I love a good disguise. I’m hopeless at wearing them myself – being well over 6ft tall, it’s hard to convince anyone that you aren’t who you are. But the world of fiction and entertainment is full of great disguises: I enjoyed reading the Arsene Lupin novels a few years ago, and pretty much every chapter has the hero (anti-hero?) in some get-up or other.
Occasionally disguises find their way into real life too. Arguably even our Lord Jesus himself was briefly ‘disguised’ on the Road to Emmaus, and there are numerous other stories of good disguises in the bible, including the unusual story which occupies our attention today.
After the destruction of Jericho and Ai, the surrounding areas are understandably nervous. Some of the tribes decide that attack is the best form of defence (vv1-2) – but the Gibeonites decide instead on a ‘ruse’. They disguise themselves as travellers from afar (vv4-6), and so win the assurance of protection, since God’s law commanded the Israelites to welcome the stranger and provide for their needs. Having been awarded that protection under oath, even when their deception was brought to light, they remained protected, since it was also forbidden to break an oath (v20).
Although both of these acts of obedience might be said to cast the Israelites in a more favourable light, the real heart of the story is found in v14: ‘The Israelites,’ it says, ‘sampled their provisions but did not enquire of the Lord.’ They made decisions themselves rather than seek the wisdom of God through prayer, and so found themselves caught in a dilemma, where they would end up being disobedient in some way, whichever course of action they took.
The story is in fact a perfect illustration of Moses’ warning, which we looked at briefly yesterday. It never takes long for God’s people to go back to relying on themselves, rather than God. It is a healthy reminder that success in the spiritual life can produce complacency rather than humility, and that it is never wasted time to seek the Lord in prayer for wisdom and guidance on decisions and choices that we make. Whatever decisions and choices you face today, offer them to the Lord. God always repays.
There is another echo of grace here, too. The Gibeonites were hereafter employed as woodcutters and water-carriers, to assist in Israel’s worshipping life (v27). Over a thousand years later, another woodworker would open the way for us to worship the one true God, and would provide water which would quench our thirst eternally, becoming a spring welling up to eternal life (John 4:14). May that same Lord grant us grace to drink from the water of life today.