It appears that this treaty had the approval of the LORD, for Saul, who was king of Is'ra-el several hundred years before, was severely rebuked for slaying a group of Gib'eon-ites. Although God condemned them to slavery for their lying and deception, He honored their faith. The league which Josh'u-a and the princes of Is'ra-el had made with them was confirmed and made by the LORD.
It also appears that the occupation of these four cities without warfare was a great advantage to the Is'ra-el-ites. The cities were midway between strong heathen nations to the north and to the south; by occupying them, Josh'u-a was able to thrust his army like a wedge into the center of the unfriendly nations of the country. Thus the alliance of the Ca'naan-ites was broken up almost before it had gotten under way.
Among the stronger cities of southern Ca'naan there were five which were held by different tribes of Am'o-rites. These were as follows: Je-ru'sa-lem, about twenty miles southeast of Gil'gal; He'bron, one of the most ancient and important cities of the country, located about twenty-five miles south of Je-ru'sa-lem; Jar'muth, about fifteen miles southwest of Je-ru'sa-lem; La'chish, about thirty-five miles southwest of Je-ru'sa-lem; and Eg'lon, which was just north of La'chish. The people who lived in all these cities, and in the smaller towns which formed a part of each tribal territory, were noted for bravery and military skill.
The king of Je-ru'sa-lem feared that he would be the next to be attacked by Josh'u-a, for his city and territory was nearest to the encampment of Is'ra-el at Gil'gal, and to the royal city of the Gib'eon-ites who had formed a league of peace with the Is'ra-el-ites. He sent an urgent request to the kings of all these other cities to join him in battle against the Gib'eon-ites, thinking that by conquering and occupying the cities of Gib'eon he and his allies would be in a better position to defend Je-ru'sa-lem. In asking for this alliance the king of Je-ru'sa-lem was moved by fear, and by a spirit of revenge. He felt that he was unable to defeat the Is'ra-el-ites, that the Gib'eon-ites who had allied with Is'ra-el should be punished as traitors to the cause of the heathen nations of the land, and that the best way to withstand the Is'ra-el-ites was to conquer their allies.
