Sunday, January 11, 2004
Joshua 9 - a covenant of peace
Joshua 9:3-4 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning
This story of the wily Gibeonites who trick Joshua into making a treaty with them is faintly reminiscent of Jesus' story of the dishonest manager. Read the whole story in Luke 16:1-13, but the surprise comes when Jesus reports that:
Luke 16:8 his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth1 so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
Where we expect God to prefer the pious one who just submits to his just punishment, in this parable, Jesus holds up the shrewdness of the one who fixed up for himself a bunch of friends at this master's expense, so that when the time of his righteous punishment he would have succor. The master so admired this initiative that he praises his embezzling steward for his shrewdness. And Jesus says we should do the best with the dishonest gain we have to make friends with the poor and thus have a welcome in heaven.
Here in the bloody story of Joshua, following the destruction of Jericho and Ai, and before the destruction of the five kings of the south, we have the story of the people of the city of Gibeon. Hearing of Joshua's victories -- and more chilling, hearing of the slaughter he inflicts -- they devise a ruse by which they hope to be saved.
Joshua 9:4-6 they went and prepared provisions,1 and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes; and all their provisions were dry and moldy. 6 They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the Israelites, "We have come from a far country; so now make a treaty with us." [The word "treaty" here is berith, usually translated "covenant."]
The Israelites were no dummies, and questioned them closely:
Joshua 9:7 But the Israelites said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a treaty with you?"
But the Gibeonites lied through their teeth, and the result was that
Joshua 9:15 Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. [the word "peace" here is shalom.]
Three days later, when Israel discovered that they were tricked, they went up to attack, but Joshua and the leaders felt bound by the treaty and oath they had made. The Gibeonites were allowed to live, but as slaves (as "hewers of wood and drawers of water." ) (v. 27). From the point of view of the Gibeonites, noting that the alternative was slaughter, this was a good thing.
The point of view of God is obscure. On the one hand, God has clearly ordered Joshua to destroy all the inhabitants of the land. And the text offers the opinion that Joshua fell into the trap of the Gibeonites' trickery because they (Joshua 9:14) "did not ask direction from the LORD." On the other hand, the covenant of shalom, once made, was binding and took precedence over the commandment to destroy. The next chapter proves it. So, this story suggests that there is a deeper law than purity; it is the law of love.
I say, trick, lie, steal if you must in the interest of the covenant of peace. There is more than one way to overcome one's enemies, and the way of love shall have the victory.
This story of the wily Gibeonites who trick Joshua into making a treaty with them is faintly reminiscent of Jesus' story of the dishonest manager. Read the whole story in Luke 16:1-13, but the surprise comes when Jesus reports that:
Luke 16:8 his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth1 so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.
Where we expect God to prefer the pious one who just submits to his just punishment, in this parable, Jesus holds up the shrewdness of the one who fixed up for himself a bunch of friends at this master's expense, so that when the time of his righteous punishment he would have succor. The master so admired this initiative that he praises his embezzling steward for his shrewdness. And Jesus says we should do the best with the dishonest gain we have to make friends with the poor and thus have a welcome in heaven.
Here in the bloody story of Joshua, following the destruction of Jericho and Ai, and before the destruction of the five kings of the south, we have the story of the people of the city of Gibeon. Hearing of Joshua's victories -- and more chilling, hearing of the slaughter he inflicts -- they devise a ruse by which they hope to be saved.
Joshua 9:4-6 they went and prepared provisions,1 and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes; and all their provisions were dry and moldy. 6 They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the Israelites, "We have come from a far country; so now make a treaty with us." [The word "treaty" here is berith, usually translated "covenant."]
The Israelites were no dummies, and questioned them closely:
Joshua 9:7 But the Israelites said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a treaty with you?"
But the Gibeonites lied through their teeth, and the result was that
Joshua 9:15 Joshua made peace with them, guaranteeing their lives by a treaty; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. [the word "peace" here is shalom.]
Three days later, when Israel discovered that they were tricked, they went up to attack, but Joshua and the leaders felt bound by the treaty and oath they had made. The Gibeonites were allowed to live, but as slaves (as "hewers of wood and drawers of water." ) (v. 27). From the point of view of the Gibeonites, noting that the alternative was slaughter, this was a good thing.
The point of view of God is obscure. On the one hand, God has clearly ordered Joshua to destroy all the inhabitants of the land. And the text offers the opinion that Joshua fell into the trap of the Gibeonites' trickery because they (Joshua 9:14) "did not ask direction from the LORD." On the other hand, the covenant of shalom, once made, was binding and took precedence over the commandment to destroy. The next chapter proves it. So, this story suggests that there is a deeper law than purity; it is the law of love.
I say, trick, lie, steal if you must in the interest of the covenant of peace. There is more than one way to overcome one's enemies, and the way of love shall have the victory.
