So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.

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1 45 Week 7 Day 1 Observe & Discover Before you begin your study today spend a few moments in prayer asking God to give you an open heart and mind to learn new Truths from His Word. As you pray, ask the Lord to reveal to you a WOW that He would have you memorize from Joshua chapters 9. Diving In So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them. And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. Joshua 9:15-16, NKJV The Gibeonites plotted. They schemed. And they devised a plan to secure their freedom. They came to Joshua and the Israelites claiming to be something they weren t. They told them things that were untrue and staged materials to ensure their compassion. Joshua and Israel didn t see it coming; they d been duped, deceived by the enemy. But could they have prevented this moment of deception? Observe Read through Joshua chapter 9. Observe the text. Record any thoughts that stand out to you.

2 46 Word Search As you read through the text write down repeated, long, and unusual words. Also, be sure to jot down those words that jump out to you begging for their original Hebrew or Greek meaning to be unearthed. Key Words & Definitions Outline Summarize Joshua chapter 9 by making an outline. Include in your outline a brief description for each section. Make this outline fit your needs for study. It can be as detailed or brief as you d like it to be. Write your own outline in the space below. Try not to refer to other outlines that may be presented in your Bible and elsewhere.

3 47 Discover As you read through Joshua chapter 9 think of some questions that might lead to an important spiritual discovery. Key questions to ask on your journey to unearthing spiritual truths: WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? HOW? Write your questions in the space below. Pray that God would give you the wisdom, knowledge, and tools to unearth the answers to those questions in the days to come. Week 7: Word of Wisdom Ask the Lord to reveal to you a Word of Wisdom (WOW) from Joshua chapter 9 to implant, embrace, and enact this week. Write your WOW in the space below. Say it aloud several times as you begin committing it to memory. Write it on an index card, carry it with you wherever you go, and practice committing it to memory.

4 48 Week 7 Days 2-6 Examine & Practice Before you begin your study each day spend a few moments in prayer asking God to give you an open heart and mind to learn new Truths from His Word. Write out your WOW(s) for the week. Say it aloud several times as you practice committing it to memory. The following is only meant to be a springboard into your study of Joshua chapter 9. Use these questions to get you started and then dive a little deeper on your own. Go back to the In-depth Study Guide if you need to, get to know how to use your Bible, review the Diving Deeper into Scripture Memorization Guide to help you in memorizing your WOW for the week, and utilize the free tools found on the Bible Study Tools Guide. Day 2 1. Read Joshua 9: Ask the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of this verses. For instance a. How did the local kings and people react to Israel s defeat of Jericho? b. What was the reaction of the Gibeonites? What did they plot to do? What do you think they were hoping to gain by approaching Israel like they did? c. What was Joshua s reaction to them? Was he skeptical at first? d. What untruths did the Gibeonites tell Joshua? e. What were the travelers from Gibeon called? (see Joshua 9:7) Who were the Hivites? Use your Bible s cross references to answer this question. If your Bible doesn t have cross references see Joshua 11:19 and Genesis 10:17. f. Using a Bible dictionary and your Bible s cross references (Joshua 10:2), jot down what you learn about the city of Gibeon. g. Did the Gibeonites really travel a great distance to where Israel was encamped? Find Gibeon on a map and trace its distance to Gilgal. How far is it? What material items did they show Joshua trying to prove to him that they d traveled far? h. According to verse 14, what two mistakes did Israel and Joshua make? i. Did Joshua make a treaty with the Gibeonites?

5 49 **Application: Joshua and Israel s leaders had been deceived. They made a treaty with the Gibeonites allowing them to live when God had clearly told them to destroy all the inhabitants of the land. Not one time did they ask the LORD what they should do. They trusted their own judgment and made their own plans. Do you go to God, asking Him what He d have you to do in all situations or do you make judgment calls and set your own plans in motion? Day 3 **Application: Can you think of a time you were deceived? What was it about the scheming of the other person that caused you to give in to their deception? Spend some time today examining the following Scriptures How are people often times deceived? Matthew 13:24-30 Romans 16:17-18 Jude Ephesians 5:6 Galatians 6:7 2 Peter 2:1-3 How can we avoid being deceived? Proverbs 3:5-6

6 50 Matthew 7:24 Ephesians 5: John 4:1, 5-6 Colossians 4:5 James 1:5 Day 4 1. Read Joshua 9: How many days passed before Israel realized they d been deceived? 3. How did Israel go about proving the deception of the Gibeonites? 4. Read Joshua 9: Ask the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of this verses. For instance a. What was the reaction of the children of Israel upon finding out that they d been duped by the Gibeonites? b. How did the Israelite leaders show integrity? c. To whose name had the oath between the Gibeonites and the Israelites been sworn? Breaking this oath would bring God s wrath upon the Israelites, therefore the leaders stood by the oath they d made even though they d been tricked into making it. Read 2 Samuel 21:1-6. Was this oath ever broken? d. Joshua rebuked the Gibeonites for their dishonesty. What was the punishment inflicted upon them?

7 51 e. Why do you think Joshua made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the house of God? **A thought: Might it be possible that the Gibeonites punishment/work be carried out in the vicinity of the house of God the tabernacle in order for worship of the One, True God to be the greater influence instead of their own idolatrous worship influencing Israel? f. The freedom the Gibeonites had hoped to obtain through their trickery of Joshua and Israel was, in the end, lost; they became Israel s slaves. But this punishment would turn out to be a blessing to the Gibeonites. Read the following Scriptures and jot down what you learn about the Gibeonites. Joshua 10: Chronicles 1:3 Nehemiah 3:7 Day 5 This week we ve focused much on how Joshua and Israel were deceived by the Gibeonites. No doubt we can all recall situations in which we ve been deceived, betrayed, manipulated. It s very easy to stand back and point the finger at what others have done to us; to play the victim; to wallow in our pain. I don t want to discount any of the pains deception can bring about because I ve experienced those pains and heart-aches firsthand. But today I want us to, not focus on how we ve been deceived but instead ask ourselves this question: Am I the deceiver? Is there someone in my life I m deceiving, betraying, manipulating? Maybe you re deceiving your spouse into believing that your finances are in order but in reality you re in debit up to your ear lobes. Maybe you re deceiving your boss into paying you for work you aren t actually doing. Maybe you re deceiving/manipulating that guy you ve been dating so that he ll stay around and not break up with you.

8 52 Maybe you re deceiving your friends into believing your something you re not by the way you dress and the things you say. Maybe you re deceiving yourself into believing that you re ok when in reality your life is a complete façade. Maybe you re deceiving your spouse into believing you re faithful to them but in reality you re having an emotional affair on Facebook or through texting with an old fling or having a physical affair with someone in your community. Deception, betrayal, and manipulation can come in all forms and fashions. Are you a deceiver? **Application: My friend, there is hope for the deceiver! The Gibeonites experienced the grace of God; a grace that forgives and cancels out mistakes; a grace that brings blessings out of sins and failures. God s grace is unleashed when we run to Him in humility, repenting of our deceptive ways, seeking His forgiveness for our sins. Does that mean there will be no consequences for the deceiver? No, there are always consequences for our sins. But, God can take our nasty messes and make them beautiful masterpieces. He can take our sins and failures and bring about great blessings. If you find yourself today living the life of a deceiver I encourage you to run to Jesus. Confess. Repent. Receive His forgiveness. And experience His grace unleashed. Day 6 Today I d like to encourage you to do a few things. Revisit day 1 of this week s study. ~As you dove deeper into chapter 9 this week, what new things did you observe and discover? ~Did you take the time to unearth the meanings of words that were unfamiliar to you? If not, take some time to do so. ~Were all your who, what, when, where, why and how questions answered? If you need to spend more time in this particular chapter so that you can find those answers to your questions, please do so. Don t move forward in your time of study until you are ready.

9 53 ~How did you do memorizing your WOW(s) this week? Keep your Scripture index card with you and continue to implant and embrace that Word of Wisdom in your heart and enact it in your daily life. ~And, most importantly, what Truths are you walking away with this week? What have you learned from Joshua chapter 9 that you can implement into your daily life? What brave step(s) do you need to take this week to move closer to your land of abundant living? God has a Word for each of us; truths He desires to plant deeply within our hearts. We dive deeper, not to add to our knowledge of Him, but to grow in Him. Keep diving deeper!