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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>J O S H U A</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. IX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Here is in this chapter,
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I. The impolite confederacy of the kings of Canaan against Israel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>.
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II. The polite confederacy of the inhabitants of Gibeon with Israel,
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1. How it was subtly proposed and petitioned for by the Gibeonites
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pretending to come from a far country,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:3-13">ver. 3-13</A>.
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2. How it was unwarily consented to by Joshua and the Israelites, to
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the disgust of the congregation when the fraud was discovered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:14-18">ver. 14-18</A>.
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3. How the matter was adjusted to the satisfaction of all sides, by
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giving these Gibeonites their lives because they had covenanted with
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them, yet depriving them of their liberties because the covenant was
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not fairly obtained,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:19-27">ver. 19-27</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Jos9_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Application of the Gibeonites.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1450.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And it came to pass, when all the kings which <I>were</I> on this
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side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the
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coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and
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the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the
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Jebusite, heard <I>thereof;</I>
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2 That they gathered themselves together, to fight with Joshua
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and with Israel, with one accord.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Hitherto the Canaanites had acted defensively; the Israelites were the
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aggressors upon Jericho and Ai. But here the kings of Canaan are in
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consultation to attack Israel, and concert matters for a vigorous
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effort of their united forces to check the progress of their victorious
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arms. Now,
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1. It was strange they did not do this sooner. They had notice long
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since of their approach; Israel's design upon Canaan was no secret; one
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would have expected that a prudent concern for their common safety
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would put them upon taking some measures to oppose their coming over
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Jordan, and maintain that pass against them, or to give them a warm
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reception as soon as they were over. It was strange they did not
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attempt to raise the siege of Jericho, or at least fall in with the men
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of Ai, when they had given them a defeat. But they were, either through
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presumption or despair, wonderfully infatuated and at their wits' end.
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Many know not the things that belong to their peace till they are
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hidden from their eyes.
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2. It was more strange that they did it now. Now that the conquest of
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Jericho had given such a pregnant proof of God's power, and that of Ai
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of Israel's policy, one would have thought the end of their
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consultation should be, not to fight with Israel, but to make peace
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with them, and to gain the best terms they could for themselves. This
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would have been their wisdom
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+14:32">Luke xiv. 32</A>),
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but their minds were blinded, and their hearts hardened to their
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destruction. Observe,
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(1.) What induced them now at last to enter upon this consultation.
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When they <I>heard thereof</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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not only of the conquest of Jericho and Ai, but of the convention of
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the states of Mount Ebal, of which we have an account immediately
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before,--when they heard that Joshua, as if he thought himself already
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completely master of the country, had had all his people together, and
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had read the laws to them by which they must be governed, and taken
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their promises to submit to those laws,--then they perceived the
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Israelites were in good earnest, and thought it was high time for them
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to bestir themselves. The pious devotion of God's people sometimes
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provokes and exasperates their enemies more than any thing else.
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(2.) How unanimous they were in their resolves. Though they were many
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kings of different nations, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, &c.,
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doubtless of different interests, and that had often been at variance
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one with another, yet they determined, <I>nemine
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contradicente</I>--<I>unanimously,</I> to unite against Israel. O that
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Israel would learn this of Canaanites, to sacrifice private interests
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to the public welfare, and to lay aside all animosities among
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themselves, that they may cordially unite against the common enemies of
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God's kingdom among men!</P>
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<A NAME="Jos9_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="Jos9_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Artifice of the Gibeonites.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1450.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>3 And when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done
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unto Jericho and to Ai,
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4 They did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been
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ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine
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bottles, old, and rent, and bound up;
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5 And old shoes and clouted upon their feet, and old garments
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upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry <I>and</I>
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mouldy.
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6 And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said
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unto him, and to the men of Israel, We be come from a far
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country: now therefore make ye a league with us.
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7 And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye
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dwell among us; and how shall we make a league with you?
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8 And they said unto Joshua, We <I>are</I> thy servants. And Joshua
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said unto them, Who <I>are</I> ye? and from whence come ye?
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9 And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants
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are come because of the name of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God: for we have
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heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt,
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10 And all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that
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<I>were</I> beyond Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of
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Bashan, which <I>was</I> at Ashtaroth.
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11 Wherefore our elders and all the inhabitants of our country
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spake to us, saying, Take victuals with you for the journey, and
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go to meet them, and say unto them, We <I>are</I> your servants:
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therefore now make ye a league with us.
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12 This our bread we took hot <I>for</I> our provision out of our
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houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold,
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it is dry, and it is mouldy:
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13 And these bottles of wine, which we filled, <I>were</I> new; and,
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behold, they be rent: and these our garments and our shoes are
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become old by reason of the very long journey.
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14 And the men took of their victuals, and asked not <I>counsel</I>
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at the mouth of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here,
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I. The Gibeonites desire to make peace with Israel, being alarmed by
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the tidings they heard of the destruction of Jericho,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Other people heard those tidings, and were irritated thereby to make
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war upon Israel; but the Gibeonites heard them and were induced to make
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peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and grace of God in
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the gospel is to some a <I>savour of life unto life, but to others a
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savour of death unto death,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+2:16">2 Cor. ii. 16</A>.
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The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. I do not remember that we
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read any where of a king of Gibeon. Had their government been at this
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time in a single person, perhaps his heart would have been too high to
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yield to Israel, and he would have joined with the rest of the kings
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against Israel. But these four united cities (mentioned
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>)
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seem to have been governed by elders, or senators
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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who consulted the common safety more than their own personal dignity.
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The inhabitants of Gibeon did well for themselves. We have,</P>
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<P>
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II. The method they took to compass it. They knew that all the
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inhabitants of the land of Canaan were to be cut off; perhaps they had
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some spies in the congregation at Ebal, when the law was read, who
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observed and brought them notice of the command given to Israel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+7:1-3">Deut. vii. 1-3</A>),
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that they should <I>show no mercy</I> to the Canaanites, give them no
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quarter in battle, which made them afraid of fighting them, and that
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they should <I>make no covenant with them,</I> which made them despair
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of gaining any advantage by treating with them; and therefore there was
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no way of saving their lives from the sword of Israel unless they
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could, by disguising themselves, make Joshua believe that they came
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from some very country, which the Israelites were not commanded to make
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war upon nor forbidden to <I>make peace with,</I> but were particularly
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appointed to <I>offer peace to,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+20:10,15">Deut. xx. 10, 15</A>.
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Unless they could be admitted under this notion, they saw there was but
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one way with them: they must submit to the fate of Jericho and Ai.
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Though the neighbouring princes <I>knew that all the men thereof were
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mighty</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+10:2"><I>ch.</I> x. 2</A>),
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and they knew it themselves, yet they durst not contend with Israel,
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who had an Almighty God on their side. This therefore is the only game
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they have to play, and observe,</P>
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<P>
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1. They play it very artfully and successfully. Never was any such
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thing more craftily managed.</P>
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<P>
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(1.) They come under the character of ambassadors from a foreign state,
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which they thought would please the princes of Israel, and make them
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proud of the honour of being courted by distant countries: we find
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Hezekiah fond of those that came to him from a far country
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+39:3">Isa. xxxix. 3</A>);
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they were not used to be thus courted.</P>
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<P>
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(2.) They pretended to have undergone the fatigues of a very long
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journey, and produced what passed for an ocular demonstration of it. It
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should seem it was then usual for those that undertook long journeys to
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take with them, as we do now for long voyages, all manner of provision
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in kind, the country not being furnished as ours is now with houses of
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entertainment, for the convenience of which, when we have occasion to
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make use of them, we have reason to be very thankful. Now they here
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pretended that their provision, when they brought it from home, was
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fresh and new, but now it appeared to be old and dry, whereas it might
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well be presumed they had not loitered, but made the best of their way;
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so that hence it must be inferred that they came, as they said they
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did, from a very far country: their sacks or portmanteaus were old; the
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wine was all drunk, and the bottles in which it had been were broken;
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their shoes and clothes were worse than those of the Israelites in
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forty years, and their bread was mouldy,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:4,5"><I>v.</I> 4, 5</A>,
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and again,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>.
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Thus God's Israel have often been deceived and imposed upon with a show
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of antiquity. But (as bishop Hall expresses it) <I>errors are never the
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older for being patched,</I> and so seeming old; but those that will be
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caught with this Gibeonitish stratagem prove they have not consulted
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with God. And thus there are those who make themselves poor with the
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badges of want and distress and yet have great riches
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+13:7">Prov. xiii. 7</A>),
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or at least have no need of relief, by which fraud charity is misplaced
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and diverted from those that are real objects of it.</P>
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<P>
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(3.) When they were suspected, and more strictly examined as to whence
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they came, they industriously declined telling the name of their
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country, till the agreement was settled.
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[1.] The men of Israel suspected a fraud
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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"<I>Peradventure you dwell among us,</I> and then we may not, we must
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not, make any league with you." This might have discouraged the
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Gibeonites from urging the matter any further, concluding that if the
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peace were made the Israelites would not think themselves obliged to
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keep it, having thus solemnly protested against it in case they
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<I>dwelt among them;</I> but, knowing that there was no hope at all if
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they stood it out, they bravely ventured a submission. "Who knows but
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the people of Israel may save us alive, though thus inveigled into a
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promise; and if we tell them at last we shall but die."
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[2.] Joshua put the questions to them, <I>Who are you? and whence come
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you?</I> He finds himself concerned to stand upon his guard against
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secret fraud as well as against open force. We in our spiritual
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warfare must <I>stand against the wiles of the devil,</I> remembering
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he is a subtle serpent as well as a roaring lion. In all leagues of
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relation and friendship we must first try and then trust, lest we
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repent at leisure agreements made in haste.
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[3.] They would not tell whence they came; but still repeat the same
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thing: <I>We have come from a very far country,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
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They will have it thought that it is a country Joshua knows nothing of
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nor ever heard of, and therefore would be never the wiser if they
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should tell him the name of it.</P>
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<P>
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(4.) They profess a respect for the God of Israel, the more to
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ingratiate themselves with Joshua, and we charitably believe they were
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sincere in this profession: "<I>We have come because of the name of the
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Lord thy God</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
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because of what we have heard of that name, which has convinced us that
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it is <I>above every name,</I> and because we have a desire towards
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that name and the remembrance of it, and would gladly come under its
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protection."</P>
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<P>
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(5.) They fetch their inducements from what had been done some time
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before in Moses's reign, the tidings whereof might easily be supposed
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ere this to have reached distant regions, the plagues of Egypt and the
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destruction of Sihon and Og
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:9,10"><I>v.</I> 9, 10</A>),
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but prudently say nothing of the destruction of Jericho and Ai (though
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this was the true inducement,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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because they will have it supposed that they came from home long before
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those conquests were made. We need not be long to seek for reasons why
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we should submit to the God of Israel; we may be furnished either with
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new or old, which we will.</P>
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<P>
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(6.) They make a general submission--<I>We are our servants;</I> and
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humbly sue for a general agreement--<I>Make a league with us,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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They insist not upon terms, but will be glad of peace upon any terms;
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nor will the case admit of delays, lest the fraud be discovered; they
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would fain have the bargain struck up immediately; if Joshua will but
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<I>make a league</I> with them, they have all they come for, and they
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hope their ragged clothes and clouted shoes will be no exception
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against them. God and Israel reject none for their poverty. But,</P>
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<P>
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2. There is a mixture of good and evil in their conduct.
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(1.) Their falsehood cannot be justified, nor ought it to be drawn into
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a precedent. We must not do evil that good may come. Had they owned
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their country but renounced the idolatries of it, resigning the
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possession of it to Israel and themselves to the God of Israel, we have
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reason to think Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to
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spare their lives, and they needed not to have made these pretensions.
|
|
It is observable that when they had once said, <I>We have come from a
|
|
far country</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
they found themselves necessitated to say it again
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
and to say what was utterly false concerning their bread, their
|
|
bottles, and their clothes
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
for one lie is an inlet to another, and that to a third, and so on. The
|
|
way of that sin is down-hill. But,
|
|
|
|
(2.) Their faith and prudence are to be greatly commended. Our Lord
|
|
commended even the unjust steward, because he had done wisely and well
|
|
for himself,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Lu+16:8">Luke xvi. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
In submitting to Israel, they submitted to the God of Israel, which
|
|
implied a renunciation of the god they had served, a resignation to the
|
|
laws of true religion. They had heard enough to convince them of the
|
|
infinite power of the God of Israel, and thence might infer his other
|
|
perfections of wisdom and goodness; and how can we do better for
|
|
ourselves than surrender at discretion to infinite wisdom, and cast
|
|
ourselves upon the mercy of a God of infinite goodness. The submission
|
|
of these Gibeonites was the more laudable because it was,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Singular. Their neighbours took another course, and expected they
|
|
should join with them.
|
|
|
|
[2.] Speedy. They did not stay till Israel had besieged their cities;
|
|
then it would have been too late to capitulate; but when they were at
|
|
some distance they desired conditions of peace. Thy way to avoid a
|
|
judgment is to meet it by repentance. Let us imitate these Gibeonites,
|
|
and make our peace with God in the rags of humiliation, godly sorrow,
|
|
and mortification, so our iniquity shall not be our ruin. Let us be
|
|
servants to Jesus, our blessed Joshua, and make a league with him and
|
|
the Israel of God, and we shall live.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_21"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The League with the Gibeonites.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1450.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with
|
|
them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware
|
|
unto them.
|
|
16 And it came to pass at the end of three days after they had
|
|
made a league with them, that they heard that they <I>were</I> their
|
|
neighbours, and <I>that</I> they dwelt among them.
|
|
17 And the children of Israel journeyed, and came unto their
|
|
cities on the third day. Now their cities <I>were</I> Gibeon, and
|
|
Chephirah, and Beeroth, and Kirjath-jearim.
|
|
18 And the children of Israel smote them not, because the
|
|
princes of the congregation had sworn unto them by the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God
|
|
of Israel. And all the congregation murmured against the princes.
|
|
19 But all the princes said unto all the congregation, We have
|
|
sworn unto them by the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> God of Israel: now therefore we may
|
|
not touch them.
|
|
20 This we will do to them; we will even let them live, lest
|
|
wrath be upon us, because of the oath which we sware unto them.
|
|
21 And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them
|
|
be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation;
|
|
as the princes had promised them.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here is,
|
|
|
|
I. The treaty soon concluded with the Gibeonites,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
The thing was not done with much formality, but in short,
|
|
|
|
1. They agreed to let them live, and more the Gibeonites did not ask.
|
|
In a common war this would have been but a small matter to be granted;
|
|
but in the wars of Canaan, which were to make a general destruction, it
|
|
was a great favour to a Canaanite to have his <I>life given him for a
|
|
prey,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+45:5">Jer. xlv. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. This agreement was made not by Joshua only, but by the princes of
|
|
the congregation in conjunction with him. Though Joshua had an
|
|
extraordinary call to the government, and extraordinary qualifications
|
|
for it, yet he would not act in an affair of this nature without the
|
|
counsel and concurrence of the princes, who were neither kept in the
|
|
dark nor kept under foot, but were treated by him as sharers in the
|
|
government.
|
|
|
|
3. It was ratified by an oath; they swore unto them, not by any of the
|
|
gods of Canaan, but by the God of Israel only,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that mean honestly do not startle at assurances, but satisfy
|
|
those with whom they treat, and glorify God by calling him to witness
|
|
to the sincerity of their intentions.
|
|
|
|
4. Nothing appears to have been culpable in all this but that it was
|
|
done rashly; they took of their victuals, by which they satisfied
|
|
themselves that it was indeed old and dry, but did not consider that
|
|
his was no proof of their bringing it fresh from home; so that, making
|
|
use of their senses only, but not their reason, <I>they received the
|
|
men</I> (as the margin reads it) <I>because of their victuals,</I>
|
|
perceiving perhaps, upon the view and taste of their bread, not only
|
|
that now it was old, but that it had been fine and very good at first,
|
|
whence they inferred that they were persons of some quality, and
|
|
therefore the friendship of their country was not to be despised. But
|
|
<I>they asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord.</I> They had the
|
|
Urim and Thummim with them, which they might have advised with in this
|
|
difficult case, and which would have told them no lie, would have led
|
|
them into no error; but they relied so much on their own politics that
|
|
they thought it needless to bring the matter to the oracle. Joshua
|
|
himself was not altogether without blame herein. Note, We make more
|
|
haste than good speed in any business when we stay not to take God
|
|
along with us, and by the word and prayer to consult him. Many a time
|
|
we see cause to reflect upon it with regret that such and such an
|
|
affair miscarried, because we <I>asked not counsel at the mouth of the
|
|
Lord;</I> would we acknowledge him in all our ways, we should find them
|
|
more safe, easy, and successful.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The fraud soon discovered, by which this league was procured. <I>A
|
|
lying tongue is but for a moment,</I> and truth will be the daughter of
|
|
time. Within three days they found, to their great surprise, that the
|
|
cities which these ambassadors had treated for were very near them, but
|
|
one night's foot-march from the camp at Gilgal,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+10:9"><I>ch.</I> x. 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
Either their own scouts or the parties that sallied out to acquaint
|
|
themselves with the country, or perhaps some deserters that came over
|
|
to them from the enemy, informed them of the truth in this matter.
|
|
Those that suffer themselves to be deceived by the wiles of Satan will
|
|
soon be undeceived to their confusion, and will find that near, even at
|
|
the door, which they imagined was very far off.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. The disgust of the congregation at this. They did indeed submit to
|
|
the restraints which this league laid upon them, and smote not the
|
|
cities of the Gibeonites, neither slew the persons nor seized the prey;
|
|
but it vexed them to have their hands thus tied, and they <I>murmured
|
|
against the princes</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>)
|
|
|
|
it is to be feared, more from a jealousy for their own profit than from
|
|
a zeal for the fulfilling of God's command, though some of them perhaps
|
|
had a regard to that. Many are forward to arraign and censure the
|
|
actions of princes while they are ignorant of the springs of those
|
|
actions and are incompetent judges of the reasons of state that govern
|
|
them. While therefore we are satisfied in general that those who are
|
|
over us aim at nothing but the public good, and sincerely seek the
|
|
welfare of their people, we ought to make the best of what they do and
|
|
not exercise ourselves in things above us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. The prudent endeavour of the princes to pacify the discontented
|
|
congregation, and to accommodate the matter; herein all the princes
|
|
concurred and were unanimous, which doubtless disposed the people to
|
|
acquiesce.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. They resolved to spare the lives of the Gibeonites, for so they had
|
|
expressly sworn to do
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
to let them live.
|
|
|
|
(1.) The oath was lawful, else it had not bound them any more than
|
|
Herod's oath bound him to cut off John Baptist's head; it is true God
|
|
had appointed them to destroy all the Canaanites, but the law must be
|
|
construed, <I>in favorem vitæ--with some tender allowance,</I> to mean
|
|
those only that stood it out and would not surrender their country to
|
|
them, and not to bind them so far to put off the sense of honour and
|
|
humanity as to slay those who had never lifted up a hand against them
|
|
nor ever would, but before they were reduced to any extremity, or ever
|
|
attempted any act of hostility, with one consent humbled themselves;
|
|
the <I>kings of Israel were certainly more merciful kings than to do
|
|
so</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Ki+20:31">1 Kings xx. 31</A>),
|
|
|
|
and the God of Israel a more merciful God than to order it so. <I>Satis
|
|
est prostrasse leoni--It is enough to have laid the lion prostrate.</I>
|
|
And besides, the reason of the law is the law; the mischief designed to
|
|
be prevented by that law was the infecting of the Israelites with their
|
|
idolatry,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+7:4">Deut. vii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
But if the Gibeonites renounce their idolatry, and become friends and
|
|
servants to the house of God, the danger is effectually prevented, the
|
|
reason of the law ceases, and consequently the obligation of it,
|
|
especially to a thing of this nature. The conversion of sinners shall
|
|
prevent their ruin.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The oath being lawful, both the princes and the people for whom
|
|
they transacted were bound by it, bound in conscience, bound in honour
|
|
to the God of Israel, by whom they had sworn, and whose name would have
|
|
been blasphemed by the Canaanites if they had violated this oath. They
|
|
speak as those that <I>feared an oath</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ec+9:2">Eccl. ix. 2</A>),
|
|
|
|
when they argued thus: <I>We will let them live, lest wrath be upon us,
|
|
because of the oath which we swore,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
He that ratifies a promise with an oath imprecates the divine vengeance
|
|
if he wilfully break his promise, and has reason to expect that divine
|
|
justice will take him at his word. God is not mocked, and therefore
|
|
oaths are not to be jested with. The princes would keep their word,
|
|
|
|
[1.] Though they lost by it. A citizen of Zion <I>swears to his own
|
|
hurt and changes not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+15:4">Ps. xv. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
Joshua and the princes, when they found it was to their prejudice that
|
|
they had thus bound themselves, did not apply to Eleazar for a
|
|
dispensation, much less did they pretend that no faith is to be kept
|
|
with heretics, with Canaanites; no, they were strangers to the modern
|
|
artifices of the Romish church to elude the most sacred bonds, and even
|
|
to sanctify perjuries
|
|
|
|
[2.] Though the people were uneasy at it, and their discontent might
|
|
have ended in a mutiny, yet the princes would not violate their
|
|
engagement to the Gibeonites; we must never be over-awed, either by
|
|
majesty or multitude, to do a sinful thing, and go against our
|
|
consciences.
|
|
|
|
[3.] Though they were drawn into this league by a wile, and might have
|
|
had a very plausible pretence to declare it null and void, yet they
|
|
adhered to it. They might have pleaded that though those were the men
|
|
with whom they exchanged the ratifications, yet these were not the
|
|
cities intended in the league; they had promised to spare certain
|
|
cities, without names, that were very far off, and upon the express
|
|
consideration of their being so; but these were very near, and
|
|
therefore not the cities that they covenanted with. And many learned
|
|
men have thought that they were so grossly imposed upon by the
|
|
Gibeonites that it would have been lawful for them to have recalled
|
|
their promise, but to preserve their reputation, and to keep up in
|
|
Israel a veneration of an oath, they would stand to it; but it is plain
|
|
that they thought themselves indispensably obliged by it, and were
|
|
apprehensive that the wrath of God would fall upon them if they broke
|
|
it. And, however their adherence to it might be displeasing to the
|
|
congregation, it is plain that it was acceptable to God; for when, in
|
|
pursuance of this league, they undertook the protection of the
|
|
Gibeonites, God gave them the most glorious victory that ever they had
|
|
in all their wars
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+10:1-43"><I>ch.</I> x.</A>),
|
|
|
|
and long afterwards severely avenged the wrong Saul did to the
|
|
Gibeonites in violation of this league,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Sa+21:1">2 Sam. xxi. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Let this convince us all how religiously we ought to perform our
|
|
promises, and make good our bargains; and what conscience we ought to
|
|
make of our words when they are once given. If a covenant obtained by
|
|
so many lies and deceits might not be broken, shall we think to evade
|
|
the obligation of those that have been made with all possible honesty
|
|
and fairness? If the fraud of others will not justify or excuse our
|
|
falsehood, certainly the honesty of others in dealing with us will
|
|
aggravate and condemn our dishonesty in dealing with them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. Though they spared their lives, yet they seized their liberties, and
|
|
sentenced them to be <I>hewers of wood and drawers of water to the
|
|
congregation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
By this proposal the discontented congregation was pacified; for,
|
|
|
|
(1.) Those who were angry that the Gibeonites lived might be content
|
|
when they saw them condemned to that which, in the general
|
|
apprehension, is worse than death, perpetual servitude.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Those who were angry that they were not spoiled might be content
|
|
when their serving the congregation would be more to the public
|
|
advantage than their best effects could be; and, in short, the
|
|
Israelites would be not losers either in honour or profit by this peace
|
|
with the Gibeonites; convince them of this, and they will be
|
|
satisfied.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_25"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_26"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Jos9_27"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Gibeonites Made Bondmen.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1450.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>22 And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying,
|
|
Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We <I>are</I> very far from
|
|
you; when ye dwell among us?
|
|
23 Now therefore ye <I>are</I> cursed, and there shall none of you
|
|
be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of
|
|
water for the house of my God.
|
|
24 And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly
|
|
told thy servants, how that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God commanded his
|
|
servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the
|
|
inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore
|
|
afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
|
|
25 And now, behold, we <I>are</I> in thine hand: as it seemeth good
|
|
and right unto thee to do unto us, do.
|
|
26 And so did he unto them, and delivered them out of the hand
|
|
of the children of Israel, that they slew them not.
|
|
27 And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of
|
|
water for the congregation, and for the altar of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, even
|
|
unto this day, in the place which he should choose.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The matter is here settled between Joshua and the Gibeonites, and an
|
|
explanation of the league agreed upon. We may suppose that now, not the
|
|
messengers who were first sent, but the elders of Gibeon, and of the
|
|
cities that were dependent upon it, were themselves present and treated
|
|
with, that the matter might be fully compromised.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. Joshua reproves them for their fraud,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
And they excuse it as well as they can,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
1. Joshua gives the reproof very mildly: <I>Wherefore have you beguiled
|
|
us?</I> He does not load them with any ill names, does not give them
|
|
any harsh provoking language, does not call them, as they deserved to
|
|
be called, <I>base liars,</I> but only asks them, <I>Why have you
|
|
beguiled us?</I> Under the greatest provocations, it is our wisdom and
|
|
duty to keep our temper, and to bridle our passion; a just cause needs
|
|
not anger to defend it, and a bad one is made never the better by it.
|
|
|
|
2. They make the best excuse for themselves, that the thing would bear,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
They found by the word of God that sentence of death was passed upon
|
|
them (the command was to <I>destroy all the inhabitants of the
|
|
land,</I> without exception), and they found by the works of God
|
|
already wrought that there was no opposing the execution of this
|
|
sentence; they considered that God's sovereignty is incontestable, his
|
|
justice inflexible, his power irresistible, and therefore resolved to
|
|
try what his mercy was, and found it was not in vain to cast themselves
|
|
upon it. They do not go about to justify their lie, but in effect beg
|
|
pardon for it, pleading it was purely to save their lives that they did
|
|
it, which every man that finds in himself the force of the law of
|
|
self-preservation will therefore make great allowances for, especially
|
|
in such a case as this, where the fear was not merely of the power of
|
|
man (if that were all, one might flee from that to the divine
|
|
protection), but of the power of God himself, which they saw engaged
|
|
against them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. Joshua condemns them to servitude, as a punishment of their fraud
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
and they submit to the sentence
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>),
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and for aught that appears both sides are pleased.</P>
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<P>
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1. Joshua pronounces them perpetual bondmen. They had purchased their
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lives with a lie, but, that being no good consideration, he obliges
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them to hold their lives under the rent and reservation of their
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continual labours, in hewing wood and drawing water, the meanest and
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most toilsome employments. Thus their lie was punished; had they dealt
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fairly and plainly with Israel, perhaps they would have had more
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honourable conditions granted them, but now, since they gain their
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lives with ragged clothes and clouted shoes, the badges of servitude,
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they are condemned for ever to wear such, so must their doom be. And
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thus the ransom of their lives is paid; dominion is acquired by the
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preservation of a life that lies at mercy (<I>servus dicitur a
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servando--a servant is so called from the act of saving</I>); they owe
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their service to those to whom they owe their lives. Observe how the
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judgment is given against them.
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(1.) Their servitude is made a curse to them. "Now you are cursed with
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the ancient curse of Canaan," from whom these Hivites descended, <I>a
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servant of servants shalt thou be,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+9:25">Gen. ix. 25</A>.
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What shall be done to the false tongue but this? Cursed shall it be.
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(2.) Yet this curse is turned into a blessing; they must be servants,
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but it shall be for <I>the house of my God.</I> The princes would have
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them slaves <I>unto all the congregation</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>),
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at least they chose to express themselves so, for the pacifying of the
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people that were discontented; but Joshua mitigates the sentence, both
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in honour to God and in favour to the Gibeonites: it would be too hard
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upon them to make them every man's drudge; if they must be <I>hewers of
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wood and drawers of water,</I> than which there cannot be a greater
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disparagement, especially to those who are citizens of a royal city,
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and <I>all mighty men</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+10:2"><I>ch.</I> x. 2</A>),
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yet they shall be so to <I>the house of my God,</I> than which there
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cannot be a greater preferment: David himself could have wished to be a
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door-keeper there. Even servile work becomes honourable when it is
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done for the house of our God and the offices thereof.
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[1.] They were hereby excluded from the liberties and privileges of
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true-born Israelites, and a remaining mark of distinction was put upon
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their posterity throughout all their generations.
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[2.] They were hereby employed in such services as required their
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personal attendance upon <I>the altar of God in the place which he
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should choose</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>),
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which would bring them to the knowledge of the law of God, keep them
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strictly to that holy religion to which they were proselyted, and
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prevent their revolt to the idolatries of their fathers.
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[3.] This would be a great advantage to the priests and Levites to have
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so many, and those mighty men, constant attendants upon them, and
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engaged by office to do all the drudgery of the tabernacle. A great
|
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deal of wood must be hewed for fuel for God's house, not only to keep
|
|
the fire burning continually upon the altar, but to boil the flesh of
|
|
the peace-offerings, &c. And a great deal of water must be drawn for
|
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the divers washings which the law prescribed. These and other such
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servile works, such as washing the vessels, carrying out ashes,
|
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sweeping the courts, &c., which otherwise the Levites must have done
|
|
themselves, these Gibeonites were appointed to do.
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[4.] They were herein servants to the congregation too; for whatever
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|
promotes and helps forward the worship of God is real service to the
|
|
commonwealth. It is the interest of every Israelite that the altar of
|
|
God be well attended. Hereby also the congregation was excused from
|
|
much of that servile work which perhaps would otherwise have been
|
|
expected from some of them. God had made a law that the Israelites
|
|
should never make any of their brethren bondmen; if they had slaves,
|
|
they must be of the heathen that were round about them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+25:44">Lev. xxv. 44</A>.
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Now in honour of this law, and of Israel that was honoured by it, God
|
|
would not have the drudgery, no, not of the tabernacle itself, to be
|
|
done by Israelites, but by Gibeonites, who were afterwards called
|
|
<I>Nethinim,</I> men given to the Levites, as the Levites were to the
|
|
priests
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+3:9">Num. iii. 9</A>),
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to minister to them in the service of God.
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[5.] This may be looked upon as typifying the admission of the Gentiles
|
|
into the gospel church. Now they were taken in upon their submission to
|
|
be under-officers, but afterwards God promises that he will <I>take of
|
|
them for priests and Levites,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+66:21">Isa. lxvi. 21</A>.</P>
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<P>
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|
2. They submit to this condition,
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
Conscious of a fault in framing a lie whereby to deceive the
|
|
Israelites, and sensible also how narrowly they escaped with their
|
|
lives and what a kindness it was to have them spared, they acquiesce in
|
|
the proposal: <I>Do as it seemeth right unto thee.</I> Better live in
|
|
servitude, especially such servitude, than not live at all. Those of
|
|
the very meanest and most despicable condition are described to be
|
|
<I>hewers of wood and drawers of water,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+29:11">Deut. xxix. 11</A>.
|
|
|
|
But skin for skin, liberty, and labour, and <I>all that a man has, will
|
|
he give for his life,</I> and no ill bargain. Accordingly the matter
|
|
was determined.
|
|
|
|
(1.) Joshua delivered them out of the hands of the Israelites that they
|
|
should not be slain,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
It seems there were those who would have fallen upon them with the
|
|
sword if Joshua had not interposed with his authority; but wise
|
|
generals know when to sheathe the sword, as well as when to draw it.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He then delivered them again into the hands of the Israelites to
|
|
be enslaved,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+9:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
They were not to keep possession of their cities, for we find
|
|
afterwards that three of them fell to the lot of Benjamin and one to
|
|
that of Judah; nor were they themselves to be at their own disposal,
|
|
but, as bishop Patrick thinks, were dispersed into the cities of the
|
|
priests and Levites, and came up with them in their courses to serve at
|
|
the altar, out of the profits of which, it is probable, they were
|
|
maintained. And thus Israel's bondmen became the Lord's freemen, for
|
|
his service in the meanest office is liberty, and his work is its own
|
|
wages. And this they got by their early submission. Let us, in like
|
|
manner, submit to our Lord Jesus, and refer our lives to him, saying,
|
|
"<I>We are in thy hand, do unto us as seemeth good and right unto
|
|
thee;</I> only save our souls, and we shall not repent it:" if he
|
|
appoint us to bear his cross, and draw in his yoke, and serve at his
|
|
altar, this shall be afterwards neither shame nor grief to us, while
|
|
the meanest office in God's service will entitle us to a <I>dwelling in
|
|
the house of the Lord all the days of our life.</I></P>
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