Joshua 9 tells how the Gibeonites tricked Israel into making a peace treaty, and what the leaders did once they discovered the deception. These questions suit a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study. Each set moves from what the text says, to what it means, to how a reader might live it.
Joshua 9 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a coalition of kings across Canaan preparing to fight Israel. The Gibeonites, a nearby people, take a different route. They dress in worn clothes, carry moldy bread and patched wineskins, and present themselves as travelers from a distant land who want a covenant with Israel.
Israel examines the evidence and, without consulting the LORD, makes a binding oath. Three days later the truth comes out: the Gibeonites live nearby. Israel honors the oath but turns the Gibeonites into servants for the community and the altar. Joshua then confronts them, and they explain their fear of Israel’s God.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an opinion. Ask the group to point to specific verses and to notice what the people in the story actually do and say. Let the room settle into the details before moving on.
Joshua 9:3-6
3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, 4 they also resorted to a ruse, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks on their donkeys, and old, torn-up and bound up wine skins, 5 and old and patched shoes on their feet, and wore old garments. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. 6 They went to Joshua at the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, “We have come from a far country. Now therefore make a covenant with us.”
(WEB)
Read this passage to set the scene. It shows the Gibeonites’ careful preparation and their approach to Joshua, so the group can hear the story as Israel first heard it.
Joshua 9:14-15
14 The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from the LORD’s mouth. 15 Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them, to let them live. The princes of the congregation swore to them.
(WEB)
This is the turning point of the chapter. Reading it aloud lets the group hear the failure to inquire of the LORD and the oath that followed, and it anchors the discussion in the text.
Joshua 9:18-21
18 The children of Israel didn’t strike them, because the princes of the congregation had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. All the congregation murmured against the princes. 19 But all the princes said to all the congregation, “We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. Now therefore we may not touch them. 20 We will do this to them, and let them live; lest wrath be on us, because of the oath which we swore to them.” 21 The princes said to them, “Let them live, so they became wood cutters and drawers of water for all the congregation, as the princes had spoken to them.”
(WEB)
Reading the princes’ reply to the congregation helps the group hear the tension between the oath and the community’s frustration. It gives the discussion of promises and their consequences a clear textual base.
Joshua 9:24-25
24 They answered Joshua, and said, “Because your servants were certainly told how the LORD your God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you. Therefore we were very afraid for our lives because of you, and have done this thing. 25 Now, behold, we are in your hand. Do to us as it seems good and right to you to do.”
(WEB)
The Gibeonites explain their fear and their submission in these words. Reading them aloud lets the group hear how the outsiders understood the LORD and why they acted as they did.
Joshua 9:26-27
26 He did so to them, and delivered them out of the hand of the children of Israel, so that they didn’t kill them. 27 That day Joshua made them wood cutters and drawers of water for the congregation and for the LORD’s altar to this day, in the place which he should choose.
(WEB)
Close the reading with the final outcome. These verses end the chapter with the Gibeonites’ service to the community and the altar, which gives the group a concluding image for the study.
Memory Verse for Joshua 9
Joshua 9:14
The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from the LORD’s mouth.
(WEB)
This verse names the key failure of the chapter in one line. Memorizing it helps a reader recall to seek the LORD’s counsel before making a binding decision.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who sometimes trust what we see more than what you say. Thank you for the honesty of your Word, which tells the truth about Israel’s mistake and about the strangers who came to them. Help us to pause before we commit, to seek your counsel in every decision, and to keep our word with wisdom and integrity. Give us eyes to see where we have been deceived, and hearts willing to extend mercy to those who come to us in need. Let your faithfulness be the foundation of everything we promise. Amen.
