Lessons from the Life and Leadership of Joshua Part 2/3.

Staff blogger Steve C Green

Joshua and Caleb

What God said, Joshua did — and things went very, very well for Israel. There is a clear lesson in that for us. But Scripture also gives us an example where Joshua did not do so well, and it is found in Joshua 9:3–14.

After the fall of Jericho, word spread quickly across the land. Every nation in Canaan was terrified. The Israelites were advancing, and no one could understand how Jericho — a fortified city — was not just defeated but completely wiped out. It was gone. Not captured. Not occupied. Gone.

So fear grips the surrounding tribes. And in that fear, the people of Gibeon produce a plan — a ruse.

They load their donkeys with worn‑out sacks and cracked wineskins. They put on patched sandals and old clothes. Their bread is dry and mouldy. They make themselves look like travellers from a far‑off land. Then they approach Joshua at Gilgal and say, “We have come from a distant country. Make a treaty with us.”

The Israelites are suspicious: “You live near us. How can we make a treaty with you?”

Joshua asks, “Who are you, and where do you come from?”

They reply with a well‑crafted story: “We have come from a distant land because we have heard of the fame of the Lord your God — what He did in Egypt, what He did to the Amorite kings, to Sihon of Heshbon and Og of Bashan. Our elders told us to bring provisions and seek peace with you. Look — our bread was warm when we left home, but now it is dry and mouldy. Our wineskins were new, but now they are cracked.”

Everything looks convincing. Everything sounds reasonable. But then comes the key line:

“But they did not inquire of the Lord.”

That is the whole issue. Joshua and the leaders were being played. These were not distant travellers — they were neighbours God had commanded Israel to destroy. Yet the Gibeonites convinced them to make a peace treaty.

Joshua makes the treaty. The leaders ratify it by oath. And suddenly Joshua has a problem.

God had commanded the destruction of the Hivites. But Joshua had sworn an oath to spare them.

If he kills them, he breaks his oath — and Deuteronomy 23:21 makes it clear that breaking an oath is sin. If he lets them live, he disobeys God’s command and leaves an enemy on Israel’s doorstep.

Joshua chooses to honour the oath. Scripture does not spell out his prayer, but it is reasonable to imagine him coming before God in repentance: “Lord, I have made a mistake. I acted without asking You. I will bear the consequences, and I will do better next time. But I will keep my word.”

And God honours that humility. Joshua goes on to great success afterward.

This moment becomes even more significant later in Israel’s history. Many years after Joshua, King Saul breaks this very oath and slaughters the Gibeonites — and God judges Israel for it. That is how seriously God takes integrity and covenant‑keeping.

Saul looked at the Gibeonites and thought, “I am not having this. I am not having these people living on our border.” So he killed every one of them. And that act brought God’s judgment — three years of famine in Israel.

The background to the oath did not matter. Once the covenant had been sworn, it was binding before the Lord. That is why Joshua did the right thing by honouring his oath, even though it had been made in error. Because he kept his word, God was able to fulfil His covenant with Joshua and continue making him prosperous and successful.

Joshua honoured the Lord and His commandments, regardless of the personal cost and despite the inevitable criticism from the Israelites. And this pleased the Lord. Remember, Joshua was leading millions of people — people who were quick to complain, quick to judge, and quick to assume the worst.

You can almost hear them: “He is getting weak, isn’t he? Ever since Jericho, that guy has been going downhill. I remember when he used to be brave — up for a fight. Now it is treaties, oaths, and diplomacy…”

But Joshua was not weak. His strength was not in killing the Gibeonites. His strength was in obeying God — even when obedience made him look soft in the eyes of the people. That is real leadership.

Let us look at another story that gives us insight into the kind of man Joshua was. We pick it up in Numbers 14:1.

The children of Israel have reached the edge of the Promised Land. They are in Canaan. Moses sends spies into the major towns: “Tell us what the land is like. How many fighting men are there? How strong are their armies? Is the land worth taking?”

The spies return — and most of them are terrified. “You should see the size of them! They are huge. Their armies are powerful. We do not stand a chance.”

But Caleb and Joshua come back with a different spirit. “Yes, they are big. Yes, they are strong. But if the Lord says we will win, then we will win. If the Lord says we can take the land, then we can take the land.”

On the back of the negative reports, the people begin to panic. Numbers 14:1 says: “That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.” They grumble against Moses and Aaron. They say, “If only we had died in Egypt!”

Think about that. They were slaves in Egypt — whipped, beaten, abused — and yet they have the audacity to say, “It was better there than here.”

They continue: “Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better to go back to Egypt?” And then they say the unthinkable: “Let’s choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

There is so much going on in that paragraph. God had promised them victory every step of the way. He destroyed the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. He split the sea so they could walk through it. He fed them with bread from heaven. But nothing was ever enough.

You have heard the saying: “You’re only as good as your next miracle.” The last miracle is forgotten the moment a new challenge appears.

“Oh no, these big guys are coming. We are finished.”

But the Lord never said that. And I think as Christians, we are all guilty of this at times. God does not bring us this far just to abandon us.

Imagine someone going through a health battle. God heals them of cancer — but there are side effects. Do we think God will heal the cancer but leave the side effects untouched? Of course not. He does not bring us 90% of the way and then drop us.

But the children of Israel forgot that. And often, so do we.

And then the Israelites try to change the whole deal — the whole covenant. Suddenly they want a democracy. “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” Where did that come from?

These are God’s chosen people. Moses and Aaron are standing right in front of them. Only weeks earlier, they had followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God’s presence was visible. Tangible. Undeniable. And yet now they say, “No, no, no — we’re doing this our own way.”

This is the beginning of the insurrection. It starts with the scouts who brought back the negative reports: “We cannot attack those people. They are stronger than we are.” It was a complete collapse of faith.

If you say God is your God — if you say He is the centre of your life — how can you forget everything He has done in an instant?

As Christians, we believe Romans 8:28 — that God works through every aspect of our lives for good. That truth alone takes rebellion off the table. You cannot abandon Him. You cannot turn your back on Him.

But the Israelites did. They began with quiet grumbling against Moses and Aaron, rejecting the Lord’s provision. Within minutes, it escalated into open rebellion: “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Realising the seriousness of this sin, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb fall face down and cry out for mercy: “Lord, do not judge them. They have made a mistake — please be gracious and compassionate.”

Joshua tears his clothes in repentance. Then he stands up — in front of a mob of millions — and tries to reason with them. He reminds them of God’s faithfulness, His promises, His miracles.

But the mob only grows more violent. They decide to stone them — to drag them out and beat them to death with rocks.

And here we see Joshua’s character. He trusted God. He feared nothing. He knew the Lord was on his side. He knew that no matter what two million angry people shouted, God had promised to make Israel a great nation — and God keeps His promises.

Joshua believed that with all his heart, and that belief gave him the courage to stand firm and make a difference.

Amen

Personal Prayer

In Part 3 of this study we consider the relevance of this message to the local church.