The Pragmatist's Snare: When Moldy Bread Seems Wiser than God Text: Joshua 9:3-15
Introduction: The Lure of the Obvious
We live in an age that worships at the altar of pragmatism. The great question of our time is not "Is it true?" or "Is it righteous?" but rather, "Does it work?" We are a people addicted to results, to efficiency, to the tangible evidence of our own senses. We want to touch the merchandise and kick the tires before we commit. This is the native tongue of the world, and the church, tragically, has become fluent in it. We want church growth strategies that "work," political solutions that "work," and personal ethics that "work." But the problem with making "what works" your god is that it works. The devil is a master pragmatist. His deceptions are always plausible, his temptations are always practical, and his lies are always backed up by what appears to be solid, empirical evidence, like moldy bread and worn-out sandals.
The story before us in Joshua 9 is a master class in the collision between two kinds of wisdom. It is the collision between the crafty, self-preservationist wisdom of the world and the simple, obedient wisdom of God. On the one hand, you have the Gibeonites. They are pagans, dead to rights under the curse of God, and they know it. They have heard the scouting report on Yahweh, the God of Israel. They heard what He did to the global superpower of Egypt and what He just did to Jericho and Ai next door. And they are terrified. Theirs is not a saving fear, not yet, but it is a sensible one. They have enough wisdom to know that you do not fight a God who can throw down city walls with a trumpet blast. So, they resort to a ruse, a grand piece of political theater.
On the other hand, you have Israel, fresh off two stunning victories. They have seen God work miracles. They have the clear, unambiguous command of God in their ears: make no treaty with the inhabitants of this land (Ex. 23:32, Deut. 7:2). Their path is straight, their duty is plain. But when confronted with a clever deception, a well-acted lie, they forget all that. They trade the clear command of God for the compelling evidence of their eyes and hands. They look at the props, they taste the stale bread, and they make a decision based on the evidence. In short, they become pragmatists. And in doing so, they walk straight into a snare that will have consequences for generations. This passage is a stark warning to us. The greatest dangers we face are often not the overt frontal assaults, but the subtle, plausible deceptions that appeal to our own "good judgment."
The Text
Now the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai. So they also acted craftily and went and traveled as envoys and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, and worn-out and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and was crumbled. And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country; so now, cut a covenant with us.” Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we cut a covenant with you?” But they said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Then Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of Yahweh your God; for we have heard the report of Him and all that He did in Egypt, and all that He did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth. So our elders and all the inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, ‘Take provisions in your hand for the journey, and go to meet them and say to them, “We are your servants; now then, cut a covenant with us.” ’ This bread of ours was warm when we took it for our provisions out of our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. And these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and these clothes of ours and our sandals are worn out because of the very long journey.” So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but they did not ask for the command of Yahweh. And Joshua made peace with them and cut a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them.
(Joshua 9:3-15 LSB)
A Godly Fear and a Worldly Craft (vv. 3-6)
We begin with the motivation and the method of the Gibeonites.
"Now the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai. So they also acted craftily..." (Joshua 9:3-4)
The Gibeonites heard. What did they hear? They heard of the power of Yahweh. This is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom, even for pagans. It is not a covenantal, filial fear, but it is a raw, creaturely terror before the power of the Creator. Unlike the other Canaanite kings who heard the same news and banded together for a suicidal frontal assault, the Gibeonites had the sense to know they were outgunned. Their reaction is not righteousness, but it is rational. They know they cannot win a fight with the God of Israel, so they decide not to fight Him.
Their solution is to act "craftily." This is the wisdom of the serpent. It is shrewd, cunning, and entirely of this world. They assemble a collection of props that would make a Hollywood set designer proud. Everything is worn-out, torn, patched, and mended. Their entire presentation is a carefully constructed lie, designed to appeal to the senses. Their bread is not just dry, it is "crumbled." Their wineskins are not just old, but "torn and mended." This is high-quality deception. They are not simply lying with their words; they are lying with their clothes, their donkeys, and their lunch.
They come to Gilgal, the very place where Israel had rolled away the reproach of Egypt, and they present their case. "We have come from a far country; so now, cut a covenant with us." Their request is predicated on their lie. Israel was permitted to make treaties with distant nations, but explicitly forbidden from making them with the people of the land. The Gibeonites knew the law better than the Israelites applied it.
The Plausible Lie and the Pragmatic Inquiry (vv. 7-13)
Israel's initial response shows a flicker of caution, but it is quickly extinguished by the overwhelming sensory data.
"Then the men of Israel said to the Hivites, 'Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we cut a covenant with you?'" (Joshua 9:7 LSB)
This is the right question. It shows they knew the basic prohibition. This was their one opportunity to stop, to step back from the situation, and to take the matter to the Lord. But they do not. Instead, they allow the Gibeonites to continue their performance. The Gibeonites respond with a brilliant piece of flattery and partial truth. "We are your servants." Then, when pressed, they launch into their rehearsed speech.
Notice what they include in their report. They speak of the "fame of Yahweh your God," what He did in Egypt, and what He did to the two Amorite kings across the Jordan. But notice what they strategically omit. They say nothing about Jericho and Ai. Why? Because news of those very recent, nearby victories would have given the game away. A traveler from a "very far country" would not have heard that news yet. This is a masterful, subtle touch. The lie is in the details, and the devil is in the details they leave out.
They conclude their presentation by thrusting the evidence into the faces of the Israelite leaders. "Look at our bread. Touch our wineskins. See our sandals." They are appealing directly to the senses, bypassing the clear command of God. They are inviting Israel to judge by sight, not by faith. And Israel, tragically, accepts the invitation.
The Fatal Flaw: Empiricism Over Revelation (v. 14)
This brings us to the central failure of the entire story, the pivot point of disobedience.
"So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but they did not ask for the command of Yahweh." (Joshua 9:14 LSB)
This is one of the most damning verses in the book of Joshua. "The men of Israel took some of their provisions." They engaged their senses. They performed their due diligence, from a worldly perspective. They conducted a taste test. They handled the evidence. They reasoned that if the bread is moldy, the story must be true. This is the logic of empiricism. It is the logic of a world without God, a world where man is the measure of all things. It is the logic that says, "If I can see it, touch it, and taste it, then I can know it."
And the second clause reveals the spiritual treason behind their actions: "but they did not ask for the command of Yahweh." They had direct access to the God who knows all things. They had the Urim and Thummim. They had Eleazar the priest. They had a direct line to the sovereign Lord of the universe, the one who is never deceived. And they left Him out of the meeting. They consulted the bread crumbs but not the Creator. This is not a small oversight. This is practical atheism. It is to act as though God is irrelevant to the decision at hand. After all the victories, after all the miracles, they decided that this one was simple enough to handle on their own. And that is always where the fall comes.
The Binding Power of a Foolish Oath (v. 15)
The consequence of their pragmatic failure is immediate and irreversible.
"And Joshua made peace with them and cut a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them." (Joshua 9:15 LSB)
Based on faulty evidence and a failure to consult God, Joshua and the leaders enter into a binding covenant. They swore an oath. And in Israel, an oath sworn by the name of Yahweh was absolutely inviolable. You could not cross your fingers. You could not declare a mulligan because you were tricked. When the name of God is invoked, the honor of God is on the line.
This is a profound principle. God takes oaths seriously, even foolish oaths made by His people. Centuries later, King Saul would violate this very treaty and bring a famine upon the land of Israel as a consequence (2 Samuel 21). God's name had been attached to this promise, and God would not allow His name to be trifled with. The lie of the Gibeonites snared Israel, but the oath of Israel bound them. Their sin of presumption led to a covenantal obligation that they could not escape.
Conclusion: Whose Report Will You Believe?
So what is the lesson for us? The Gibeonites, in their pagan terror, acted with a worldly wisdom that saved their skins. They heard the report of God's power and acted accordingly. Israel, the people of God, heard the report of their senses and acted with a worldly pragmatism that led them into sin and entanglement.
The central question for us, in every decision we face, is this: Whose report will we believe? Will we believe the report of the Lord, delivered to us plainly in His Word? Or will we believe the report of our eyes, our ears, our focus groups, our opinion polls, and our moldy bread? The world will always present you with compelling, tangible, "sensible" reasons to set aside the clear command of God. It will tell you that tithing doesn't "work" when the budget is tight. It will tell you that sexual purity doesn't "work" in a lonely world. It will tell you that turning the other cheek doesn't "work" in a dog-eat-dog world.
The Gibeonites' deception worked beautifully. And Israel's pragmatic response was a disaster. They were snared not because the lie was perfect, but because their faith was lazy. They leaned on their own understanding. The Gibeonites, in their deception, at least had God in their sights. Israel, in their deliberation, did not.
The call for us is to repent of our self-reliance. We must repent of the arrogance that assumes we can handle the "small" decisions without bothering God. Every decision is a spiritual decision. Every crossroad is an opportunity to either trust our own senses or to ask for the command of Yahweh. Let us be a people who are not impressed by the props and stagecraft of the world, but who are governed by one thing and one thing alone: "Thus saith the Lord." Before you taste the provisions of the world, first ask for the command of God. That is the only wisdom that will not lead you into a snare.