Joshua 9:21
And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them. And the princes said unto them, Let them live; but let them be hewers of wood and drawers of water unto all the congregation; as the princes had promised them.
When the deception was discovered, the princes stood by their sworn promise to let the Gibeonites live and held back the congregation from killing them. The oath remained upon them even though the treaty had been gained by fraud.
The Gibeonites had renounced heathenism and joined Israel, pledging to renounce idolatry and worship Jehovah, and in that joining they shared in the blessings of the covenant. For that reason sparing them did not violate the command to destroy the idolatrous Canaanites.
They were spared from death but assigned to be hewers of wood and drawers of water for the whole congregation, in keeping with what the leaders had promised. They might have entered as resident strangers with nearly equal privileges, but because they secured the treaty by deception they were brought instead to disgrace and perpetual servitude.
A promise of this kind must be kept when fulfilling it does not require wrongdoing, for the oath was binding because keeping it did not require sin. Neither gain nor revenge nor self-interest makes an oath or pledge less binding. Their servile condition then stood through the generations as a testimony to God's hatred of falsehood.
The woodcutting labor named here was part of service connected with the temple, carried on alongside the differing responsibilities of priests. Their work as hewers of wood and drawers of water shows that lowly labor can be acceptable service. Different kinds of labor are needed, each worker has a distinct place not to be chosen by self-judgment, and humble workers can succeed where others would fail.