Numbers 21: 1 – 35
A snake on a pole?
21 The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah. 4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. 10 Now the children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: “Waheb in Suphah, 15 And the slope of the brooks That reaches to the dwelling of Ar, And lies on the border of Moab.” 16 From there they went to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it— 18 The well the leaders sank, Dug by the nation’s nobles, By the lawgiver, with their staves.” And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the [f]country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland. 21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. 25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; Let the city of Sihon be repaired. 28 “For fire went out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, The lords of the heights of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 “But we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.” 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33 And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” 35 So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.
A snake on a pole, what that all about? And for those matters here are a couple of more questions, why use a snake? Why did looking on it heal them? Isn’t this the creation of a graven image which is against God’s Commandment?
Today we are going to learn that from Mount Hor to the Red Sea the detouring Israelites grew impatient. When they grew impatient they grumbled, speaking against God and Moses.
The free food that God was providing for them daily, which nourished them freely was now in their minds -“detestable, miserable food.”
It would be like approaching a parent and saying, “all you give me is love and shelter and feed and clothe me and provide for my every need. It is horrible.”
How would you consider this response to your love and care? As a loving parent, if your child did that I believe you would want them to personally experience how hard life can be and would like to give them a glimpse of what horrible is actually like.
We are going to see that is exactly what God delivers, in the form of venomous snakes. As horrible as we picture this condition, it worked, the people respond correctly. They confessed that they sinned and they then repent. They ask Moses to pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.
Our Holy Magnificent God, does one better, He gives them a lesson about salvation. He has Moses form the image of a snake on his staff and put it on a pole. When anyone is bitten they need only look at the bronze snake and they lived.
Let’s break this last part down because it can be a little bit confusing.
It is a lesson about Christ Jesus our Holy Lamb of God. He would be raised up on the cross. Let me also signal out that our Precious and Holy Jesus Is not the snake. Snakes have normally been used to represent Satan and wickedness. But when our Lord Jesus was raised up on the cross and the sacrificial lamb he laid down his life and, through grace, descended fully from His kingdom to be a Son of Man. When Jesus the man was raised up on the stake He carried with him all the sin of the world, dating back to the first sin in the garden and including all sin of all mankind of all time.
There was nothing the Hebrews did to heal themselves. No special words or practices. No medicine or magic. One simple thing – they had to turn to this gift from God. To do so was a profession of faith, simply because it doesn’t make sense. Looking at something with your eyes can’t physically cure a snake bite with poisonous venom streaming through your blood. But turning your eyes and heart to Jesus Is the only way to have life, real life - everlasting life.
The Lord Jesus Christ Is our Healer. All mankind needs to look to Him to be healed of sin.
I think it is amazing that this same snake is today the symbol of medicine. The American Medical Association logo includes the snake on a stick as a symbol of healing.
But what about it was being a graven image? I’m sure this was a concern of many sincere believers. The Israelites faced God’s wrath when the made the molten image. How would God now instruct them to make an image? What do the Commandments say?
"You shall not make for yourself an idol (a carved/engraved image that is worshipped as a god), or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth." (Exodus 20:4, NASB)
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." (Exodus 20:4 KJV)
May believers photograph their children and hang those pictures on the wall without violating the second of the Ten Commandments? May they videotape a wedding of a family member for viewing years later? May a believer attend an Easter play in which Jesus is portrayed by an actor?
All these questions grow out of a concern and a sincere desire to be properly obedient to the Second Commandment. For this reason, the conclusion that any believer ultimately draws should not become a cause of scorn, ridicule, or condemnation from others. Still, we must faithfully explore the Word and honestly interpret it to come to as correct knowledge of the commandment as God intended for us to have when He wrote it with His own finger onto the stone tablet.
The First Commandment is an express statement, "You shall have no other gods before Me." We know from a preponderance of Scripture that God means that we should not esteem the starry heavens as gods, nor the storms of nature, nor a king, nor our family, nor our imaginations and myths, nor even pursue our own sinful pleasures as if they had godlike importance. There is only one true God. All the other commandments instruct us how to obey the First Commandment.
And this is the context of the Second Commandment. Put no other gods ahead of the true God.
"You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing loving-kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." (Exodus 20:4-6, NASB)
In the First Commandment God informs the world that they must have no other gods but Him. In the Second Commandment, he demands that they create no artificial representations of any gods, including the true God.
Why not create a representation of the only true God? My question for you is exactly what does God look like? He does not tell us what He looks like? So, can you see the abomination of fallen men trying to put together something that represents God? By attempting to do so place our Holy Lord in a lower position than we currently are at.
God, through Moses, interprets the meaning of the First and Second Commandments for us.
"Then the LORD spoke to you from the midst of the fire; you heard the sound of words, but you saw no form--only a voice. So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. The LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might perform them in the land where you are going over to possess it. So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. (Deuteronomy 4:12-19)
God Is without form. He Is not a man, animal, or object; He Is a spirit, so no image or representation can reflect Him. Further, the worship of any image as if it were God, even the worship of the moon or stars, things man does not create, is forbidden.
Is All Art and Photography Forbidden by the Second Commandment?
This verse means no one is to make an object to bow down to, serve, and worship is clear from the text.
This bronze snake was not an idol because it was not worshipped. Of course, later in history the Jews moved the bronze serpent into their place of worship and began burning incense to it, making it an object of worship instead of just an object of art. King Hezekiah was forced to destroy it as he did many of the places of idol worship (the high places). This is a dramatic example of how something God commended (artwork in the form of a bronze snake) became a hated idol which God forbade.
From this we can see that God did not forbid the making of artwork (images of things in heaven or on earth) so long as the images were never worshipped. This is why Christians may take photographs of their family and friends, video tape family vacations, and paint portraits of one another. For these images are not objects of worship, but rather simple representations or likenesses of those objects and persons who are on the earth.
Then the question is that men are made in the Image of God so to reproduce a picture of a man or woman you are making an image of God that is forbidden in the Bible.
Man himself is an "image" of God. God Is spirit, of course, so man is merely a physical representation of certain attributes of God. Nonetheless, every time one person sees another, he must be reminded that man has been made in the likeness of God.
Men should not worship men. Men, therefore, are not idols, even though they are all made in the image and likeness of God. This is why it is no more improper to paint portraits of men as it is to make likenesses of palm trees and oxen or even cherubim.
Jesus came to earth as a man. Men are made in the image of God, yet it is not sin to take photographs of them. Had someone painted a portrait of Jesus, of His human form, it would not have been a sin. For man to look upon the face of God would have resulted in the man’s death (Exodus 33:20). Yet men looked on Jesus’ face without dying. This is because Jesus was a man. God chose to cover Himself in human form and walk on the earth.
Is it wrong for men to make movies of Jesus? Jesus was a man. He did come in the form of human flesh. Yes, He was also God, but He did not come to earth as spirit, without form. What men saw was a flesh and blood man, truly human. They talked with Him, ate with Him, accepted His touch for healing, and even injured Him for their own purposes. When men today draw or represent Jesus, they represent His humanity, not His deity. Just as any photograph of a family member represents the person’s body and not his spirit. Can any person be split off from his spirit? Of course not so long as they live, just as it is not possible to separate Jesus from His deity. A representation of Jesus no matter how imperfect, such as a mental image invoked by a reading of the Gospels or church play explaining the meaning of Easter or a film of His earthly ministry, does nothing to separate Him from His deity for that is not even possible.
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. …
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:14,18)
Men saw and interacted with Jesus, as if He were another man, for over thirty years. He reflected the attributes of God, not in His physical appearance as many erroneously suppose, but in His character and behavior, full of grace and truth. And though we have not seen the Father, Jesus has explained Him in word and deed. Imperfect images of Jesus’ physical appearance do not detract from what Jesus said and did.
Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that it is not a sin to portray Jesus in plays, film, or artwork. For in this we represent His humanity, such as would have been visible to any visitor to His carpentry shop, and as would have been remembered by His disciples for as long as they lived on the earth. Yet, to worship such an image, to bow down and serve it, to burn incense to it, that would be the sin of idolatry for such images are manmade objects.
Since we do not have a genuine portrait of Jesus from 2000 years ago, and we have no detailed description of His appearance, are not all attempts to portray Him in error and therefore improper?
Similarly we do not have any portraits, sculptures, or detailed descriptions of Moses, King David, Goliath, Peter, Noah, or even the cross on which Jesus was sacrificed. Yet this does not stop us from representing them in drawings and in film. No one expects an artist’s conception of such historical figures to be accurate that is not the purpose of the drawing. No one expects actors to be twin images for the personage they are playing, for this too is not the purpose of the drama.
What did Jesus look like? Like the typical Israelite of His day, same hair color, same eye color.
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Isaiah 53:2)
Indeed, Judas had to single Him out to the guards who had come to arrest Him because His physical appearance was like any other man.
Just as the symbol of the empty cross which we hang in almost every sanctuary in almost every church in the world is not meant to be an exact duplicate of the original, paintings and dramas of Jesus are not meant to be exact duplicates of Him. Worship of the cross and worship of the paintings and films is not the objective or the purpose. They are reminders of what happened and what He did.
Historically the Jews used images of heavenly creatures and earthly objects in their places of worship to remind them of the power of God. These reminders were not worshipped and therefore were not idols which would violate the Second Commandment. Today, we see images of the cross and even scenes depicting the life of Jesus and the apostles reminding us of the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus. These reminders are not worshipped, but they do call us to remember the teachings of the Word which tell us of His attributes, His grace, His glory, and His words.
Just as happened with the bronze serpent of Moses, should we ever find ourselves revering the object, it becomes for us an idol. This would be just as true of living family members as it would be of their photographic likenesses. These are persons and things we must never worship.
Let us remember instead that God Is spirit and that His son died for our sins. We are to worship Him in spirit and truth. Let us serve and worship the One of whom the Scriptures speak and impart knowledge, the author and finisher of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s now get into today’s Word.
The news of Israel’s approach naturally spread. The movement of such a large body of people could hardly be kept secret. And it reached the ears of the king of Arad, a city and region in the northern Negeb. Later Pharaoh Shishak would mention two Arad’s captured during his invasion of Israel. This was probably Arad the Great. Learning that they were using ‘the way of Atharim’ he attacked their column and took prisoners. The way of Atharim may have led past Edom on the western side. As with Edom this massing of his troops may have been intended as a warning, warning them off his territory, but the taking of prisoners was a mistake. It demanded response and retaliation in order to obtain their fellow-countrymen back.
21 The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 So Israel made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”
The people of Israel were angry and called on Yahweh. But they knew that these people were Canaanites and thus under Yahweh’s ban. So they promised Him that if He would deliver them into their hand they would utterly destroy their cities.
3 And the Lord listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah.
And Yahweh heard their cry. He delivered up the Canaanites to them and they utterly destroyed them with their cities devoting them to destruction. The name Hormah means ‘devoted to destruction’.
The lesson we can learn from this incident is that when there are major changes which affect our lives (like the death of Aaron) God is quite able to follow it with important victories which reveal that He is still in control.
Having defeated the king of Arad Israel continued its journey from Mount Hor by ‘the way to the Red Sea’, skirting the land of Edom. As they had been hoping to take the much easier King’s Highway they were greatly discouraged at the hardship of the way, for it led through difficult territory where there was no water and no means of obtaining bread, and they only had the despised manna.. It was like being back in the wilderness again. This again caused them to think after Egypt. Forgetting the glory of their recent victory they fell back into their old ways.
4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way.
Their journey now took them through a parched region where they again had to depend totally on the manna, and this caused great discouragement. They themselves were parched and they were sick of the manna, ‘this light bread’. If only they could have used the King’s Highway instead of this harsh and dreary route round the border of Edom. Did Yahweh not care?
5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
So in their usual vein they turned against God and against Moses. Why had Moses dragged them away from Egypt to die in the wilderness? Why did they have to put up with this pretended bread? Why had they no proper bread and water to satisfy them?
6 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.
And the result was that they found themselves in a place seemingly filled with snakes. Many of the people were bitten, and many died. Yahweh was reminding them of what it had been like to travel through the wilderness. But they had never come across snakes as bad and as numerous as this before. It quickly brought them to their senses.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
Either way this faced them up with what they were doing. They recognized their folly and admitted that they had sinned both against Yahweh and against Moses. Then they begged Moses to intercede on their behalf, and ask Yahweh to take the serpents away. And Moses did pray as they requested.
8 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”
Yahweh responded mercifully. Not only would He remove the snakes but He would cause many of those bitten to be healed. So He commanded Moses to set up an image of a fiery serpent and set it up on a pole. Then He promised that whoever then looked to that image would live.
The thought here was that they were to look away from the serpents who crawled in the dust to the serpent provided by Yahweh, lifted up high before them. The serpents slithering in the dust spelled death. Yahweh offered life. But they had to look. Unless they looked to Yahweh’s provision they would die. Some have seen the redness of the copper as symbolizing the blood of sacrifice. But the lesson may more have been that in order to find life they must lift their eyes from the dust wherein death lies and look to Yahweh the living God.
9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
And Moses did as he was commanded. He made the serpent of bronze/copper, set it on a pole, and lifted it up. Then whoever of those who had been bitten, who looked to the serpent, lived. They had taken their minds from earthly things to seek the heavenly. They had looked to the rod and mighty authority of Yahweh.
Jesus used this example as a picture of His being lifted up on the cross, so that whoever looked to Him and believed on Him would live and have eternal life (John 3.14-15). Men had been bitten by sin and were doomed, but He had come to give them new life.
10 Now the children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth.
Then the people continued their journey and encamped in Oboth. The name Oboth means ‘water skins’. Perhaps there is a hint here of readiness for the plentiful water soon to come.
So we have here again the reminder that because God loves His people He chastens them. He will not allow us to permanently continue in known sins. If we murmur and complain against Him then we must expect ‘serpents’, troubles of some kind, to come among us. But in the final analysis His aim is to make us turn to Him so that we may have and enjoy eternal life.
From this point on there is no shortage of water, as they move via the Wadi Zered to the River Arnon. And the abundance of water seemed to them like a dream fulfilled which they celebrated in song. The battle against the wilderness was won. But then they would have to move on to a different kind of battle. One difficulty after another would arise. In a sinful world life is ever such. But with Yahweh with them it would all turn out for the good.
11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
And from Iye-abarim they journeyed to the valley of Zered through which ran the Wadi Zered. The crossing of the Zered was seen as a major event in Deuteronomy 2.13-14. There we learn that at this point the old generation was seen as having all passed away. Yahweh’s work of pruning was completed.
They then moved along the eastern border of Moab in semi-desert and came to the River Arnon, Moab’s northern border. Note the continual stress on their being ‘in the wilderness’. They avoided the ‘built up areas’. They were seeking not to cause offence and to avoid aggression. But progress was now satisfactory.
14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord: “Waheb in Suphah, 15 And the slope of the brooks That reaches to the dwelling of Ar, And lies on the border of Moab.”
The book of the Wars of Yahweh is mentioned only here. It probably contained the details of the battle at Rephidim (Exodus 17.8-16) and subsequent wars and skirmishes, including the battles fought here, written by Moses as God had instructed (Exodus 17.14).
The quotation was a reminder that their journey had been catalogued with this being an extract depicting this moment of the beginnings of their first major war, and it vividly pictured the victories which were to come. Vaheb was no doubt an Amorite fortress city, seemingly rapidly taken by Israel ‘in a whirlwind’, followed by the regions of the tributaries of the Arnon and the plains looking down on the Moabite border and the city of Ar, sources of water and land. Chronologically this would come in verse 24. But it is mentioned here as a reminder of their first permanent capture of water sources and fertile land which took place after reaching the Arnon, a first fruit of what was to come. Together with what followed it stressed the abundance of water now made available to Israel. It was the commencement of the period of ‘milk and honey’, and with what follows it was the climax of the new beginning. Plentiful water was ever the picture of blessing, from Eden on to Revelation 22.
16 From there they went to Beer, which is the well where the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
Their next movement was to Beer (well). We are told that this was specifically a well revealed by Yahweh and made available to them, for He had said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” This well was so abundant that it resulted in a song of triumph. Note the song sandwich (see analysis above), a song before and a song afterwards. The water sources and well were the ultimate answer to all Israel’s periods of shortage of water as epitomized by the contention at Meribah. Only those who have known extreme water shortage can appreciate quite what this meant to Israel. The water sources were a symbol of life.
17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it— 18 The well the leaders sank, Dug by the nation’s nobles, By the lawgiver, with their staves.” And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.
Yahweh having revealed the whereabouts of the spring the well ‘sprang up’. The princes and nobles took the lead, digging it with their scepter and staves. This would be the ceremonial element. Others would move in and do the hard work. But the song reveals the general rejoicing. They knew that their troubles with regard to water were behind them.
The wonder of the Christian life is that this overflowing water is always available in Christ. We can come to Him and drink, and the water we receive will then be in us a spring of water springing up to eternal life (John 4.14), and flowing out from us to a thirsty world round about (John 7.37-38).
Now that they had abundant water advance was rapid. They moved quickly from one place to another until they came to the border of the Promised Land, and were able to look over at it from the Pisgah.
Bamoth (heights, high places) is probably identical with the Bamoth Baal, ‘the heights of Baal’ of Numbers 22.4. The purpose in these names here is to indicate the speed of travel until they came to the Pisgah (precipice) from which they could view the Promised Land across the Jordan valley. Thus the movement is seen as going from place to place almost without stopping until they reached the valley in the field of Moab and the top of the Pisgah which looks over the bleak desert over the Jordan at that point (compare for the description 23.28). This last area would be synonymous with ‘Abarim which is before Nebo’. These were not encampments, they were landmarks.
Having tasted victory against the king of Arad, and come to the land of plenty, Yahweh now provided them with a series of victories forced on them by belligerent enemies. These would give them possession of the land of plenty on that side of Jordan, continuing the theme of the new beginning. These victories were important. Through their being forced on Israel they had to face them without thinking too hard, so that by the time that they had triumphed they were adequately prepared for ventures ahead. Had they had time to think they might well have decided that Sihon and Og were too powerful for them, but they had no time to think, and Yahweh reversed the defeat of their fathers by the Canaanites/Amorites by giving glorious victories.
The territory that Israel was now operating in was in the land of the Moabites, although it was a section under the control of the Amorites who had seized it from Moab. Moses in fact wished to pass amicably by the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites but Sihon sought to prevent it. That was why he felt able to invade it and take possession of it. These were Amorites, akin to the Canaanites, and thus fair game. Nor had their land been given to them by Yahweh. They were trespassers. Yet they would have been left alone had they been cooperative, for they were not strictly people of ‘the land’. But Deuteronomy 2.30 confirms that it was Yahweh’s intention that the attack and defeat took place.
This would then be followed by a campaign against Og, king of Bashan and a ‘battle’ of another kind between Yahweh and the prophet Balaam who was recruited by Moab to curse Israel. They were moving on from victory to victory. It would only be their own lustful desires that would drag them down and bring God’s chastening on them as we read in chapter 25. This was a reminder of the fact that the enemy we must most beware of is our own selves.
While what is now described passes in a few verses we must not overlook what was involved. The taking of the land of the Amorites and of their fortified cities would not have been easy and would have taken considerable time and effort. But as the poem above made clear, Yahweh was with Israel and thus progress was rapid. It was Israel’s first period of sustained warfare.
21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”
Representatives were sent requesting safe passage without interference. They brought Moses’ words to the king.
22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”
The request was from ‘king’ to king. ‘Let me pass through your land.’ It was then promised that if he did so they would use only the highway and not trespass on their fields or drink their water. This was referring to the continuation of ‘the Kings Highway’, the trade route to Damascus, which would make travel easier.
23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.
But Sihon was determined to prevent their passage. It may have been that he recognized that they were proceeding to an invasion on fellow-Amorites, or it may have been because he did not trust Israel and what they might do once they were in the midst of the land, or it may simply have been because he enjoyed fighting and saw the possibility of much booty. But whichever way it was he went out with his army to where Israel were ‘in the wilderness’, and coming to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.
24 Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified.
Israel defeated Sihon, and possessed his land. There would first be the initial battle and then the progressive taking of cities and seizure of the land which is described in summary.
Once Sihon determined to resist Israelite progress battle was inevitable. The border of Ammon, the only other possible route, was strong, guarded by a ring of fortresses to which archaeology bears witness. Thus it was defeat Sihon or retreat. Deuteronomy tells us that in fact all this was because Yahweh intended this land for Israel and therefore hardened Sihon’s spirit in order to make him behave in the way in which he did (Deuteronomy 2.30). There the credit for the victory goes to Yahweh. And as the Amorites were basically ‘Canaanites’ (related to inhabitants of Canaan) they were all to be put to the sword.
25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages.
Having defeated Sihon Israel took his cities, including Heshbon the capital city, one by one until all were in their possession. And subsequently they set up residence there, and throughout the whole country.
26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon.
Then it is explained that in fact Heshbon was the royal city where Sihon dwelt, and that he and the Amorites had captured it from Moab, a description of these events then being provided in a celebration ode.
27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; Let the city of Sihon be repaired. 28 “For fire went out from Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, The lords of the heights of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites.
In vivid language the defeat of Moab by Sihon is described. First he captured Heshbon, which would become his royal city, and fortified it (established it’). Then he moved down like a flame and a fire as far as ‘Ar, a city of Moab and defeated the border lords, seizing a number of captive slaves. And although Chemosh was the god of Moab he was able to do nothing about it. Indeed he surrendered them to the opposing forces.
The point behind the song was not only to display Sihon’s belligerency, but also to expose Chemosh’s helplessness. But now Israel had defeated Sihon. That proved that Yahweh was Lord over all. And as Chemosh had surrendered the land, Moab no longer had a claim on it.
30 “But we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba.” 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
The passage ends triumphantly with the fact that Israel now dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
One lesson for us from this incident is that sometimes what appears to be a disappointment can be turned by God into a triumph. In this case He was working in His sovereignty with the blessing of His people in mind. Israel was no doubt disappointed that the Amorites refused them passage, but the final result was possession of lands which would be theirs permanently.
The defeat of Sihon did not pass unnoticed and when Israel advanced even further northwards Og, king of Bashan decided that enough was enough. Gathering his forces he came down from the north, from northern Gilead and Bashan, and faced up to Israel. Og was probably a giant of a man, and connected with a race similar to the Anakim (Deuteronomy 3.11). But that made no difference to Yahweh. Og was defeated and Gilead and Bashan were both taken and occupied and their cities subdued. The description is brief but the actual carrying out of it would again take some time.
32 Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.
After the defeat of Sihon Moses sent scouts to spy out Jazer, an Amorite city in Sihon’s kingdom. It was taken with its towns and the Amorites were ‘driven out’, possibly fleeing across the Jordan. Or they may have gone as refugees to Bashan thus prompting Og’s subsequent action.
33 And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
The advance of the Israelite army then continued on ‘the way of Bashan’. It may be that they were pursuing the Amorites who had fled from Jazer. This prompted Og to bring his army to Edrei, possibly in response to pleas for help, and there they met in battle.
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”
We are told that Yahweh had given Moses especial assurance of victory. This may have been because of the imposing stature of Og, who would be enough to frighten the Israelites, or it may simply have been an added encouragement on the way. In their enthusiasm over their victories it was important that they recognized that their victories came from Yahweh. Either way the promise was that Og and his people would be delivered into their hands, and would have done to them what had been done to Sihon and his Amorites.
35 So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land
The end result was total defeat for Og. He and his sons were slain, and all the people exterminated, according to God’s requirement for all ‘Canaanites’ and ‘Amorites’. And finally they possessed his land. Although described so briefly it would in fact be an extended campaign.
More details of this conquest are given in Deuteronomy 3.1-11. While the details are here only given in summary form we must not underestimate the significance of the victories. They comforted Israel with the fact that they were well able to meet formidable foes and capture fortified cities, and they confirmed the power of Yahweh. And once they were completed and the land settled they were able to rejoice in the fact that Yahweh had given them the first fruits of the land of milk and honey.
So quite unexpectedly as far as Israel was concerned they found themselves potential possessors of a huge area of fertile land which had plenty of water. It would still have to be settled, and parts would have to be re-conquered in the future as the defeated former residents moved back while Israel were busy elsewhere, but it was a glorious first fruits of what the future held for them. The taking over of this land by Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh is described in chapter 32.
The clear lesson we learn from this is that it matters not how superior our antagonists may appear to be. If God is on our side we have nothing to fear. Nothing is too hard for Him. Amen!
