22 And Joshua calleth for them, and speaketh unto them, saying, 'Why have ye deceived us, saying, We are very far from you, and ye in our midst dwelling? 23 and now, cursed are ye, and none of you is cut off 'from being' a servant, even hewers of wood and drawers of water, for the house of my God.' 24 And they answer Joshua and say, 'Because it was certainly declared to thy servants, that Jehovah thy God commanded Moses His servant to give to you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you; and we fear greatly for ourselves because of you, and we do this thing; 25 and now, lo, we 'are' in thy hand, as 'it is' good, and as 'it is' right in thine eyes to do to us—do.' 26 And he doth to them so, and delivereth them from the hand of the sons of Israel, and they have not slain them; 27 and Joshua maketh them on that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the company, and for the altar of Jehovah, unto this day, at the place which He doth choose.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Joshua 9:22-27
Commentary on Joshua 9:22-27
(Read Joshua 9:22-27)
The Gibeonites do not justify their lie, but plead that they did it to save their lives. And the fear was not merely of the power of man; one might flee from that to the Divine protection; but of the power of God himself, which they saw engaged against them. Joshua sentences them to perpetual bondage. They must be servants, but any work becomes honourable, when it is done for the house of the Lord, and the offices thereof. Let us, in like manner, submit to our Lord Jesus, saying, We are in thy hand, do unto us as seemeth good and right unto thee, only save our souls; and we shall not repent it. If He appoints us to bear his cross, and serve him, that shall be neither shame nor grief to us, while the meanest office in God's service will entitle us to a dwelling in the house of the Lord all the days of our life. And in coming to the Saviour, we do not proceed upon a peradventure. We are invited to draw nigh, and are assured that him that cometh to Him, he will in nowise cast out. Even those things which sound harsh, and are humbling, and form sharp trials of our sincerity, will prove of real advantage.