The people of Israel are deceived by the Gibeonites because they did not ask counsel (advice) from the Lord (Joshua 9:14). Their actions are an example of a people leaning on their own understanding, something which the Bible warns against in Proverbs 3:5.
The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:6 and 1 Corinthians 10:11 that the historical events in the Bible relating to the actions of the Israelites were written down as examples to us. The Holy Spirit wants us to learn from the negative and the positive examples of Israel about what it means to live by faith in the light of God’s promises.
Practically, we should therefore learn from this episode that it is vital for us to seek counsel from the Lord when we make decisions today.
1 As soon as all the kings who were beyond the Jordan in the hill country and in the lowland all along the coast of the Great Sea toward Lebanon, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, heard of this,