We’ve been going through the book of Joshua over the last few weeks as the Lord is leading us to review and focus on strategy to take our own nation back. Remember the message I gave on August 7, 2026 entitled “Saving a Nation from Communism” where I discussed the KGB and Communist effort to bring down America? I also shared the dream the Lord gave detailing the importance of staying at our post as watchmen as we press into the Lord to receive His strategy, recognize collaboration when necessary, and most importantly, persevere in prayer.

We are on the cusp of that breakthrough, I say “cusp” because we’ve been weeping and sweeping over this nation for nearly 27 years now, repenting for the bloodletting, uprooting the enemy from our land all while crying out for Him to send us revival. During this process, the Lord sent forth His Awakening to transform the culture that has been infiltrated by Communism/Marxism to corrupt America from within. The Awakening provokes the Retainers and Maintainers to rise up and literally restore Godly culture in the land.

Victory is on the horizon.

How do I know this?

This was a Covenant the Lord made with Mom if she would answer His call to her to begin the work of the Gathering of the Eagles and God stands by Covenant.

The Awakening is the catalyst to provoke the weepers and sweepers, those loyalists to arise.

So, what happens when man embarks upon a covenant? Will God honor that covenant as well? Let’s go back to the book of Joshua for our answer. We’ll read from Joshua 9 and 10 but as a refresher, in Joshua 1-8, we’ve seen the Israelites walk through several things that would benefit us as believers in our own fight to take back our nation. I’ve talked about the first four in previous messages.

The Israelites came up from the east side of the Jordan and crossing Jordan just above the Dead Sea, headed west, straight into the middle of Canaan. This was their Promised Land, and it was time to take the land. The military strategy was brilliant. Once they crossed the Jordan, conquered Jericho and Ai, both through different methods as directed by the Lord, they had such a powerful outcome the kings throughout the land became increasingly fearful of their presence. Those kings prepared for war and united with one another as a matter of survival.

Meanwhile, the Gibeonites plotted their own path of self-preservation, a ruse if you will, to secure an alliance with the Israelites.

“League” here is Hebrew for “Covenant”

Quick note: Sihon was an Amorite king who would not allow Israel’s safe passages in Numbers 21:21-23, this led to a battle defeating him and opening the Transjordan to Israel. Og was an incredible and overpowering force, a literal giant, whom God enabled the Israelites to take down while still in the wilderness. You can read about this account in Deut. 3:2-3. These two victories opened 60 fortified cities on the east side of the Jordan in Israel’s hands prior to crossing the Jordan. Gibeon’s leaders had a right to fear.

I’ve heard excellent sermons on this issue; mostly with the importance of seeking the Lord before entering covenant. There is both wisdom and truth in this principle. We always should seek God first. The ultimate outcome of this passage does not excuse Joshua and by extension, any of us for entering covenant without seeking Him first, but it will give us insight into the workings of God.

First, the Israelites were there to take the land, the cup of the Amorites was full so make no mistake, Israel was the sword of justice being wielded across the land by the hand of our Lord. How would the Lord respond to Joshua over this? What about the Gibeonites? This is in the Scriptures for a reason.

Secondly, I don’t believe Joshua was malicious or rebellious in this decision. His biggest mistake was not confirming that the information presented to him by the Gibeonites was truthful through the Urim and Thummim. However, since he didn’t and the Gibeonites lied, will God honor the covenant, and will he expect Joshua to honor the covenant? Is it worse to represent God and make, then break covenant and ultimately be seen as a liar? Or make a covenant without seeking Him, choose to stand by the covenant, and then accept the aftermath? This can apply to land issues, business dealings, and marriages.

Third, Covenant is key to our relationship with God. The Bible, cover to cover, reflects His Covenant Promise to mankind from Creation to Completion.

This covenant, while not sanctioned by the Lord first, would still be honored by the Lord. I just want to reiterate, while no covenant should be made without consulting the Lord first, however, since God is a Covenant-Keeping God, He will honor Covenants made between men and to violate them is to invite His judgment. (Numbers 30:2).

There are two primary outcomes of this Covenant I’d like to address:

Joshua was instructed to set up a Levitical city within each tribe and Gibeon is that Levitical city within the tribe of Benjamin. Gibeon began their servitude deeply entrenched in both Israel’s faith and culture.

The Gibeonites may have been assigned to be servants, but they become more than servants, they are grafted in just as all Gentiles are grafted into the Vine. They will become knit permanently with Israel’s worship life as they serve the Tabernacle and ultimately the Temple, not temporarily, but faithfully for at least the next millennia.

The Gibeonites cut the wood for the sacrifices offered at the Tabernacle and they drew and carried the water for the ritual cleansing of the priests as the Tabernacle will be set up here for many years before Solomon builds the Temple. Then, they were undoubtedly responsible for getting the water to the Temple once it’s built in Jerusalem. This water would be placed in the huge Bronze Sea with the capacity to hold several thousands of gallons of water as it was used throughout Temple service and ritual cleansing. This is a six-mile trek, yet hundreds of years after this ruse with Joshua, they are still serving the house of the Lord. This was not temporary, again, they are grafted in. Let me give you some historical and archeological facts:

Archeologists uncovered Gibeon; noting significant rock-cut pools and jars stamped “gb’n” dating clear back to the monarchy of King Saul. We know from Joshua, they served 400 years prior to that time. 1 Chronicles 16 tells us that the Tabernacle is set up here after the Philistines destroyed Shiloh. David sets up a 24/7 worship center in Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:37, 1 Chronicles 25:1-7). After building the Temple, Solomon will go to Gibeon to offer the Sacrifices as this is where the Tabernacle stood for so long. He will receive two visitations from the Lord in this place (I Kings 3 and 9).

Again, hundreds of years later, Gibeon and the Gibeonites remain faithful to the Covenant established with Joshua.

The Tabernacle was the meeting place where every male traveled to three times a year for the Pilgrim feasts. It provided the opportunity for both a spiritual and national renewal. The Gibeonites will experience these encounters in their service.

The Gibeonites will side with the Israelites and like any Gentile who chose Judaism, they become a deeply entrenched part of their society. We read of their history speckled throughout Israel’s history, up to a thousand years after this treaty was made. In Nehemiah we read the post-exilic events leading up to his own return to Jerusalem and his leadership in the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Historians estimate up to 300,000 Jews had become integrated into the Medo-Persian Empire when Cyrus released them to rebuild the Temple. Of those, just under 50,000 returned to Jerusalem. According to Nehemiah 3:7 the Gibeonites were listed among those who participated in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and Nehemiah 12:29 tells us they joined in the Covenant renewal celebrations. Those are not merely servants; they were Covenant partners with God and His people. God responds to this Covenant by grafting in the Gibeonites. While their neighbors’ hearts are hardened, their hearts are softened by the Lord.

God works all things together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28-29) God will use this alliance to demonstrate His power and take down the northern kingdom. They may be from different worlds, but the Gibeonites see the power and efficacy behind Joshua and his military, and it will not be long before they call upon the Israelites for protection. It is here that the Gibeonites will see the power and efficacy of the Living God!

In Joshua 10, Joshua and the Israelite army are travelling westward from the Jordan right into the middle of Canaan. Everything is done through strategic guidance from the Lord to Joshua and it must be followed if the Israelites are going to successfully conquer this land. Remember, God did not choose the Israelites because they were great in number, He chose them to reflect His power to the world (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) and in Joshua 10, we will see that power in an unprecedented fashion.

To just summarize Joshua 10:1-7 we read how the Five Amorite Kings (these are from the North) unite to punish Gibeon for their treaty with Israel. The Gibeonites call upon Israel to protect them. Gibeon is a fortified city, but they cannot stand alone against these five kings.

When God delivered Israel from the Egyptians, the Lord told Moses he would make him like a god unto the Egyptians. Through the plagues, the Lord dealt with many of the Egyptian gods. 40 years later, when they cross the Jordan, God begins to deal with the idols of Canaan. These residents worshipped the land, the sun, the sea, and sacrificed their livestock and even their children on these altars in hopes of cosmic stability, greater harvest, increased rain, or restraining of their enemies. Yet, God is here to show them the power and efficacy of the One True God! When the hailstones come down and strike them in great numbers, the living would see this as the gods being angry with them. However, when Joshua told the sun to stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the Valley of Aijalon, (Joshua 10:12) these celestial bodies stood still for an entire day. They sacrificed to these gods: Shapash – the sun god, and Aglibol—the moon god on the regular for power and welfare, and now Joshua—a man—is commanding the sun and the moon. Imagine the fear that struck their hearts in this moment! Fear of the God of Joshua! The fear of the God of the Israelites, the One who parted the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptians, the One Who parted the Jordan, the One Who brought the walls of Jericho down, was solidified in this unprecedented celestial event. God dealt with their highest deity in that moment and when the fear of God strikes the heart of the enemy, the battle is already won. The promise in Exodus 12:27 is being realized:

The journey would not be easy, nor would it be consistent, but God would grant them specific and varied strategies based on when and where the battle was, and obedience would bring them one victory after another. When they ‘faltered’ God looked at the heart, and in His mercy, saw how He could be glorified.

That is how God uses this Covenant. Gibeon may not have been part of the initial plan, but securing this corridor with the Gibeonites becomes incredibly strategic going forward and the Gibeonites will become part of Israel’s history from this point forward.

I share this because there are those who don’t believe God honors the Covenant of men; I’m thinking of Rev. Robert Hunt 1607 when he landed in Cape Henry and planted the cross on the shoreline dedicating America to God for the purpose of spreading the Gospel.

In 1607 Reverent Robert Hunt declared this over our nation, this is known as one of the first spiritual covenants on American soil:

At the time, Isreal was not yet a restored nation. Rev. Hunt still believed England, who sent him could be a light. However, by the 1700s the great evangelists, among them Rev. George Whitefield witnessed how England refused the light and chose the world instead as they kicked him out of England and sent him to the colonies which became one of the greatest catalysts for our Declaration of Independence from Brittain. I believe God provoked Rev. Hunt because there was no nation that reflected the light of God and nation after nation were being swallowed up by either the Catholic Church or Islam. Both of which were moving at a rapid pace.

I do believe this account of Joshua and the Gibeonites, shows Scripturally how God will honor a Covenant even when it’s initiated by man.

God is saving America, and honoring the Covenant of Rev Hunt for several reasons:

I just want to close with this: I have not travelled as much as I wanted to, but I have been to Canada, several countries in Europe as well as Africa. I’ve spoken to Mom about this, her travels have been far more extensive, but when we’ve gone anywhere else in the world, we feel the absence of His Light. God moved upon Rev. Robert Hunt to tear apart his ship and plant the cross here. There’s a reason for that.

During the Revolutionary War, under George Washington, our flag had a pine tree with “an appeal to heaven” written across the top because Washington new the only way to win any battle and save a nation was to appeal to God.

Much like Joshua, both were strategic in their efforts, pursued God for directives, and stayed faithful to the Covenant. May we, His intercessors, do the same.

Blessings & love,

Ricci Johnson-Wilson