How bad were the Gibeonites? Throughout the Law God explained that he was expelling the people who dwelt in the Promised Land before Israel because of their wicked lives. Sexual immorality and abuse was rampant, idol worship was the normal, and children were often the sacrifices made to these false gods. We can only imagine the decadence of the culture that dwelt in that land before Israel entered the scene. The destruction of Jericho and Ai was enough to convince the leaders of the Gibeonites that they would not survive Israel’s assault so the ruse was developed. They did not fight Israel because they knew they could not win, so they played a lie hoping to deceive God’s people. It should not be considered coincidental that they followed the same tactic that Satan used in the Garden of Eden and every attack on people since that time. The kingdom of darkness has no effective weapon against God’s truth. The only hope is to catch God’s people unaware of the scheme. Then in their self-confidence they will comply with the terms of an unholy covenant. The lesson to me is “What out. Your enemy, the Devil, roams about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devourer.” (my paraphrase of 1 Peter 5:8)
It took me 16 minutes to read this passage.
Stuart
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