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Ch. 9 recounts another sorry episode, this one brought on by Joshua’s failure to consult God when an unexpected situation arose. The narration of these less than flattering events shows clearly that the author’s intent was not to portray Israel’s heroic leadership. Joshua and the elders are shown in their shortcomings as well as in their triumphs. God is the real hero whose exploits the author wishes to recount.
There were two reactions by the citizens of Canaan to the news that Israel was coming into the hill country. The first notice is that most of them began preparing to fight. But the Gibeonites, with three neighboring cities, decided on a different course. Knowing that Israel was charged with destroying the Canaanites, they attempted to gain a covenant with Israel by deceit. This is further evidence of others' fear of Israel, of which the author has already spoken (cf. 2:24; 5:1).
Gibeon is only a few miles from Ai. But the Gibeonite messengers took worn-out equipment and old provisions. When they reached the Israelite camp at Gilgal, a little north of Jericho (the exact location of Gilgal is not known today), the envoys told Joshua and the elders that they had come on a long journey to reach them.
The Israelite leaders did raise the possibility of deception, but they should have been even more cautious. They believed the Gibeonites without pressing for the name of the envoys' city or country. The Israelites examined only some of their provisions, accepted their story as true, and entered into a treaty with them.
The author seems to chide Israel’s leadership gently for this foolish decision. He notes only that they did not inquire of the Lord. But in light of all that transpired, one sees that this is not really such a gentle chiding after all. Not asking for the counsel of the Lord had cost lives at Ai. The victories at Jericho and Ai both had been won when Israel followed precisely the counsel of the Lord. How could they so soon forget?
But the covenant was made, and only afterward did Joshua and the elders of Israel discover that they had been tricked. One might suppose them entitled to declare null and void a covenant made under false pretenses. But the covenant had been sworn by the Lord [Yahweh], the God of Israel (vv.18-19). To break it would be to treat lightly the name and honor of God. Israel’s leaders kept the covenant and the oath they had sworn in God’s name and preserved the Gibeonites alive. Joshua reduced them from free men to servants of the tabernacle, woodcutters and water carriers (v.27).