instead of seeking the Lord for His plan on how to take the city of Ai. Israel was defeated and they lost 36 fighting men. He repeats the same mistake here. Joshua didn’t inquire of the LORD as to what to do with these strangers. He trusted his gut instinct instead of asking God for wisdom. There’s a part of me that says, “How could Joshua have been so foolish?” But then, I’m reminded of the countless times I’ve made decisions without talking with God about them - the countless times I’ve relied on my own wisdom - the countless times I’ve made decisions because I had a hunch I was making the right choice. It grieves me to admit that I’ve made a lot of bad decisions because I didn’t seek God’s guidance.