©Michael Player
Chapter 2:1-25 (ESV) - “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ So we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber.
“And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.’ (The Emim formerly lived there, a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim. Like the Anakim they are also counted as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.) ‘Now rise up and go over the brook Zered.’ So we went over the brook Zered. And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.
“So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, the Lord said to me, ‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.’ (It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. As for the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) ‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’”
Question to consider: Who were the Edomites and Moabites, and why would God promise them land?
After Israel had failed in their attempt to conquer the Amorites on their own after God told them not to do so, they finally obeyed and went back to the wilderness. The Lord led them around and pointed to the Edomites and Moabites, for God gave them their lands out of promise to Esau (for the Edomites) and Lot (for the Moabites). Moab was one of the children born to Lot’s daughters when they feared their line was ending, got their father drunk, and got pregnant by him. The Edomites were the descendents of the one who sold his birthright for a bowl of stew and of whom Malachi quoted from God, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Yet God saw fit to provide for them and gave them their land.
By taking this apostate generation of Israelites through these lands and telling them not to take from them, it was as if God was leading them to look into their own hardened hearts and realize that if God took care of the wicked in this manner, how much more would He have delivered the land that He had promised to them. Even though it was too late for the generation that came out of Egypt to enter the land, the next generation should learn from this to have faith that God will be with them when it was time to again go up against the Amorites.
In the meantime, the last of the generation that came out of Egypt died off, and the Lord began to put dread and fear of Israel into the hearts of all of the people of the lands which God would give them. Ever since I studied the book of Jonah, I can’t help but see the mercy of God throughout the Old Testament. Whether it is giving promises to people who don’t deserve it, or putting fear into the hearts of His enemies with the intention that they repent of their sins and turn toward Him for forgiveness.
Every nation that was conquered and given to Israel knew in advance that Israel was coming for them. Every nation had a chance to turn from their false gods and worship the true God. It is the true heart of God that no one should perish, but that everyone should repent and turn to Him for salvation.
Dear heavenly Father, help us to point people to Your grace and mercy. May we seek to do the things that please You with joy in our heart so that others may understand what brings life and joy and peace, rather than a life enslaved to the things of this world that are perishing. Amen.