The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 217

I. THE ANGER AND WISH OF THE PEOPLE arose from-1. Thefr mortification at being_ ontwi.tted. ~ride had bee_n honoured by the arrival of such an appa- rently drntant deputation. The endences were incontestable. All the stronger w?uld b~ the conse<[nent r~vuls~on when the trickery was discovered. Each man ~hinks hllllself a~ wise as Ins 1;1e1ghbour, and cannot endure to be triumphed over m any transaction. If we did not rate ourselves so highly, we should not be troubled with such pangs of shame. 2. The natural hatred of deception. One of the proofs of the existence of a ~oral se~se, and therefore _of the _moral constitution and government of the world, 1s found m the condemnation umversally pronounced upon underhanded dealing. Commerce and intercourse must cease where no bond of good faith is observed. The Gibeonites perjured themselves by words and deeds. 'l'he fiercest reproofs of our Lord were administered to the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees. He called them " whited sepulchres ; " they '' ma.de clean the outside of the cup and platter but within were full of extortion and excess." ' 3. A mingled remembrance of God's commandment and their own desire for plunde1·. The craft of the Gibeonites could not fail to make them regarded as enemies of God; and if this wholesome sentiment was sometimes feeble in operation, it was certainly strengthened on this occasion by the sight of the rich booty which the Israelites would have enjoyed but for the league entered into under such false pretences. Moral indignation is vastly swelled by a sense of personal injury. Interest quickens resentment and action. Not so with the Al- mighty. Raised far above all our petty interests, His wrath against sin is pure, a bright flame that has no base admixture to sully its awful grandeur. II. THE DETERMINATION OF THE PRINCES, 1. Regarded the sacredness of the·i1· word. Like J ephthah, they had given their word, and could not go back. They were prepared to face the opposition of the populace. In this they showed themselves worthy of their position as heads of the. people. On all leaders a great responsibility rests ; it is sometimes necessary to check as well as to urge forward their followers. They must be ready to resist the clamours of the multi- tude. To think weightily of a spoken word, a promise, is an all-important matter. Words are in the truest sense deeds. " By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Language is not meant to conceal but to express onr thoughts, and a spoken should be as binding as a written speech. Here should Christians be well to the front. In business their every utterance should be capable of being trusted, and they should risk much rather than excuse themselves from the performance of their contracts. 2. Respected the inviolableness of an oath. When Jesus Christ prohibited all swearing, He did but, in the paradoxical method of statement He adopted, interdict all nseless, vain, needless interlarding of conversation and business and legal declarations with the introduction of holy names and things. He Himself used the most solemn formulas in His public teaching and before the high priest ; the apostles invoked the witness of God to the truth of their statements ; and the Lord God is said to have "sworn with an oath." An oath is therefore permissible, but ought not to be lightly taken ; it implies solemnity and deliberation. Only, therefore, under exceptional circumstances can it be considered right to break an oath. Doubtless a promise made upon the strength of the promisee's false statements is not always obligatory, but the case cannot be generally determined. Few will doubt that in the instance before us the princes acted wisely. They attributed special importance to the fact that they " had sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel,'' and they looked to the evil effects that would be produced if the name of Israel's God should be dishonoured. It was their own fault, their heedless hurry, that they had committed themselves to the rash oath. Note, too, that the narrative, by not condemning the resolve of the princes, seem to sanction it. And in after years the Israelites incurred the grievous displ.iasure of the Almighty, because Saul had, in his mad zeal, sought to slay the Gibeonitee in contranntion of this agreement (2 Sam. xxi. 1-11). In the result these Hivites gained their life, but were reduced to servitude. The curse pronounced upon Ca.nun (Gen. ix, 26) [cu. rx. 1-27, THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. 157