The Tip of the Iceberg

Joshua and the tribes begin claiming the land God promises them in the book that bears his name.  Battles and successes are the rule of the day.  God has told the people through Joshua to totally destroy all the nations they encounter.

All the nations but one combine armies to battle Israel.  The Gibeonites say "momma didn't raise no fool" and plot to deceive Joshua and the nation.  They put on their oldest, most ragged clothes and convince the Israelites that they aren't locals but travelers just passing through.  Joshua makes a covenant with them that Israel won't kill them and the nation moves on.

The Message drops this bomb in relating the story:

Joshua 9 ¹⁴ The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn't ask God about it.  ¹⁵ So Joshua made peace with them and formalized it with a covenant to guarantee their lives. The leaders of the congregation swore to it. 

This decision haunted and plagued the children of Israel for hundreds of years.  Now you know how the sins of the fathers are visited on the children.