Clever Courage of the Gibeonites

 

    The story of the Gibeonites and how they fooled Joshua is one of my favorites in the old testament.  When Israel was taking the land of Canaan for themselves the people living there were terrified.  The Israelites were huge in number and with God supporting them they were unstoppable.  Several tribes or cities decided to band together and war against them as one.  The Gibeonites, however, came up with a different plan.
    They secretly sent emissaries to the Isrealite camp.  They wore ragged clothing and shoes.  Their wineskins were torn and patched, and they had moldy bread for food.  When Joshua met with them, they told him they were from far away.  Having heard of Israel and God's might they begged to make a covenant of peace with them.  In return, they promised to become their servants.  Joshua was suspicious at first, but after seeing their battered clothes and gear, he agreed.  
    He was quite upset, three days later, when they came to Gibeon and found those men living so close.  The Isrealites complained to Joshua, but he kept his promise.  He upheld the covenant with the Gibeonites, but also demanded they keep their promise as well.  Joshua declared they would be wood cutters and water carriers for the Isrealites and their temple from then on.  The Gibeonites happily agreed, glad to have saved their lives and city.
    Joshua's mistake was not consulting with God before making the covenant, but I like to think God was pleased with the Gibeonites resourcefulness.  When the combined tribes attacked Gibeon out of retaliation, Israel was forced to come to their rescue.  They surprised the attackers at night and sent them fleeing.  Afterwards, God sent hailstones raining down on them.  The city of Gibeon was saved from both Israel and its enemies.  
    There are many instances in the bible where God rewards courage and resourcefulness, but mostly he rewards faith.  When the Gibeonites were accused of deceit, they didn't deny it.  They admitted they did it to save themselves.  

    Joshua 9:25-26 "And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us." So he did to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they did not kill them.

    This verse is referencing Joshua when the Gibeonites answer him, but It felt like it could just have easily been attributed to God.  When King Saul would later go on a rampage and try to wipe out the Gibeonites in his zeal, God would punish Israel for it with a three year drought.  To end the drought, David had to deliver Saul's children to the remaining Gibeonites.  
    You could say that Gibeon was grafted into the kingdom of Israel.  It's also telling that the Gibeonites saved themselves by coming to Joshua in the appearance of poverty and weakness promising to be servants.  It's like how Jesus came to the world as a simple carpenter promising living water to anyone who would believe.

Cain and Abel

 

    Why did God accept Abel's sacrifice and not Cain's?  To understand why I think you have to go back to Adam and Eve's first sin.  I think the answer lies in why they sinned.  Adam and Eve were disobedient.  They ate the fruit God told them not to eat.  But there's more going on here than what is immediately obvious.  It isn't just disobedience that's egregious.  It's what is implied by that disobedience.  They didn't trust God, and what he told them.  Instead they chose to believe the serpent.  Instilled in these acts are betrayal, pride, and covetousness of God's majesty and stature.  By the very act of what they did God was presumed to be a liar.  They put their belief or faith in the words of a created being rather than their creator.  It's a whole host of sins committed in one single act.  It wasn't just the lie of the serpent that condemned them, it was the lies they told themselves.  
    The irony is, they already had what the serpent was promising them.  He told them they would be like God, but they already were.  God created them in his image.  He gave them dominion over the whole earth.  If they wanted to know about good and evil, they could have asked.  Instead they were reduced to shame.  Proverbs tells us the beginning of knowledge is fear of the Lord.  I don't think it's a coincidence that Adam gained mercy from God when he admitted to being afraid as he heard God walking in the garden.  It was the appropriate response after what he had done.  God then kills an animal and makes them clothing to wear.  This brings us back to Abel and all subsequent animal sacrifices.  All through the bible God calls on men to be like him, not in power or ability, but in character.  We're called to keep his ways, commands, and statues.  We're told to fear God as Adam did.  Jesus tells us to take up our crosses and follow him.  He is our example and we are expected to be like him.  
    In contrast, the works of man are seen as corrupt.  We cannot save ourselves with works, and when man offers works that God did not ordain they are rejected.  We see this over and over.  When Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it as God commanded, he is forbidden from entering the promised land.  When the sons of Aaron offer incense that wasn't ask for, in the establishing of the tabernacle, they are killed.  God forbids them from building altars of stone that have been carved or chiseled.  Man's works have been corrupt since he reached out for himself, and took the fruit from the tree of knowledge.
    When Cain and Abel make their offerings, Abel sacrifices an animal like God did when he made clothes for Adam and Eve.  He was imitating God and answering the call for man to be like him.  Cain, however, offered up the fruit of his fields, the works of his hands.  It was rejected, and that rejection was proven to be justifiable when he later murdered his brother with those same hands.