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THE STORY
Measure Twice, Cut Once

    Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these things--those in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Great Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites)-- [2] they came together to make war against Joshua and Israel.
    [3] However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, [4] they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. [5] The men put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. [6] Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us."
    [7] The men of Israel said to the Hivites, "But perhaps you live near us. How then can we make a treaty with you?"
    [8] "We are your servants," they said to Joshua.
    But Joshua asked, "Who are you and where do you come from?"
    [9] They answered: "Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt, [10] and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan--Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth. [11] And our elders and all those living in our country said to us, 'Take provisions for your journey; go and meet them and say to them, "We are your servants; make a treaty with us." ' [12] This bread of ours was warm when we packed it at home on the day we left to come to you. But now see how dry and moldy it is. [13] And these wineskins that we filled were new, but see how cracked they are. And our clothes and sandals are worn out by the very long journey."
    [14] The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. [15] Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.
    [16] Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. [17] So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. [18] But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.
    The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, [19] but all the leaders answered, "We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. [20] This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them." [21] They continued, "Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire community." So the leaders' promise to them was kept.
    [22] Then Joshua summoned the Gibeonites and said, "Why did you deceive us by saying, 'We live a long way from you,' while actually you live near us? [23] You are now under a curse: You will never cease to serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God."
    [24] They answered Joshua, "Your servants were clearly told how the Lord your God had commanded his servant Moses to give you the whole land and to wipe out all its inhabitants from before you. So we feared for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this. [25] We are now in your hands. Do to us whatever seems good and right to you."
    [26] So Joshua saved them from the Israelites, and they did not kill them. [27] That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
    [10:1] Now Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had taken Ai and totally destroyed it, doing to Ai and its king as he had done to Jericho and its king, and that the people of Gibeon had made a treaty of peace with Israel and were living near them. [2] He and his people were very much alarmed at this, because Gibeon was an important city, like one of the royal cities; it was larger than Ai, and all its men were good fighters. [3] So Adoni-Zedek king of Jerusalem appealed to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish and Debir king of Eglon. [4] "Come up and help me attack Gibeon," he said, "because it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites."
    [5] Then the five kings of the Amorites--the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon--joined forces. They moved up with all their troops and took up positions against Gibeon and attacked it.
    [6] The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: "Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us."
    [7] So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. [8] The Lord said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you."
    [9] After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. [10] The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great victory at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. [11] As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
    [12] On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

    "O sun, stand still over Gibeon,
        O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
    [13] So the sun stood still,
        and the moon stopped,
        till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
 
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
    The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. [14] There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
    [15] Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal_{^{. [NIV]}} 

    During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, "It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death."
    [2] The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) [3] David asked the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? How shall I make amends so that you will bless the Lord's inheritance?" _^[NIV]

SOME INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT LIFE PRINCIPLES
IN A WORLD FULL OF LOOPHOLES

     When You Need To Make A Big Decision:  Stop, Look & Listen

    The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord. _^[NIV]

    It is not good to have zeal without knowledge,
        nor to be hasty and miss the way.
 
    [3] A man's own folly ruins his life,
        yet his heart rages against the Lord. _^[NIV]

    Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." [14] Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. [15] Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." _^[NIV]

    Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go, look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there. _^[NIV]

    Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
    [2] Then the Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. [3] March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. [4] Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams' horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. [5] When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have all the people give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the people will go up, every man straight in." _^[NIV]

     Once You've Made A Commitment: Keep it

    but all the leaders answered, "We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. _^[NIV]

A psalm of David.

    Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?
        Who may live on your holy hill?
 
    [2] He whose walk is blameless
        and who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from his heart
        [3] and has no slander on his tongue,
    who does his neighbor no wrong
        and casts no slur on his fellowman,
    [4] who despises a vile man
        but honors those who fear the Lord,
    who keeps his oath
        even when it hurts,
    [5] who lends his money without usury
        and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

    He who does these things
        will never be shaken. _^[NIV]

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. _^[NIV]

    "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' [34] But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; [35] or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. [36] And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. [37] Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. _^[NIV]

    What a man desires is unfailing love;
        better to be poor than a liar. _^[NIV]

     Don't Confuse A Contract With A Commitment

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. _^[NIV]

    "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' [17] You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? [18] You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' [19] You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [20] Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. [21] And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. [22] And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it. _^[NIV]

    If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 
Deuteronomy 28:15
    However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: _^[NIV]