The Con and The Covenant

When I was a Freshman at Moody Bible Institute, a student I knew was walking downtown in Chicago near campus one early evening when he was approached by a well-dressed, older African man. The man asked if my friend was a student at Moody, and seemed relieved that he was.

He explained that his brother had passed away in the U.S., and he had come to oversee the funeral and manage his brother’s estate. He had gone to the Moody offices, but they were closed, preventing him from completing one final task before leaving for home the next day after the funeral. The task was to donate a large sum of money to the Institute, per his brother’s wishes, and he hoped my friend could help.

The man said his brother would have been pleased to know the money would go to a student preparing for ministry. He asked, “Do you know a student in need who would be blessed by this gift? Someone trustworthy who would use it for his education? Maybe you are in need? I believe God arranged for us to meet, and I am following His lead.”

My friend, who was in real financial need and unsure how he would afford the next semester, admitted his situation. The man smiled, embraced him, and then reached into his bag to pull out a package wrapped in decorative cloth. Inside, he said, was a few thousand dollars in cash. He explained that in his culture, a gift from the deceased couldn’t be opened until after the burial, so my friend would need to wait until the next day to open it.

Then came the twist. The man asked if the student could prove he was in need. “Would you allow me to see how much is in your bank account?” Out of trust, ignorance, or desperation the student handed over his ATM card. The stranger walked over to the ATM alone, checked the account, and came back saying, “God has given you this gift.” He handed over the package, and reminded the young man once again not to open it until the next day after a specified time.

When I tell that story people audibly groan or gasp throughout, knowing there was no cash in the package, and there was nothing left in the kid’s bank account. He was conned. He never returned to school after that semester.

Con men are cool in the movies, but contemptible in real life. In a film we are impressed with their power of persuasion and the complexity of the con. But in real life there are real victims who are not just robbed, they are betrayed.

The Crisis

All of this was on my mind as I was reading about the con the Gibeonites pulled on Israel in Joshua 9.

At that point Israel was coming in hot, rolling through the land of Canaan, taking the cities as God kept his promise to give them victory everywhere they went as long as they remained faithful. The Kings of Canaan were terrified as word continued to spread of Israel’s God, his mighty acts, and their coming judgment. So, they decided to band together to fight Israel as one.

But not the Gibeonites. They knew God of Israel and his people could not be defeated, but perhaps they could be deceived. They opted for a con over a conflict.

A “con,” or a confidence scam, is a kind of fraud that builds and breaks trust with the victim. The con artist gains their mark’s confidence, which makes it easier to manipulate them and then deprive them of whatever they have that has high value. The Gibeonites wanted a promise of safety only Israel could guarantee.

So they developed a fake identity as a foreign people from a far off land who had heard of Israel and their God and sought a safe place to live among them. It was an elaborate scam that included weathering their clothes and goods to give credibility to their story.

The Covenant

Israel was initially suspicious, but they eventually took the bait and believed the lie. They relied on their instincts rather than seeking counsel from the Lord (:14), and Joshua made a covenant with them, promising them a place in the land of Canaan.

Three days later Israel learned of the con and wanted to destroy the Gibeonites, but Joshua and elders explained that they had to keep their word. Yes, they were deceived, but they made a covenant, a sacred oath. It was better to be wronged than to be wrong (Ps. 15:4).

The Gibeonites received mercy, but they had to pretend to be what they were not to get it. These damnable, unworthy, lying people were spared. They were accepted, but not wanted.

The Christ

And we are like the Gibeonites—condemned and unworthy, and incapable of beating the charges or punishment. The best we can do on our part is to pretend we aren’t “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” (Rev. 3:17). But it won’t help.

God is not deceived. He knows exactly who and what we are, and yet he still invites us into a Covenant of Grace. A covenant that offers mercy, forgiveness, righteousness, life, and every spiritual blessing through a better Mediator–Jesus Christ. He doesn’t save us reluctantly out of obligation, but willingly with great joy. He established this covenant upon divine love for sinners.

In Jesus we are not just admitted to his Kingdom, but exalted in it. We are made citizens of the with full benefits (Eph. 2:12, 13). More than that we are all made royal priests who have standing with and access to God (1 Pet. 2:9, 10). And more than that we are adopted as the children of God who can draw near to God without fear of rejection or refusal (Jn 1:12; Rom. 8:15). God turns sinners into saints, recreating us to become what we were not. By the grace of Christ we truly belong in this Kingdom.

We don’t have to pretend. In fact, pretending is what keeps us out of this covenant. We must confess our sins and receive his grace by faith alone.

Are you weak? God’s divine power has caused you to be born again, and is at work in you to will and work for his good pleasure (1 Pet. 1:3; Phil. 2:13). He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)

Are you weary? Jesus says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28–29)

Are you wandering? Isaiah says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Is. 53:6)

Are you wicked? Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost,” and “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (1 Tim. 1:15; Rom. 5:9)

All that we are in ourselves is swallowed up in all that we are in Christ.