planned to circumvent the invaders, and form an alliance with
them. Now, before Joshua set out on his campaign, he had issued
three proclamations: the nation that would leave Canaan might
depart unhindered; the nation that would conclude peace with the
Israelites, should do it at once; and the nation that would choose
war, should make its preparations. If the Gibeonites had sued for
the friendship of the Jews when the proclamation came to their
ears, there would have been no need for subterfuges later. But the
Canaanites had to see with their own eyes what manner of enemy
awaited them, and all the nations prepared for war. The result was
that the thirty-one kings of Palestine perished, as well as the
satraps of many foreign kings, who were proud to own possessions
in the Holy Land. (33) Only the Girgashites departed out of
Palestine, and as a reward for their docility God gave them Africa
as an inheritance. (34)

The Gibeonites deserved no better fate than all the rest, for the
covenant made with them rested upon a misapprehension, yet
Joshua kept his promise to them, in order to sanctify the name of
God, by showing the world how sacred an oath is to the Israelites.
(35) In the course of events it became obvious that the Gibeonites
were by no means worthy of being received into the Jewish
communion, and David, following Joshua's example, excluded
them forever, a sentence that will remain in force even in the
Messianic time. (36)

THE SUN OBEYS JOSHUA

The task of protecting the Gibeonites involved in the offensive and
defensive alliance made with them, Joshua fulfilled scrupulously.