THE CRAFTINESS OF THE GIBEONITES Having seized the central section (Jericho and Ai), the people started to advance in the direction of the south (Chapters 9 and 10). But the Gibeonites, dwelling southwest of Jericho, hastened through deceit, to make a treaty with the Israelites, in order not to perish; to which Joshua and his men innocently fell victims. 1- The surrounding nations gather together against Israel 1-2 2- The craftiness of the Gibeonites 3- 13 3- Joshua and his men deceived1 4- 20 4- Humiliating the Gibeonites 21- 27 1- The surrounding nations gather together against Israel: “When all the kings who were on this side of the Jordan, in the hills and in the lowland and in all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon -- the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite -- heard of it, they gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord.’ (Joshua 9: 1, 2) Crossing over the Jordan was not the end of the strife, but rather it’s beginning. Hearing of it, the peoples dwelling in Canaan, were incited, and gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one accord. That attitude increased with every new conquest of Israel. Thus, brethren, our entrance into Baptism, is not just an enjoyment of God’s possibilities that became ours, to boast about and to discuss; but it is to be used in our spiritual strife; and with every spiritual conquest, we have to expect a more fierce war and affliction. Whenever the Lord Christ comes to reign on the members of His body, the evil one together with his hosts would become incited. When the kings of the surrounding nations heard about their crossing over the Jordan, and their seizing Jericho and Ai, all of them gathered together to fight with Joshua and Israel; namely with Jesus and His Kingdom. The divine inspiration fixed the locations of those kings, to be on the hills, in the lowland, and along all the coasts of the Great Sea toward Lebanon; which reveals the extent of agitation of the devils, the kings and forces of darkness against the Lord of glory and His believers. Some of them dwell on the high mountains, where the spirit of vain haughtiness and pride are in man; others dwell in the lowland, 133 where the souls are overcome by despair, and collapsed through smallness of the soul; and a third category dwell by the sea coast, where souls are brought down to the sea of this world to get confused by its waves and currents; while those who dwell in Lebanon, refer to the spirit of luxury and looseness, that deprive the soul of its seriousness to acquire salvation. Anyway, all these gather together against the striving soul, to fight according to the circumstances and capabilities of each man. War may begin with pride; in case man is religious, and has a long history of worship and ministry; or may begin with despair, in case he is terrorized by sin, etc. ...Anyway, the Hittite, the Amorite, and the Canaanite, etc. ... all gather together to fight with our inner Joshua, and to try to destroy, by corruption, all our capabilities and possibilities. But what we should notice in the Book of Joshua, is that the attacks of the enemy do not only get more fierce, after the crossing over of Baptism, and after gaining successive conquests, but Joshua and his men were themselves, likewise aggressive against evil and opposing it…The Christian, realizing that his heart is the land of promise, over which the true Joshua should reign, will not stop resisting every evil, to leave in himself no place for it. Concerning this, Bishop Caesarius says: [Before the fall of Adam, our body and soul were both the land of promise; But after the sin, it became the land of Canaan; What used to be the land of virtues became a place for thieves; driving virtues out, and left the place in us to wickedness. Anyhow, through the coming of the Lord Jesus, we should hasten to seek his help to drive out the opposing nations. If we do not forsake anger, then we give no way to patience. Unless we enslave pride, greed, envy, and looseness in us, namely, in our land of promise, we shall not be able to set in ourselves a place for holy virtues. Unless you, with the help of God cast out from within yourself all wickedness, namely from your land that was sanctified by the grace of Baptism, you would not be able to accept the perfection of the promised inheritance. Indeed we have inside us, thrones of wickedness -- the spiritual Canaanites, that continuously attacks our soul every day; recognized by the apostle who says: “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh” (Galatians 5: 17); That is why, brethren, we are committed to contemplate in how we should watch and persist on doing good, in order to root out all wicked nations in our land, to bring the war to an end] 1. 1 Sermon 116: !: 1. 134 2- The craftiness of the Gibeonites: Being aware of the danger before them through the advance of Joshua and the people of God, and having heard of what God has done with them, “They worked craftily, and went and pretended to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a far country; now therefore make a covenant with us…” “ This bread of ours we took hot for our provision from our houses on the day we departed to come to you. But now look, it is dry and moldy. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and see, they are torn; and these our garments and our sandals have become old because of the very long journey.’ (Joshua 9: 4 - 13) The Gibeonites realized what Rahab the harlot has realized; when they saw the strong hand of God working with His people, all of them sought salvation; Yet the Gibeonites did not reach up to the level reached by Rahab, although they did rise above the rest of the surrounding nations. Rahab, by faith, not only could be saved from death, together with her household, but also could enter into the membership of the congregation, to represent the Church of the New Testament that comes from the Gentiles, as a holy bride and a virgin of the Lord. She even got the great honor to have her name included in the genealogy of the Lord, something that many of the great early women believers could not have; and had been counted by the apostle among the men and women of faith (Hebrew 11: 31). The Gibeonites, on the other hand, got saved through deceit, only to enter into the midst of God’s people as woodcutters and water carriers for the entire congregation and for the house of God (Joshua 9: 21, 23). Indeed they were not destroyed like the other nations, but they could not rise to the glory of Rahab. The spirit of fear and craftiness led them; while she was led by faith and love. They attached themselves to everything old and torn, from dry bread, to old wineskins, to worn out sandals and garments; while she attached herself to the two messengers, raised her heart with them up to the roof among the stalks of flax (purity) and advised them to get to the mountains and not to the lowlands. It is as though the Gibeonites, even with their attachment to the people of God, were bound to the worn out 135 things of the world; while Rahab lifted her heart up to the heavenliness, to the exalted and pure life. In other words, the Gibeonites came to represent men who worship God, out of fear of loosing the worldly blessings; while Rahab came to represent someone who casts away the old lusts of his body underneath his feet; takes off the old man with all his works, in order to seek the eternal glory, and longing to resemble God Himself. While the Gibeonites used craftiness with the children of God, in order to enjoy the worldly benefits, something that deprived them of many blessings; Rahab, although she likewise used lies and craftiness with the messengers of the king of Jericho, something rather abominable; yet she was frank and straightforward in dealing with the children of God. The scholar Origen believes that the Gibeonites represent the lowest level of faith, and the least to enjoy glory; He comments on this chapter, saying: [“ In My Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14: 2). In the resurrection from the dead, the glorified bodies will differ among themselves: “All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory” (1 Corinthians 15: 39 - 41). There are several ways to demonstrate the differences between those who get salvation. ! In my opinion the Gibeonites represent those who get the least of its glory; something that does not spare them blame and bad reputation. Look how they were condemned to become woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and the house of the Lord, because of their deceit; ... They did not seek from Joshua, except to save their skin] 1. The scholar Origen goes on to say that the Gibeonites refer to the believers in God and His work of salvation, yet they do not translate their faith to a practical life. He says: [In the Church, there are true Christians; who believe in God, do not argue His commandments, consummate their religious duties, and are always ready to minister; Yet in their personal life and behavior, they are not pure but are unclean; They did not “put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3: 9); but are like the Gibeonites, who put on their old garments and torn sandals. They believe in God, and show respect toward the Church and the ministers of the 1 In Jos. Hom 10: 1. 136 Lord; yet they do not demonstrate in their behavior, any sign of inner renovation. They wish that God might grant them salvation; yet this salvation does not spare them the shame that befalls them. In a book by the name of ‘The Shepherd’1, we find a similar portrait of this category of people; It speaks of the tree stem that does not produce fruits, yet the vine climbs over it producing plenty of grapes; Although the tree stem itself is barren, yet its role is important and of benefit, in serving the vine! The same we see in the Gibeonites; though not putting off the old man with all his deeds; yet we find them ministering to the saints (as woodcutters and water carriers), which make them have a rather important role. That is why they received salvation from Joshua, according to the covenant he made with them. We do not want to receive such salvation; we do not wish to become woodcutters or water carriers; we want to be true Israelites, to enjoy the inheritance, and to have a portion in the land of promise] 2. 3- Joshua and his men deceived: “Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the Lord. So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. And it happened at the end of three days, ... they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them.” (Joshua 9: 14 - 16) For the second time, Joshua and his men fell to the same error that is working without asking the counsel of the Lord. Indeed the Israelites harbored some doubt toward the Gibeonites; and should have sought the counsel of the Lord; yet they used their human wisdom, and entered with them into a debate, saying: “Perhaps you dwell among us; so how can we make a covenant with you? “ (Joshua 9: 7); But “They did not ask counsel of the Lord” (Joshua 9: 14); so they were deceived. In their first battle with Jericho, through faith and obedience to the Lord, they could destroy its mighty walls; But in their second battle, when they underestimated Ai, as a little, unfortified village; and by leaning on their human arm, they fell down and collapsed; until they got sanctified, and obeyed the Lord, to come back to defeat it. But here, in the ‘battle of deceit’, as the enemy pretends to be a friend who seeks entering into a covenant, the mighty men who overcame Jericho and Ai 1 للأب هرماس (من رجال القرن الثاني). 2 In Jos. Hom 10: 1. 137 were defeated. That is why the apostle Paul says: “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11: 3). And St. John the Evangelist says: “ Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4: 1). The fathers of the Church often spoke of the deceit and craftiness of the enemy, to warn us against him; of how, he sometimes appears strong, fierce, of authority, and fortified by high walls like Jericho, in order to terrify us into despair; and sometimes he appears so helpless, to take him lightly, like Ai, and to disregard preparing ourselves to encounter him; and still other times he appears as a friend, or even as an angel of light, to deceive us into entering with him into covenants, as the Gibeonites did. St. Augustine says: [Do not assume that the devil has lost his fierce nature; Whenever he compliments you, you should get more cautious of him] 1. And he says: [Here, the tempter comes to me as an angel of light; but in vain he tries to deceive me, as You rebuke him, and grant me the capability to recognize your divine light] 2. And he also says: [He is crafty and deceitful, and without your light, we cannot know his twisted ways, nor distinguish his various faces. Sometimes we see him here, and other times there; sometimes he appear as a lamb, and other times as a wolf; sometimes as light, and other times as darkness. He knows how to be versatile and how to change his plans, according to man’s different circumstances, times and locations. In order to deceive those burdened with grief, he grieves with them; and to draw to him the joyful hearts, he corrupts the atmosphere of their joy; and to destroy those hot in spirit, he appears to them as an angel of light; and to disarm the strong souls, he appears as a lamb; and to devour the shy, he turns into a wolf ... Who can distinguish the various ways of his craftiness? ! Who can reveal his several identities? ! Who can count the number of his fearful teeth? His arrows, he conceal in his sack, and his tricks, he hides till the right moment. O Lord! My hope! Without Your light, by which we can see everything, it is impossible for us to expose the maneuvers of the devil! ] 3. . 1 خواطر فيلسوف في الحياة الروحية، ص 234 . 2 مناجاة 16 . 3 مناجاة 17 138 Joshua erred to believe them and to swear to them. That is why St. John Chrysostom warns us against using oaths that are indeed snares by the devil1! And although St. Ambrose criticized Joshua for hastening to believe those men, and for not asking counsel of the Lord, Yet, he saw in his behavior a sign of his good heart; having judged them according to his simple heart; saying: [Who can blame the saints in such a case? They assume that others harbor the same feelings they do, and that none of them lie; They do not know deceit, and with joy they believe others, because they themselves are honest; They never doubt others, for what they do not themselves have ... Instead of blaming their swift believing, let us commend their goodness] 2. After three days, Joshua and his men discovered the deceit of the Gibeonites; and heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Now we go back to the secret of the three days, which we often dealt with in this and previous chapters. Through our belief in the Holy Trinity, we can expose the tricks and deceits of the devil. When we receive God as our Father, through abiding in His only begotten Son, as members of His holy body; and through the work of His Holy Spirit in us, by Baptism, as well as in repentance, etc. ... the enemy cannot deceive us, nor draw our hearts away from our heavenly Father. Our practical living faith, and our enjoyment of the secret of the Trinity, not as a philosophical thought or mental dogma, but as the secret of our fellowship with Him, will protect us against all attacks of the devil. The three days also refer to the secret of our resurrection with Christ, having also been buried with Him three days, to rise with Him. Man, who has the risen life in the Lord, and who enjoys its joy, will always live above all deceits of the enemy! Therefore, let us escape from the deceits of the Gibeonites, by receiving the Holy Trinity, as our secret of life; and by enjoying the risen life of our Lord Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. 4- Humiliating the Gibeonites: Having made a covenant with the Gibeonites, the rulers said to the entire congregation: “We have sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore, we may not touch them…let them live,… but let them be 1 In Acts hom. 13. 2 Duties of Clergy 3: 10. 139 woodcutters and water carriers for all the congregation,... Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, ’Why have you deceived us … ? Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves -- woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” (Joshua 9: 19 -23) Joshua had to let them live, as he did with Rahab and her household; Yet, each of them took as much as his faith deserves: those remained as slaves: “You are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaves,” for they came to him out of fear; But as for her, she became a member in the new Israel, having received its message with love. Indeed, some of the Gibeonites became water carriers for the house of God; received some sort of stature instead of death; Yet to them applied the saying of Isaiah: “Instead of thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off” (Isaiah 55: 13). Finally, the scholar Origen warns us against entering into faith on the level of the Gibeonites, to live as slaves -- woodcutters and water carriers -- instead of being on the level of God’s children, working according to His will, and walking by His Spirit resembling Him; saying: [In case one of the people has his faith limited to coming to the Church, bowing before the priest, respecting the ministers of the Lord, and partaking of decorating the Church; yet without doing anything to straighten his behavior, correcting his habits; burying evil, practicing pure life, controlling his anger, greed, coveting what is others’, and getting away of uttering bad words and destructive judgment; Such a person will be referred by God to the Gibeonites ...Therefore O brethren, I beseech you, as ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 20); as long as there is still time and a possibility for correction, to strive and hasten to cast away the worn out garments, and the defilement, that are not fitting for the freedom of the Israelites (the New). Do you want to realize the greatness of this freedom? According to the law, no Hebrew slave should remain in servitude for more than six years; in the seventh year, he should be set free (Exodus 21: 2); the law cares for freedom. If we take this text by its spiritual concept, we shall find that the Hebrew slave is ‘you’, having fallen into servitude, according to the expression of the Holy Book: “Whoever commits sin is a slave of the sin” (John 8: 34). The perfect virgin soul does not fall; into that sin, but the immature negligent soul. So, if you are the Hebrew slave, who, after gaining 140 Baptism in the Church, fell into the servitude of sin; you should regain your freedom, to become no more a slave, after seven years, through the commandments. If the figure 7 refers to biblical commandments, the figure 6 refers to the creation of the earth (Genesis 1: 31); as long as you covet things on the earth (Colossians 3: 2), and set your mind on things of the flesh (Romans 8: 5), you are surely living as a slave to sin. But once you reach the figure 7, you would seek your freedom, and return to your father’s honor. ... I ask you, if you might be a son of an elite family, would you choose to be a slave to this world? No doubt, you will say No. So, if nobody in this world wishes to be a slave, and all seek freedom, wealth, and honor; not only for himself, but also for others, ... we should, as St. John says, work the work of our Father who sent us “while it is a day” (John 9: 4), to be “worthy of the Spirit of adoption” (Romans 8: 15); and to have a place with the children of God; “that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4: 11)] 1. 1 In Jos. Hom 10: 3.
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