Reflections on Deuteronomy 2

Deuteronomy 02 (Contemporary English Version)

1. We spent many years wandering around outside the hill country of Seir,
   
2. until the LORD said: Moses,
   
3. Israel has wandered in these hills long enough. Turn and go north.
   
4. And give the people these orders: "Be very careful, because you will soon go through the land that belongs to your relatives, the descendants of Esau. They are afraid of you,
   
5. but don't start a war with them. I have given them the hill country of Seir, so I won't give any of it to you, not even enough to set a foot on.
   
6. And as you go through their land, you will have to buy food and water from them."
   
7. The LORD has helped us and taken care of us during the past forty years that we have been in this huge desert. We've had everything we needed, and the LORD has blessed us and made us successful in whatever we have done.
   
8. We went past the territory that belonged to our relatives, the descendants of Esau. We followed Arabah Road that starts in the south at Elath and Ezion-Geber, then we turned onto the desert road that leads to Moab.
   
9. The LORD told me, "Don't try to start a war with Moab. Leave them alone, because I gave the land of Ar to them, and I will not let you have any of it."
   
10. Before the LORD gave the Moabites their land, a large and powerful tribe lived there. They were the Emim, and they were as tall as the Anakim.
    
11. The Moabites called them Emim, though others sometimes used the name Rephaim for both the Anakim and the Emim.
    
12. The Horites used to live in Seir, but the Edomites took over that region. They killed many of the Horites and forced the rest of them to leave, just as Israel did to the people in the land that the LORD gave them.
    
13. When we came to the Zered Gorge along the southern border of Moab, the LORD told us to cross the gorge into Moab, and we did.
    
14. This was thirty-eight years after we left Kadesh-Barnea, and by that time all the men who had been in the army at Kadesh-Barnea had died, just as the LORD had said they would.
    
15. The LORD kept getting rid of them until finally none of them were left.
    
16. (SEE 2:15)
    
17. Then the LORD told me,
    
18. "Moses, now go past the town of Ar and cross Moab's northern border
    
19. into Ammon. But don't start a war with the Ammonites. I gave them their land, and I won't give any of it to Israel."
    
20. Before the Ammonites conquered the land that the LORD had given them, some of the Rephaim used to live there, although the Ammonites called them Zamzummim.
    
21. The Zamzummim were a large and powerful tribe and were as tall as the Anakim. But the LORD helped the Ammonites, and they killed many of the Zamzummim and forced the rest to leave. Then the Ammonites settled there.
    
22. The LORD helped them as he had helped the Edomites, who killed many of the Horites in Seir and forced the rest to leave before settling there themselves.
    
23. A group called the Avvim used to live in villages as far south as Gaza, but the Philistines killed them and settled on their land.
    
24. After we went through Ammon, the LORD told us: Israel, pack up your possessions, take down your tents, and cross the Arnon River gorge. The territory of the Amorite King Sihon of Heshbon lies on the other side of the river, but I now give you his land. So attack and take it!
    
25. Today I will start making all other nations afraid of you. They will tremble with fear when anyone mentions you, and they will be terrified when you show up.
    
26. After we had crossed the Arnon and had set up camp in the Kedemoth Desert, I sent messengers to King Sihon of Heshbon, telling him that his nation and ours could be at peace. I said:
    
27. Please let Israel go across your country. We will walk straight through, without turning off the road.
    
28. You can even sell us food and water, and we will pay with silver. We need to reach the Jordan River and cross it, because the LORD our God is giving us the land on the west side. The Edomites and Moabites have already let us cross their land. Please let us cross your land as well.
    
29. (SEE 2:28)
    
30. But Sihon refused to let us go across his country, because the LORD made him stubborn and eager to fight us. The LORD told me, "I am going to help you defeat Sihon and take his land, so attack him!"
    
31. (SEE 2:30)
    
32. We met Sihon and his army in battle at Jahaz,
    
33. and the LORD our God helped us defeat them. We killed Sihon, his sons, and everyone else in his army.
    
34. Then we captured and destroyed every town in Sihon's kingdom, killing everyone,
    
35. but keeping the livestock and everything else of value.
    
36. The LORD helped us capture every town from the Arnon River gorge north to the boundary of Gilead, including the town of Aroer on the edge of the gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge.
    
37. However, we stayed away from all the Ammonite towns, both in the hill country and near the Jabbok River, just as the LORD had commanded.
    

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    As Moses recounts to the Israelites their travels through the wilderness, we learn details not included in the book of Numbers. Their 38 year delay following their failure to enter Canaan is such an event. Numbers gives nothing concerning this period. While Deuteronomy does not give a lot of detail, we are told they "traveled around the hill country of Seir" during this time. (2:1) Once the "entire generation of fighting men had perished," (2:14) the Lord instructed them to cross the Zered Valley, leaving Seir. This fullfilled God's judgment on them when He told them they would never see the promised land of Canaan. 2:15 suggests that they did not all die of natural causes, saying that "the Lord's hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp."
    
    The Israelites were not the only people for whom God drove a people out so they might occupy their land. In each case it served the dual purpose of giving land to the people God chose and destroying a people for whom God handed down judgment. Moses explained in this chapter that God had given the land of Seir to the Edomites, descendants of Esau. Israel was not to have "an inch of it (Seir), because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession." (2:5) Similar instructions were given regarding the land of Moab. They were to "Show no hostility toward Moab, and do not provoke them to battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot." (2:9)
    
    Both the descendants of Esau and of Lot were distant relatives of Abraham and thus also of the Israelites. This was all a part of His blessing to Abraham. But once they moved past these territories, it changed. As they crossed the Arnon Valley toward Amorite territory, God told them He had handed over this land to them. They were to engage these people in battle and take possession of the land. To prepare these people for Israel's invasion, God put in them a fear and dread of the Israelites causing them to tremble and "be in anguish" because of them. Thus giving Israel the advantage. Nevertheless, the Amorites were given one last chance for survival. Moses sent messengers "with an offer of peace" to the king of the Amorites. An offer he did not accept.  The Edomites had refused passage of the Israelites through their land and the Israelites had merely skirted around them. Had the Amorites done the same we don't know what the outcome might have been, but this offer of peace suggests they would have done the same. However, they were not given this option for the Amorite king "and his whole army came out against us for battle at Jahaz." (2:32)
    
    Prior to the attack by the Amorite king, God told Israel, "See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land to you. Begin to take possession of it." (2:31) The attack was actually an indication that God would give the Israelites possession of the Amorite land. Reality is not always what the most obvious conclusion would indicate. Without Spiritual perception given by God, the attack by the Amorites would have likely drawn the more obvious conclusion that God was wrong and they would not take possession. We are prone to think that if God intends to give us something or use us in some great way that He will just put it in our laps without effort or difficulty on our part. That is seldom the case. In this situation, the true indication that the Israelites would not take possession would have been for the Amorites to accept the offer of peace.
    
    We will continually be misunderstanding and misinterpreting God's actions and the circumstances of life as long as we judge both by our standards. It is not until we allow ourselves to be judged by God's standards that we will ever quite "get it."