Joshua and Critical Thinking

In eye surgery, everything the surgeon does is critical to a successful outcome. So is the performance of the rest of the team: the circulating nurse, the scrub technician, the anesthesiologist. All our instruments and equipment must be there, and working properly. All these factors are critical. We also criticize our methods and results, always seeking to improve. Critical does not mean fighting in the operating room, it is not destructive; it means careful, thorough, thoughtful work.

And there is no area which better deserves our critical thinking than our relationship with God and our interpretation of the Bible. Because these are factors that are critical to our eternal life.

The philosophy:

"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world." —1 John 4:1 NRSV.

"The old prophet answered, 'I am a prophet, too, just as you are. And an angel gave me this message from the LORD: "Bring him home with you, and give him food to eat and water to drink."' But the old man was lying to him." —1 Kings 13:18 NLT.

"See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." —Matthew 10:16 NRSV.

"Only simpletons believe everything they are told! The prudent carefully consider their steps. The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with great confidence." —Proverbs 14:15, 16 NLT.

The setting:

We have come to settle Caanan, the land God promised us, driving out the present inhabitants. To this end, God has told us to fight nearby nations, and make treaties only with very distant lands.

The textual references:

3 But when the people of Gibeon heard what had happened to Jericho and Ai,

4 they resorted to deception to save themselves. They sent ambassadors to Joshua, loading their donkeys with weathered saddlebags and old patched wineskins.

5 They put on ragged clothes and worn-out, patched sandals. And they took along dry, moldy bread for provisions.

6 When they arrived at the camp of Israel at Gilgal, they told Joshua and the men of Israel, "We have come from a distant land to ask you to make a peace treaty with us."

7 The Israelites replied to these Hivites, "How do we know you don’t live nearby? For if you do, we cannot make a treaty with you."

8 They replied, "We will be your servants." "But who are you?" Joshua demanded. "Where do you come from?"

9 They answered, "We are from a very distant country. We have heard of the might of the LORD your God and of all he did in Egypt.

10 We have also heard what he did to the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (who lived in Ashtaroth).

11 So our leaders and our people instructed us, 'Prepare for a long journey. Go meet with the people of Israel and declare our people to be their servants, and ask for peace.'

12 "This bread was hot from the ovens when we left. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy.

13 These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and cracked. And our clothing and sandals are worn out from our long, hard trip."

14 So the Israelite leaders examined their bread, but they did not consult the LORD.

15 Then Joshua went ahead and signed a peace treaty with them, and the leaders of Israel ratified their agreement with a binding oath.

16 Three days later, the facts came out—these people of Gibeon lived nearby!

17 The Israelites set out at once to investigate and reached their towns in three days. The names of these towns were Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.

—Joshua 9:3-17 NLT.

"Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him; and the Israelites obeyed him, doing as the LORD had commanded Moses." —Deuteronomy 34:9 NRSV.

Admirable facts about Joshua:

1. Joshua was granted wisdom by God himself.

2. Joshua was divinely ordained to his office.

3. Joshua had the confidence of the people.

Our questions:

1. Does the above make Joshua an infallible leader?

2. Should Joshua think critically before making decisions?

3. Should Joshua inquire of the Lord?

The basic question before Joshua:

Do these ambassadors come from a distant land, or from nearby?

Emotional factors which could influence the decision:

Pleasing appearance:

They seem like such nice men.

They're very polite and humble.

Sympathy:

They want to join in the worship of our God.

Pity:

Look at the hardships they've gone through to come here.

Flattery:

They assure us that our God is stronger than the gods of Egypt.

Doesn't it feel good to have strangers coming to ask favors of us?!

Personal Vanity:

Isn't it great to be a wise man?

Shouldn't our people expect their leader to be decisive?

How much time do we have to decide?

Do we have time to investigate the evidence?

Do we have time to consult the Lord?

Critical analysis; is the evidence consistent with the claims?

Their specific claims:

1. We have made a long journey, from a distant country.

2. This bread was hot from the ovens when we left. But now, as you can see, it is dry and moldy.

3. These wineskins were new when we filled them, but now they are old and cracked.

4. Our clothing and sandals are worn out from our long, hard trip.

The physical evidence:

1. Yes, the bread is dry and moldy.

2. Yes, the saddlebags are weathered.

3. Yes, the wineskins are old, cracked and patched.

4. Yes, their clothes are ragged.

5. Yes, their sandals are worn-out and patched.

Does the conclusion (that the ambassadors are from a distant country) follow directly from the evidence? Or is this a non sequitur (the conclusion does not follow from the evidence presented)?

Could we reasonably interpret the physical evidence in more than one way?

Background knowledge:

How long does it take wineskins to become so old and cracked that they require patching? (months to years).

How long does it take sandals to wear out and need to be patched? (weeks to months).

How long does it take saddlebags to weather? (weeks to months).

How long does it take clothes to become ragged? (weeks to months).

How long does it take for bread to become dry and moldy? (days to weeks).

Ask questions:

Interrogate the ambassadors singly, and compare their testimonies. Look for consistency, but beware of conspiracy.

You mention that you have heard of the might of the LORD our God and of all he did in Egypt. Shortly after that, God gave us a body of law, which he summarized by writing on stone. How much do you know about our law, and what is your attitude toward it?

You've mentioned that your journey has been very long. Please be more specific. How long, in months, weeks and days?

You've explained that you come from a distant land.

Is there any reason we should doubt your word?

Why are you offering physical evidence in support of your claim?

What is the name of your distant land?

By what route have you come?

What did you see along the way?

With what nations do you already have treaties, and what is the nature of those treaties?

What is the relationship of your nation to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites?

Of course our leaders will wish to meet with your leaders to discuss the specifics of the treaty. When and where shall we plan a summit conference?

Do you own more than one set of clothes?

In your country, what kind of clothes do you wear when

you represent your people on important occasions of state?

When we make a treaty, we solemnly promise before our God of truth, that we will be faithful to our agreements. But we realize that our knowledge and wisdom are limited. Thus we always insert a clause stating that if a treaty we made in good faith is later discovered to have been based upon fraud or deceit, the treaty will become null and void. Do you have any objection to this clause?

We are conversing in our Hebrew language, which is very similar to that of nearby peoples, such as the Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites. Yet it is very different from the languages of more distant peoples, such as the Hittites.

Are you speaking in your native language?

If so:

How do our languages happen to be so similar?

If not:

How did you come to learn Hebrew?

You have mentioned that your wineskins were new when you filled them, but that they have since worn out and required patching. Of course if the skins cracked, you would lose your wine. And of course the skins had to be empty while you were patching them.

Did you buy more wine along the way?

If so:

Why didn't you also buy new wineskins?

If not:

Why did you continue to carry dry and patched, but empty wineskins?

You have mentioned that your bread was hot out of the oven when you started your journey, but as we see, your bread is now dry and moldy. How long did you travel before your bread became dry or moldy?

If it was a long time:

Please explain how you preserved your bread so well.

If it was a short time:

Why are you carrying moldy bread, and for how long have you been carrying it?

"If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you." —James 1:5 NRSV.

If we ask God for wisdom, will he grant it?

Yes, God has promised, and God is faithful.

Let us suppose that God grants us wisdom, just as surely as he gave wisdom to Joshua. Now, do we still need to do our homework?