Thousands of years ago, on the first of April,* a weary band arrived in the camp of the Israelites after what appeared a long and arduous journey. They asked for peace terms, and since they obviously lived so far away, Joshua granted them.

Turns out, these men represented the people of Gibeon, who lived in the direct path of the invasion of the land. The ruse—and Joshua’s failure to consult the Lord—saved all their lives.

After discovering their deception a few days later, Joshua summoned the leaders and asked, Why did you deceive us? Seems like the answer was pretty obvious, but Joshua asked anyway, and I’m glad he did. The answer uncovered their thoughts.

Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants…so we feared for our lives…we are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you.

The Gibeonites heard of the Lord and his promise to Moses. They didn’t fully understand, but they knew they stood in the way. Humbling themselves, they put on old clothes, grabbed some moldy cheese and hoped for the best.

Fear led to their salvation. Like Rahab in Jericho, they sought deliverance and the Lord granted it. In light of this, it’s surprising to see all the nations surrounding them resist the Lord so violently.

There’s no record of the Gibeonites ever causing Israel to stumble, or living in any other way than as peaceful servants. Eventually they seemed to have been fully assimilated. The Lord worked a great deal of good through a clever trick and a foolish mistake.

It’s nice to know He does the same for us.

Joshua 9 in reading the Bible cover to cover in 2022

Photo by Gio Mikava

*I have no idea if this meeting occurred on April 1. I’m totally pulling the date out of thin air—April Fools!