The Gibeonites knew that their neighbors were fighting a losing battle, for God was fighting for Israel, and no army could resist Him. So, they decided to use guile instead of muscle. If Satan does not defeat you by coming as the devouring lion (1 Pet. 5:8–9), he will try again as the deceiving serpent (2 Cor. 11:3). He never gives up.
基遍人晓得他们的邻舍势必战败，因为为以色列打战的是神，这是没有军队能抵抗的。因此，与其与以色列直接对抗，他们用的是奸计。当撒旦无法以吼叫的狮子吞吃你时（彼前5:8-9），他必以诡诈之蛇的形式再现（林多11:3）。他是不会放弃的。
The humiliating defeat at Ai should have taught Joshua and the leaders to take time to pray and seek the mind of the Lord. After all, the Lord was the Commander of the army (Josh. 5:13–15). But they walked by sight and not by faith, and unbelief has a hard time waiting (Isa. 28:16; 30:1–2).
在艾城的惨败本该教导约书亚和领导人当耐心祷告并寻求神心意的重要性。毕竟，耶和华才是军队的总指挥官（书5:13-15）。但他们仍凭眼见而行，不凭信心；不信的人是无法静候等待的（赛28:16；30:1-2）。
Another defeat! The Lord lost glory, the leaders lost stature, and the nation lost a potential victory: “What agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor. 6:16). But Joshua did not give up; rather, he made his mistakes work for him (vv. 21–27). That is the mark of a great leader.
又是一场败仗！主失去荣耀，带领者失去声望，而国家失去原本该有的胜利：“神的殿和偶像能有什么相同呢？”（林后6:16）但约书亚并没有放弃；相反的，他使过失变为转机（21-27节）。这是一个伟大领袖的标志。
Praying the Scripture 用经文祷告
- The novelist Joseph Conrad wrote, “It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes.” However, in Joshua’s case, doing nothing was precisely his mistake. He should have consulted God before entering into an agreement with the Gibeonites. Let’s always pray before making any decision.
小说家约瑟夫·康拉德写道：“只有不做事的人才不会犯错。”然而，对约书亚而言，这就是他所犯下的错误。他本该与基遍人达成协议之前先寻求神。让我们在做任何决定之前一定先祷告。
- After victory, Israel felt they were prepared to confront the enemy. They became confident. Joshua and the princes of Israel were impetuous and didn’t take time to consult the Lord. They walked by sight and not by faith. After listening to the strangers’ words and examining the evidence, Joshua and his leaders concluded that the men were telling the truth. The leaders of Israel took the ‘scientific approach’ instead of the ‘spiritual approach.’ They depended on their own senses, examined the ‘facts,’ discussed the matter, and agreed in their conclusion. It was all very logical and convincing, but it was all wrong. They hadn’t yet learned to wait on the Lord and seek His direction. The will of God comes from the heart of God (Ps. 33:11), and He delights to make it known to His children when He knows they are humble and willing to obey. “If any of you really determines to do God’s will, then you will certainly know” (John 7:17) is a basic principle for victorious Christian living. God sees our hearts and knows whether we are really serious about obeying Him. We ought to use the mind God has given us, but we must also heed the warning of Proverbs 3:5–6 and not lean on our own understanding.
胜利之后，以色列人认为他们做好了对抗敌人的准备。于是，他们变得自满；约书亚和以色列的领导变得急躁，不停下来征询主之意。他们凭眼所见而非凭信心行事。在听取了陌生人的话并审查证据后，约书亚及他的领导总结男子所言属实。以色列领导采用的是“科学方法”，而不是“属灵策略”。他们按照自己的感官，查验“事实”，彼此商榷，并得出一致的结论。这一切似乎都很符合逻辑，非常切实，但这完全是个错误。他们还是没有学会等候神并寻求祂的指引。神的旨意是从心中的思念而来（诗33:11），而当祂知道祂的孩子谦卑并甘心顺服时，神喜悦使他们知道自己的旨意是什么。“人若立志遵着他的旨意行，就必晓得”（约7:17），这是得胜的基督徒生活的基本原则。神透视我们的心，也晓得我们是否是真心要顺服祂。我们当应用神所赐予我们的智慧，但也须听从箴言3:5-6的警告，不可倚靠自己的聪明。
