As I first studied this, the situation puzzled me. In the Old Testament, God tells the ancient people to completely destroy anyone with whom they go to battle, for the purpose of eliminating any pagan philosophies. Yet the Gibeonites came to the Israelites with deception, and they were permitted to live. Why is that? They pretended that they were from a far away place, and asked to make a peace treaty. They loaded donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old, patched wineskins. They wore worn-out, patched sandals and ragged clothes. They carried old, moldy bread. When the Israelites visited with them, they saw the old, moldy bread and agreed to make a peace treaty with them. They ratified their agreement with a binding oath.
A few days later they learned that these people lived only three days away. Joshua asked them, “Why did you lie to us?” They replied, “We did it because we—your servants—were clearly told that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you this entire land and to destroy all the people living in it. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you. That is why we have done this. Now we are at your mercy—do to us whatever you think is right (Josh 9:24-27).” Because Joshua had made an oath of peace with them, he agreed to allow them to live, and made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community of Israel and for the altar of the Lord.
The Gibeonites came to the Israelites with humility and reverence, submitting to their authority. In contrast, all of the other kingdoms were actively defiant and came to fight. The Gibeonites had the kind of heart the Lord could work with. This is the kind of community that could add well with the Israelite culture.
This led me to think about some present day possibilities. What if we added a healthy dose of humility, reverence, and submission to our country’s culture? What about adding a large dose of these character traits into our community, or our church? Even more personal, what if we added a healthy dose of humility, reverence, and submission to our family, or marriage, or our own soul?
As we proceed into the holiday season, I hear common, seasonal prayer requests to help us have peaceful gatherings with relatives we don’t see often, and with whom we do not share the same views. Sometimes the prayer is to help us “put up with” them, or “hold our own tongue.” Yet if we entered that gathering with humility and reverence for God, submitting to His authority in that situation, how would that change things? It is not our place to “fix” our relatives—that is God’s job. He made us all with different gifts and talents, and different strengths and weaknesses. What if we revered Him for this difference, and chose to love these relatives they way He would like us to? That is the true path to peace with holiday gatherings this time of year.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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