Pulelulu Sepitema 29, 2021
Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us
fai pe ha me‘a kiate kimautolu ‘oku hā lelei mo totonu
Siosiua 9 (Joshua 9)
(v. 25-26) Pea ko e nō ‘oku ma‘u ‘i ho nima; fai pe ha me‘a kiate kimautolu ‘oku hā lelei mo totonu kiate koe ke fai. Pea ne fai pehē kiate kinautolu, ‘o ne fakahaofi mei he nima ‘o e kakai ‘Isileli, ko ia na‘e ‘ikai te nau tāmate‘i kinautolu. Pea na‘e tu‘utu‘uni ‘e Siosiua ‘i he ‘aho ko ia ke nau nofo ko e kau tā fefie mo ‘utuvai ki he fakataha mo e ‘ōlita ‘o Sihova; pea ‘oku fai ki ai ‘o a‘u ki he ‘aho ni, ‘i he potu ‘oku ne fili ki ai.
(v. 25-26) And now, behold, we are in your hand. Whatever seems good and right in your sight to do to us, do it.” So he did this to them and delivered them out of the hand of the people of Israel, and they did not kill them
G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible
The fame and the dread of the people by this time were spreading far and wide. The kings of Canaan, conscious of their danger, formed a league against the oncoming hosts.
However, before they had time to take action, a new peril threatened Israel through the strategy of the Gibeonites. The first mistake made by the princes of Israel in this matter was that they acted alone in receiving the messengers instead of remitting what was a new set of circumstances to God for counsel and guidance.
Moreover, they had been straitly charged to make no covenant with the people of the land. Although it may be urged that they thought in making the covenant with these people they were doing so with those from a great distance, it is yet clear that they approached perilously near direct disobedience.
The deceit being discovered, the action of Joshua was immediate and decisive. He was bound by the letter of his covenant with the Gibeonites, but he condemned them to perpetual servitude, making them hewers of wood and drawers of water. It is interesting to observe that in subsequent history the binding nature of this treaty was recognized and the Gibeonites do not appear anywhere to have made any attempt to corrupt the children of Israel with idolatry.
David Guzik :: Study Guide for Joshua 9
Significantly, there seems to be no complaint from the Gibeonites. They simply say, "here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us." Essentially, they were happy with the prospect of being incorporated into Israel, and by being made servants of the LORD, even if it was in menial service.
In this, the Gibeonites express the same heart David did in Psalm 84:10: For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
It is essential to see that they did this out of a love for the God of Israel, not out of weakness. Indeed, it was said of Gibeon that all its men were mighty (Joshua 10:2).
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