Just as the Gibeonites deceived Joshua so Christians today can be deceived and suffering severe deleterious consequences. How can we avoid deception? What lessons can we learn from Joshua's experience?

2. Can you detect
1 John 4:1–2 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. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has
come in the flesh is of God,

3. Trojan War
1250 BC

4. §
Gilgal

5. 3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon
heard what Joshua had done to
Jericho and Ai, 4 they worked craftily,
and went and pretended to be
ambassadors. And they took old
sacks on their donkeys, old
wineskins torn and mended, 5 old
and patched sandals on their feet,
and old garments on themselves;

6. and all the bread of their provision
was dry and moldy. 6 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.”

7. 1 And it came to pass when all the kings who were on
this side of the Jordan, 2…gathered together to fight with
Joshua and Israel
Joshua 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses
had commanded which Joshua did not read before all
the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones,
and the strangers who were living among them.
Deut. 28:1–14 Deut. 27:14–26

8. Psalm 2:1–3 Why do the nations rage, and
the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of
the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together, against the LORD and
against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break
Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their
cords from us.”

9. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober,
be vigilant; because
your adversary the
devil walks about like
a roaring lion, seeking
whom he may devour.

10. Philippians 2:14–16 Do all things without
complaining and disputing, 15 that you may
become blameless and harmless, children of God
without fault in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation, among whom you shine as
lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life,
so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ...

11. 1 And it came to pass 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—

12. 1 And it came to pass 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 about it, 2 that they gathered
together to fight with Joshua and Israel with one
accord.

14. Ephesians 2:2–3 in which you once walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of
disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted
ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of
wrath, just as the others.
The World The Devil The Flesh

15. Battles
at
Jericho
&
Ai
Southern
&
Northern
Campaigns

16. Satan sometimes comes as a devouring lion (1 Pet. 5:8)
and sometimes as a deceiving serpent (2 Cor. 11:3)
Hivites (7) = “serpents”

17. 3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard
what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4a they
worked craftily, and went and pretended to be
ambassadors.
‫ﬠ‬ָ‫ְר‬‫מ‬ָ‫ה‬ (ʿār·māh) = prudence, discernment
Luke 16:8 So the master commended the unjust steward
because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world
are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.

18. Belt of Truth
Breastplate of
Righteousness
Feet Shod with
Preparation of
the Gospel
Helmet of Salvation
Shield of FaithSword of the Spirit

19. Gibeon
“hill country” or “city of forests”
• Joshua 10:12 part of the Amorites
• 2 Samuel 21:1 years of famine
due to Saul’s killing the
Gibeonites
• 2 Samuel 21:3-14 Sacrifice of 7 of Saul’s sons
• 1 Kings 3:4 “the great high place …a 1000 burnt offerings”
(cf. 1 Chr. 16:39)
• Nehemiah 3:7 Gibeon became part of Judea

20. Location:
6.5 mi. NW of Jerusalem
6.8 mi. SW of Ai
18.6 mi. W of Gilgal
6 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.”

21. 4 they worked craftily, and went and pretended
to be ambassadors. And they took old sacks on
their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended,
5 old and patched sandals on their feet, and old
garments on themselves; and all the bread of
their provision was dry and moldy.

22. Joshua 9:9 So they said to him: “From a very
far country your servants have come, because
of the name of the LORD your God; for we
have heard of His fame, and all that He did in
Egypt,

23. 6 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.”
Deuteronomy 20:15 Thus you shall do to all the
cities which are very far from you, which are not
of the cities of these nations.

24. 6 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.”
Exodus 34:12 Take heed to yourself, lest you make
a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where
you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst.

25. 9 So they said to him: “From a very far country
your servants have come, because of the name of
the LORD your God; for we have heard of His fame,
and all that He did in Egypt,
Deuteronomy 20:16 “But of the cities of these
peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an
inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes
remain alive,

26. Ø Failed to examine highly
questionable evidence
Ø Failed to ask God for
wisdom

27. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him
ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without
reproach, and it will be given to him.
Proverbs 3:5–7 Trust in the LORD with all your
heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall
direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own
eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

28. 1 Peter 5:6–9
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings are experienced
by your brotherhood in the world.

29. 21 And the rulers said to them, “Let them
live, but let them be woodcutters and water
carriers for all the congregation, as the rulers
had promised them.”

30. 15 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.
Ecclesiastes 5:5 Better not to vow than to vow
and not pay.
27 And that day Joshua made them woodcutters
and water carriers for the congregation and for
the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would
choose, even to this day.

31. “Let us remember that God insisted that the
Israelites keep their oath, even though it
was made because of the Gibeonites
deception. If God will not tolerate the
breaking of an oath made in His name, how
much more will He never break His own
oath and covenant made to us on the basis
of the shed blood and infinite value of Jesus
Christ. How secure are we to have cast
ourselves upon Christ as our Savior!”
Francis Schaeffer
Joshua and the flow of Biblical History

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