Advanced Level, Block 5—Frustrations in the Land
Week 44
Deceived by the Gibeonites (Revised on 9/30/2021)
Point to Emphasize: Don’t be deceived; talk to your parents about the things you hear, read and see.
Reference Reading: Joshua 9:1-27; Deuteronomy 18:10-11
Memory Verse: Be careful lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside… (Deuteronomy 11:16a)
Story Sample
Today we will talk about the outcome of being deceived and how it shows that we are gullible, easily persuaded.
Joshua and the children of Israel eventually destroyed Ai. After Jericho and Ai were destroyed, the kings who lived in the hill country gathered to fight against Joshua and the children of Israel. The inhabitants of Gibeon, the Gibeonites, heard this same report about Jericho and Ai being destroyed, but they decided to take a different approach. Instead of fighting against Israel, they would act craftily and deceive them.
So, a group of them went out not as warriors ready for battle, but as envoys, persons delegated to represent a government of another country. As part of their craftiness, they took old sacks upon their donkeys and old torn up wineskins. They wore old, patched sandals and old garments. They made sure that all the bread in their provisions was dry and moldy.
Then they went to Joshua at the camp of Gilgal and said to him, “From a faraway land we have come; now therefore make a covenant (agreement) with us” (Joshua 9:6). The men of Israel wanted to make sure that they were not an enemy living in the good land, a people that they should destroy. So, they asked where they were from. The Gibeonites said that they came from a very distant land, but they had heard about all that Jehovah their God had done in Egypt and how He had conquered all the kings and cities since then. They told Israel that the elders of their land had sent them out to make a long journey to meet with them and agreed to be their servants since they had such a great God. Then they showed their provisions saying that the bread had been hot from the fire when they started on their trip and that their clothes had only become torn and worn out during their very long journey. Instead of asking Jehovah concerning these Gibeonites, Joshua and the men were deceived by their disguise and made a peace agreement with them.
After a few days, Joshua and the leaders discovered that they had been deceived. The envoys who came to them were in fact close neighbors and had four cities which should have been destroyed. But since they had been gullible, being so easily deceived, Israel had no choice but to keep the peace agreement with these enemies. They ended up having to do something which was against what God wanted; something that was not good for them either.
Often, we are gullible, too. We forget that what others present to us may not be the truth. And since our parents are truthful and we are brought up to be truthful we never suspect how those around us often are not truthful. Many times, they are disguising things that are against God and that damage us, too. One good example of this is all the ads for smoking and vaping. In those ads they don’t say that when you smoke you take a toxic, damaging chemical into your lungs. Rather they disguise it and make it look “cool.” If they did not disguise the truth, no one would ever think to inhale something that damages their body. This shows us how the “disguise” has deceived people. And isn’t it the same with body piercing and tattooing? The truth is that God made our body in a marvelous way. We don’t need to do these things. We want to preserve our body and not abuse it. But the “disguise” comes, and all kinds of people do it making it seem “cool.” What are some other things today that put on a “disguise” of being okay or “cool”? [Lead the children into discussing issues that are most relevant to your group of children. Things like gender identity, having something different than one dad and one mom, drugs, social media, witchcraft in books, popular books or movies, boy/girl relationships, addiction to video games, etc.]
Of course, we want to be like Joshua; we want to be for God, do what He says and keep ourselves, even our bodies, from being damaged. So, we need to learn to talk things over with our parents so that we are not persuaded by the lyrics of popular songs or the way entertainers and sports figures dress and live. Remember everything behind a “disguise” is harmful in some way. If it was the truth, like God and the Bible are true, then there would not be a disguise needed.
Again, our hope in discussing such matters with you is that you would learn to talk with your parents today. You would continue to be like Joshua, loving God and being for the things that are true.