What do you do with the Gibeonites? They seemed like a fairly insignificant people, but also seemed to be in the middle of everything, for Joshua, for Saul, and now for David. Because of their location… Israel could not avoid them. There are many lessons that we can learn from Israel’s interaction with the Gibeonites:
(1) Negligence is no better than abuse: David made the connection between Saul’s abuse and his own neglect to do anything about it, and the removal of God’s hand of favor.
"The whole people suffered for Saul's sin; either because they approved it, or at least bewailed it not; neither did what they could to hinder it; whereby they became accessory." – Author Unknown
(2) Inquiring of God is not an option: Joshua’s men did not inquire of God in deciding what to do with the Gideonites, neither did Saul (as evidenced by his attempt to annihilate them) but David did. It made all the difference in the world.
“The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the LORD. Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them... – Joshua 9:14-15
“… so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house..." – 2 Samuel 21:1
(3) An oath before God is an oath before God.
(4) Misguided zeal (Such as Saul’s) can quickly become sin and bring much calamity.
(5) The wages of sin is truly death (Rom. 6:23).
(6) God is just: The “injustice” that we may feel for the men who were given over can give us much perspective on how immensely Graceful the cross was. God cannot turn his back on the penalty of sin. While many are hard to understand under the New Covenant, the Old Covenant stories shed immense light on the necessity of the cross in respect to justice.
a. The method of death was important because it fulfilled the promise of Deuteronomy 21:23: “He who is hanged is accursed of God”. These descendants of Saul bore the curse Saul deserved and so delivered Israel from the guilt of their sin against the Gibeonites.
b. This promise from Deuteronomy explains why Jesus died the way He did. Galatians 3: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us: for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree".
There are many leadership principles that can be learned from this chapter. Most of them come with the hope (and probably agenda) of maintaining God’s hand on our life and our journey. They are very practical and true. But there is more to this story than a list on how to keep God’s favor.
Let’s make it a bit more personal: What do WE do with the Gideonites? From the moment they approached Joshua, to the time they were abused by Saul, to the season they were neglected by David… they were neighbors to the Israelites. Good or bad, and often overlooked, they were there.
And what Joshua, Saul, and David did with or to them mattered to God.
Just like the Gibeonites, there are many people, types of people, and groups of people that are in our “personal space”. Many that, if we’re not careful, can be easily overlooked and considered insignificant to our key pursuits in life. Maybe they are the homeless on the corner, the single mom down the street, the abused wife or neglected kid at the shelter, or the widow next door. Maybe they are our employer or employees. Maybe they are that girl we see every day that hands us a coffee at Starbucks. Maybe the cop who just wrote us a ticket. Maybe they are the “trainee” at HEB, who somehow got stuck working the express lane (while we were running late). Whoever they are, they are all around us.
And they are real people with emotions, struggles, fears, hopes, dreams, and needs.
Today I was thinking about Joshua’s original oath to the Gibeonites in Joshua 9 (Which Saul broke, and now David is reconciling for). While most of us have not made an oath directly with such people groups as was done in biblical times, we certainly have done the same when we step into a covenant with Christ to live as His disciples. By receiving His Grace, we are agreeing to His ways. This includes loving others… no matter the cost. It includes taking the focus off our selves. It includes fighting against injustice and fighting for the oppressed. Paul urged the Church at Ephesus, “to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Or as Jesus put it, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Or as my wife puts it, “Be nice.”
When we wonder where the famine came from, whether it be emotional, spiritual, or physical, maybe we should inquire of God like David did, and see what oath we have broken.
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Andrea says we are to, "love them for no other reason than they are the children of God created by the Creator." We are called to love. It seems we forget the lessons we work so hard to teach our children. We are suppose to treat others the way we want to be treated. If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. What would the world be like if loved others for the simple reason because that is what you do?
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