I’ve been married for nearly forty-three years: thanks be to God. Among the many things I’ve learned — some the easy way and too many the hard way — is this: in conversation with your beloved, you must always be alert to the unspoken subtext. There are the actual words spoken, yes, with a quite straightforward literal meaning. But there is often a meaning hidden within or underneath or behind the spoken words, a hidden meaning that you are expected to — and which you had better — understand. There are often two senses to marital communication: the literal and the relational.

It is the same with Scripture, only more so. The Church has long recognized and described various senses of the Word. There are the words themselves, yes, but they often contain multiple layers of meaning revealed by the Holy Spirit. We might describe the plain meaning of the text as its literal sense and the deeper meaning as its spiritual sense. So, for example, the Song of Solomon is an erotic love poem in its literal sense, but it is a description of the relationship between Christ and the Church in its deeper, spiritual sense.

So, what do we make of the Old Testament lesson appointed for Morning Prayer today (12 June), the story of the Gibeonite deception (see Joshua 9)? In its literal sense, it is simply an historical account of a clever and resourceful group of men who manage to pull the wool over Joshua’s eyes, to deceive him in order to spare their city from destruction. Like the shrewd manager in Jesus’ parable, you just have to give them some grudging admiration; well played men of Gibeon, well played.

But surely there is more to this story. If not, it won’t preach. If not, it lacks any power to inspire or encourage or exhort. If not, it lacks any spiritual sense.

But, there is more; there is a spiritual sense to the account; in fact, there are probably many ways to understand it spiritually. I’d like to suggest just one that might inform our own discipleship. In its spiritual sense this account offers an insightful description of temptation and sin, and it issues a stern warning. The desert fathers would have understood this perfectly.

The Gibeonites came to Joshua unbidden, disguised, and with lying words.

3 But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, 4 they on their part acted with cunning and went and made ready provisions and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, 5 with worn-out, patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes. And all their provisions were dry and crumbly (Josh 9:3-5, ESV throughout).

When Joshua inquired where they were from, they lied:

“From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God” (Josh 9:9a).

Unbidden, disguised, and lying, the Gibeonites came, which is exactly how temptation comes to us. It is the paradigm we see from the very beginning, from the Garden, when the evil one comes unbidden and unwelcomed into Eden, disguised as a serpent, and hissing lies to Eve about her Creator and his selfish intent for man: unbidden, disguised, and lying. Temptation is a subtle assault upon us, perpetrated by the world, the flesh, and the devil. It often appears harmless, as worn-out, torn, and mended as Gibeonite wineskins. And too often we are deceived, like Eve and Joshua. The first step toward sin is the assault, when temptation comes to us unbidden, disguised, and lying. There is no culpability here; Jesus himself was tempted. But there is danger.

When the Gibeonites arrived, Joshua and the army of Israel had already destroyed two cities: Jericho and Ai. In each, according to the command of God, all inhabitants had been placed under the ban, utterly destroyed. Why would Joshua suppose that God would desire anything different for these strangers arriving unbidden? Why would Joshua suppose that God might want him to spare and covenant with these inhabitants of the land? Why would Joshua entertain this notion? Why would he and the men of Israel interact with them?

7 But the men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live among us; then how can we make a covenant with you?” 8 They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” And Joshua said to them, “Who are you? And where do you come from” (Josh 9:7-8)?

Of course, the Gibeonites lied to Joshua and to the men of Israel, maintaining their disguise and their deception. “We are your servants,” they said, all the while pursuing a strategic position of advantage. And Joshua continued to engage, to interact, to consider the possibility of covenant with these strangers.

Temptation works in exactly the same way. It comes unbidden, disguised, and lying — so small, so insignificant, so worn and shabby, hardly recognizable at all. But, it is temptation. Why would we suppose that God would desire anything but for us to place it under the ban? Why would we suppose that God might want us to spare it and covenant with it? Why might we suppose that God might want us to interact with it at all? What if Eve had simply said, “Begone, serpent,” rather than engaging in conversation with the evil one? What if David had simply averted his eyes from Bathsheba instead of entertaining his growing lust? What if I, recognizing a temptation, simply refused to engage it, refused to interact with it? Temptations may buzz around us like so many flies, but we do not have to grant them a safe place to land. Temptations come knocking on the door seeking a place to lodge, but we don’t have to share our hospitality. The second step toward sin in interaction.

There is a telling verse next — a damning verse — in this account:

14 So the men [of Israel] took some of [the Gibeonites’] provisions, but did not ask counsel from the LORD (Josh 9:14).

There’s the heart of the problem: the men of Israel engaged with the Gibeonites but not with the Lord. And notice another subtle but crucial shift in the trajectory of the Joshua narrative. The priests were central in the crossing of the Jordan River. The priests were instrumental in the seven-day siege of Jericho. But, the priests are absent from the account of Israel’s defeat at Ai. And the priests are absent from the account of the Gibeonite deception. There is a movement away from the Lord and his representatives and toward the men of Israel and the power of the army. And that is a disastrous shift. Had Joshua simply dismissed the Gibeonites without engagement, without considering their request; had Joshua engaged the priests and sought the word of the Lord instead of contemplating a covenant with the deceivers, how differently this account might read.

If I refused to engage temptation, to interact with what it offers; if I engaged instead with holy men and women, trusted mentors and guides, and sought the word of the Lord, how differently my life might read.

Temptation comes unbidden, disguised, and lying to assault us. Instead of confessing the temptation to godly men or women and together seeking the word of the Lord with prayer and fasting, we too often interact with temptation; we consider what it has to say and to offer. And, if we continue down that path, the next words written about Joshua may well be said of us:

15 And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them (Josh 9:15).

Rich Mullins has a song that expresses our human condition powerfully and poetically, as only Rich could do:

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made

Forged in the fires of human passion

Choking on the fumes of selfish rage

And with these our hells and our heavens

So few inches apart

We must be awfully small

And not as strong as we think we are (Rich Mullins, We Are Not as Strong as We Think We Are)

The world, the flesh, and the devil have had eons to perfect temptation, while we are awfully small and not as strong as we think we are. If we do not flee temptation’s assault, if we foolishly engage temptation, if we look to our own wisdom and the might of our own army instead of seeking out the communion of the saints and the power of prayer and the word of God, we will find ourselves making peace with temptation and covenant with sin. And that is the third step toward sin: consent. Now, we are culpable.

This text is not simply a slightly humorous account of how a clever band of tricksters deceived Joshua and the elders of Israel. It is a cautionary tale for us, laying out the way temptation assaults us, showing the danger of engaging temptation, warning against the ever-present possibility of making peace with temptation and covenant with sin. Temptation will come; we will be assaulted. But we have this promise:

13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13).

And we have this tale as both warning and guide. Amen.