Egypt, and of the victorious manner in which he had enabled them to prevail over the kings on the other side of Jordan. But respecting the miraculous passage through the river Jordan, or the fall of Jericho and Ai, they said not a word ; because they would have it supposed that their country was so far distant as not to admit of such recent events being known there.
But this falsehood was altogether unjustifiable. It is true, the very existence of their nation apparently depended on it ; and to deceive an enemy may in some cases be allowable : but here was falsehood, direct, palpable, systematic falsehood : and, as is usually the case, having begun with one falsehood, (That they were come from a far country,) they were forced to utter a multitude of others to support it. Nothing could justify this : and, if they had been truly pious, they would have preferred death before it. Their better way would certainly have been, to declare the whole truth, and to implore Joshua's intercession with God to spare their lives, and to instruct them in the know- ledge of his ways. This, we can have no doubt, would have succeeded, though no provision was made for such an event in the general orders which God had given to Israel. The excep- tion of sparing those who opened their gates related to distant nations only, and not to those within the borders of the pro- mised land b. Yet God, as a God of mercy, would have spared them : or, if he had not, it would have been better for them to die, than to preserve their lives by falsehood : for the sen- tence of God against liars, without any respect to the occasion of their lies, is, that " they shall have their part in the lake which burnetii with fire and brimstone ; which is the second death0."]
2. The league that Joshua made with them —
[Joshua, though some suspicion was intimated in the first instance13, was too easily imposed upon: (for those who are themselves guileless, are least suspicious of guile mothers:) he formed his judgment from the circumstances that were before him, and made up his mind without consulting Gode. This in him was faulty : both he and the elders were guilty of criminal neglect. To what purpose had God given them the Urim and Thummim, but that they might ascertain his will in all doubtful matters ? and Eleazar, the high-priest, was at hand ; so that no delay would have been occasioned. To the same source may be traced innumerable errors of our own. We " lean to our own understandings," instead of seeking direction from God. To what purpose is it said, " In all thy ways acknow- ledge him, and he shall direct thy paths f," if we do not avail
b Deut. xii. 10, 11, 15, 16. cRev. xxi. 8. d ver. 7.
e ver. 14. f Prov. hi. 5, G.
252.1 joshua's league with gibeon. 589
ourselves of this privilege ? Let us bear in mind, that there is nothing so great or so small, but it is our duty and our privi- lege to ask counsel of God respecting it.
But though we blame Joshua for so hastily concluding a cove- nant with the Gibeonites, we highly applaud him for adhering to his engagement. There might indeed have been much to say for rescinding the covenant : ' He had been imposed upon : they were not the people whom they had represented them- selves to be ; nor were their cities out of the precincts of the promised land.' Still however, " he had sworn to them by the Lord God of Israel ;" and therefore he considered the whole nation as pledged to fulfil the covenant ; nor would he suffer the congregation to execute upon them the vengeance which they meditated. This was doubtless the proper line of conduct for him to pursue. If he had rescinded his covenant, the whole people of Canaan would have represented him as a violator of his engagements : it was therefore better to fulfil his hasty and unadvised agreement, than by departing from it to give occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme. From hence we may learn our duty on all such occasions. Joshua had erred through haste, and a neglect of properly consulting God; and therefore it was right to abide the consecpiences. Had his oath indeed been like Herod's, duty would have required him to violate it ; because an engagement to commit murder could not be binding upon any man : but as there was no such obstacle to the performance of his vows in the present instance, he acted the part of an upright man, who " sweareth to his neighbour, and change th notg." Nevertheless it was not necessary that he should go beyond his agreement. All that he had promised, was, to spare their lives h : that therefore he adhered to : but as they had deceived him, and as it was necessary to pacify the congregation who were offended at the covenant, he reduced them all to a state of servitude, and made them hewers of wood and drawers of water to the whole congregation in the house of the Lord. This satisfied all par- ties ; and turned even the error which he had committed, into a public benefit.]