Matthew Henry Commentary Joshua 9:3-13

"But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done unto Jericho and to Ai, they also did work wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-skins, old and rent and bound up, and old and patched shoes upon their feet, and old garments upon them; and all the bread of their provision was dry and was become mouldy. And they went to Joshua unto the camp at Gilgal, and said unto him, and to the men of Israel, We are come from a far country: now therefore make ye a covenant with us. And the men of Israel said unto the Hivites, Peradventure ye dwell among us; and how shall we make a covenant with you? And they said unto Joshua, We are thy servants. And Joshua said unto them, Who are ye? and from whence come ye? And they said unto him, From a very far country thy servants are come because of the name of Jehovah thy God: for we have heard the fame of him, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth. And our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spake to us, saying, Take provision in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them, and say unto them, We are your servants: and now make ye a covenant with us. This our bread we took hot for our provision out of our houses on the day we came forth to go unto you; but now, behold, it is dry, and is become mouldy: and these wine-skins, which we filled, were new; and, behold, they are rent: and these our garments and our shoes are become old by reason of the very long journey." — Joshua 9:3-13 (ASV)

Other people heard this news and were driven by it to make war against Israel; but the Gibeonites were led to make peace with them. Thus the discovery of the glory and the grace of God in the gospel is to some a savour of life unto life, but to others a savour of death unto death (2 Corinthians 2:16). The same sun softens wax and hardens clay. The falsehood of the Gibeonites cannot be justified.

We must not do evil that good may come. If they had presented themselves to the God of Israel in a straightforward manner, we have reason to think Joshua would have been directed by the oracle of God to spare their lives. But when they had once said, “We have come from a far country,” they were led to support this claim by pointing to their wineskins made of skins and their clothes. One lie brings on another, and that a third, and so on. The way of that sin is especially downhill.

Yet their faith and prudence are to be commended. In submitting to Israel, they submitted to the God of Israel, which implied forsaking their idolatries. And how can we do better than to cast ourselves upon the mercy of a God of all goodness? The way to avoid judgment is to meet it by repentance.

Let us do as these Gibeonites did: seek peace with God in the rags of abasement and godly sorrow, so that our sin will not be our ruin. Let us be servants to Jesus, our blessed Joshua, and we will live.