[14-15] Israel here makes a big promise. Bigger than a [pinky promise]. They swear an oath before the Lord. But in making this big promise, they make a big mistake. They don’t ask for "the mouth of the Lord." What comes out of God’s mouth? Words, words of life, living words. How did God make the universe and everything in it? He spoke. Words. That’s why it’s such a big deal that God’s Word is living and active [Heb 4.12] - these aren’t just dead words on a page. THESE words ARE God-breathed [2Tim 3.16], out of His mouth, and they give life. Food for our spirit, which is the very breath of life in us.
Prom•ise /ˈpräməs/: “a declaration/assurance to do a certain thing”. There’s no word for “promise” in Hebrew. The notion of a promise exists, on two levels. 1) God/people say things, and what they say, they do. The ideal is, words hold true [Num 32.24 “Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” lit, do what came out of your mouth]. In our culture, when someone says, I will do [this/that], we ask, do you promise? We say, I promise I will. But God doesn’t say, I promise. He simply keeps His Word, always. To not do so would be totally and otherwise inconceivable. [Gen. 28:15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” —> Literally, “until I have done what I said to you”]. I said it, I will do it. It’s about trust, and the Lord is completely trustworthy. Always faithful. God says it, it’s [money in the bank][a check that will NEVER bounce].
2) Then, sometimes people (and God) swear an oath. AND they invoke a deity, on threat of divine retribution. [God Himself swears an oath to Abraham: Gen. 22:16-17 “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed…”] And if they want to make it super permanent, they [CUT a covenant]. For these peoples there is/was no firmer guarantee of legal security or personal loyalty than the covenant [Gen 15.9ff]. It's exactly what the Gibeonites ask for here [6,11], and that’s what Israel does.
(In contrast we Westerners sort of operate on three levels, don’t we? We say things, and we promise things, and then we vow/promise/swear before God (and these witnesses). But the Hebrews had no middle ground. If I said it, you could expect it).
Obviously, dealing falsely IS a problem. Anyone ever dealt falsely with you? Said something, and not done it? Happens in business, in relationships. Sadly, for most people around the world, where values are not rooted in the Judeo-Christian ethic [whose ideal is the character of God], dealing falsely is a fact of fallen life. Everybody does it. But whenever/wherever people don’t keep their word, you can’t trust them. Leaders. The police. Your neighbor. Maybe this doesn’t sound too bad - UNTIL it happens to you. Someone we assumed we could trust did not keep their word, and in that moment we FEEL how wrong it is. We’re disappointed, and hurt - because a part of us KNOWS the Ideal. If I say it, you can (should be able to) expect it. We’re supposed to be able to trust what comes out of someone’s mouth. That’s how kids are - they believe everything you tell them (faith of a child?). The fact that we grow up and learn we too often cannot trust what people say just points to how broken the world and people are. But make no mistake - we can always trust what comes out of God’s mouth.
Of course, we still deal with people. Gen. 21:22-23 At that time that Abimelech said to Abraham, “God is with you in all that you do; now therefore, swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring, but you shall show to me and to the land in which you have sojourned, the kindness that I have shown to you.” A Gentile king makes Abraham swear that he won’t deal falsely. Cuz this supposed “man of God” had already dealt falsely! Abimelech SEES the hand of God on Abraham, knows enough to honor the Lord in SPITE of Abraham’s false-dealing, even calls him on the carpet for NOT keeping his word. Swear an oath, he says. Which means, call on God Himself, as a witness to what you’re saying, and God-forbid that you go back on your word now.
How does this apply to us? James 5:12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment. 1) We ought not make flippant oaths. God will hold us accountable, and we ALL can struggle to keep our word at times (especially when our culture more and more does NOT keep its word). But then 2) by God’s grace, we make our yes be yes, and our no no. The promise of a promise.
And why does it matter? Because this what God is like - and we are created/recreated in His image. We keep our word because God keeps His Word. That’s what it means to say God is faithful. We can always take Him at His Word. When HE says something, we can trust/expect it. (This is also why the enemy tries SO HARD to get us to question what God has said. He so desperately wants to make the Lord look bad and to undermine our faith in the God Who is forever and eternally faithful.) And yes, WE struggle to keep our word. BUT God gives us His Spirit - Who helps us! Lord, help me…
[14-15] It says the MEN of Israel take these stale moldy provisions, and Joshua cuts a covenant with these Gibeonites, not to harm them. This is Joshua’s first big mistake. And this big mistake begins when they undertake such a big decision WITHOUT seeking the “mouth” of the Lord [or their wives? God can speak through them...!]. Big mistake. Huge. Never make any big decision, without seeking God’s counsel [Lord, what do You want]. And of course, the important part about seeking counsel is actually being open to doing what the Lord wants. And IF God doesn’t want it for us, then we DON’T want it. I may think I want it, my feelings are saying I want it, but I am mistaken. Feelings can’t be trusted [case in point - flying an airplane by instruments, when your feelings sometimes don't agree with the instruments, but when more likely than not, the instruments are right]. God's words are our instruments for flying thru the fog of life. God’s Word is far more trustworthy than my feelings. What does God say? Are you and I willing to believe that God knows what’s best for us? Then we ought to trust Him. Ask Him what He wants. And follow.
But I (mostly) love how Israel responds here. [18] The people know their leaders didn’t follow what God said. Now I don’t love that they grumble against their leaders. But the leaders know that to go back on the oath they made before the Lord would have been just as bad as making the ill-advised oath to begin with [I.e. in 2Sam 21 - Years later, we see the anger of God against Israel when King Saul breaks the oath]. Having made the oath, God’s people honor it [19-20, 10.5-10]. We look to the Lord to help us make the decision, and we look to Him to help us abide by the decision. And when we mess up, we look to His amazing grace. His forgiveness thru Christ. We own it/confess it, and keep going….
Joshua messes up - but going forward he resolves to do what he knows God wants. There are consequences, but the Lord uses the process. And how about the Gibeonites? They start out as deceivers, but I think we see a genuine fear of the Lord in them [24]. They serve in the temple for generations [27]. Later we see Gibeonites helping to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem [Neh 3.7, 7.25]. In the account of the Gibeonites, we see that God’s divine purposes can be furthered even in spite of the shortcomings of His people. The promise of a promise. That’s God’s grace. So immense. So free. Greater than all our…you name it. He can take our foolish self-centeredness and turn it around for His glory. The promise of a promise.
•(on flying by instruments) A helicopter pilot based on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific told this story: "I was flying the helicopter back to the ship when a blinding fog rolled in. Flying at a low altitude, I knew that a single mistake would plunge my crew and me into the ocean. Worse yet, I was experiencing a complete loss of balance -- which is common for pilots flying by instruments. This loss of balance was so bad that despite the instrument readings I was certain that I was lying on my side. For 15 minutes I flew the helicopter by its instruments, fighting the urge to turn it according to my feeling. When we finally broke safely through the fog, I was deeply thankful I had been trained to rely upon my instruments rather than on my feelings.”
•(on covenants in the Near East) In the Ancient Near East, when two parties made an agreement the weaker party would cut animals in half and walk through the halves, in essence saying: “May this be done to me if I don’t uphold my side of the covenant.” Ancient Hebrew reflects this understanding because in Hebrew you don’t “make” a covenant, you “cut” a covenant. What’s amazing about the covenant the Lord makes with Abraham in Genesis 15 is that the Lord is the One Who passes between the animals, not Abraham.
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