Making Your Mistakes Work For You
April 25, 2022
Commentary
Within a few days Israel learned that they had been tricked and the Gibeonites lived only about 20 miles from Gilgal and not in a far country as they had said (v. 16). The Israelites left the place where they had camped and arrived at the four towns two days later (v. 17). The Israelites wanted to disregard the covenant they had made with the Gibeonites and destroy them, but the agreement had been ratified in the name of the Lord and could not be broken. To break it would bring down the wrath of God on Israel (vv. 18-20).
Even though Israel could not back out on their promise, the deceivers had to be punished. Joshua rebuked these Gibeonites for their dishonesty and declared they would be in slavery as woodcutters and watercarriers for the Israelites (vv. 21-27). Thus, the very thing the Gibeonites hoped to retain, they lost. They desperately wanted to remain free, but now they became slaves.
However, what started out as a curse turned out in the end to be a blessing for the Gibeonites. As they performed their work, they were exposed to the ministry of God. The fact that they were blessed by such an arrangement is confirmed in the years to come by their usefulness to God’s service! The Tabernacle was pitched at Gibeon (II Chronicles 1:3) and still later the Gibeonites replaced the Levites in temple service (Ezra 2:43; 8:20). The novelist Joseph Conrad wrote, “It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes.” In this passage it tells us how Joshua turned his mistake into a victory.
Application
It is good to know that God will not only forgive my mistakes in life, but in His grace, he can overrule and bring blessing out of these things.
Joshua 9:16– 27 (NET)
16 Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. 17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. The whole community criticized the leaders, 19 but all the leaders told the whole community, “We swore an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel! So now we can’t hurt them. 20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” 21 The leaders then added, “Let them live.” So they became woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided.
22 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said to them, “Why did you trick us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby? 23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 24 They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. 25 So now we are in your power. Do to us what you think is good and appropriate.” 26 Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them 27 and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.)