Deuteronomy 2:24-37

LESSON THREE Deuteronomy 2:24 to Deuteronomy 3:29

7. FIRST SUCCESSFUL CONQUESTS (Deuteronomy 2:24 to Deuteronomy 3:11)

a. OVER SIHON KING OF HESHBON (Deuteronomy 2:24-37)

24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon: behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. 25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the peoples that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.
26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither unto the right hand nor to the left. 28 Thou shalt sell me food for money, that I may eat: and give me water for money, that I may drink: only let me pass through on my feet; 29 as the children of Esau that dwell in Seir, and the Moabites that dwell in Ar, did unto me; until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which Jehovah our God giveth us. 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Jehovah thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as at this day. 31 And Jehovah said unto me, Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, unto battle at Jahaz. 33 And Jehovah our God delivered him up before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones; we left none remaining: 35 only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, even unto Gilead, there was not a city too high for us; Jehovah our God delivered up all before us: 37 only to the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not near; all the side of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill-country, and wheresoever Jehovah our God forbade us.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 2:24-37

47.

Are we to conclude from the record here that God is in control of the thoughts and decisions of evil men?

48.

What specific actions of the Israelites cast fear into the hearts of their enemies?

49.

Why send messenger to Shihon if Moses already knew he would not harken unto him?

50.

In what sense was Shihon responsible for the hardening of his heart? In what sense was God responsible?

51.

When Shihon was defeated, how much of the territory on the east of the Jordan was conquered?

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 2:24-37

24 Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon; behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.

25 This day will I begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples that are under the whole heavens, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.
26 So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
27 Let me pass through your land; I will go only by the road, turning aside neither to the right nor to the left.
28 You shall sell me food to eat, and sell me water to drink; only let me walk through,
29 As the sons of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land which the Lord our God gives us.
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might give him into your hand, as at this day.
31 And the Lord said to me [Moses], Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you; begin to take possession, that you may succeed him and occupy his land.
32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
33 And the Lord our God gave him over to us; and we defeated him and his sons and all his people.
34 At the same time we took all his cities, and utterly destroyed every city, men, women, and children; we left none to remain.
35 Only the cattle we took as booty for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we had captured.
36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon valley, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was no city too high and strong for us; the Lord our God delivered all to us.
37 Only you did not go near the land of the Ammonites, that is, to any bank of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

COMMENT 2:24-37

PASS OVER THE VALLEY OF THE ARNON (Deuteronomy 2:24)proceeding now up the east side of the Dead Sea. If we have located Ar (Deuteronomy 2:18)[21] correctly on the edge of the Arnon, the command to cross the river and the order to pass by the Ammonites (Deuteronomy 2:19) are to be considered as one and the sameor at least issued at the same time.

[21] Some locate Ar on the southern bank of the Arnon riverothers as far as twenty-five miles south of it. We do know that it was on the northeastern border of Moab, separating it from Ammon (Deuteronomy 2:18-19).

SIHON THE AMORITE, KING OF HESHBON (Deuteronomy 2:24)The Amorites were spread out over a wide area of Canaan (See Deuteronomy 1:44 cf. Genesis 14:13; Genesis 15:16; Genesis 15:21; Genesis 48:22, etc.) They generally dwelt in the hill country (Numbers 13:29, Joshua 10:5). Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites Israel defeated, ruled an extensive area from the Arnon river to mount Herman (Deuteronomy 3:8). Israel was hearing the words of this very discourse on the property formerly ruled by Sihon (Deuteronomy 4:44-49). His land extended from the Arnon to the Jabbok rivers, but his attempt to oppose Israel's passage through his kingdom ended in complete defeat. See Numbers 21:21-31.

FOR JEHOVAH THY GOD HARDENED HIS SPIRIT, AND MADE HIS HEART OBSTINATE, THAT HE MIGHT DELIVER HIM INTO THY HAND (Deuteronomy 2:30)an incident that reminds us of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. We do not have a case here or in Exodus of God taking a good man and causing him to be lost. Rather, we have a case in both instances of God using an already godless and sinful king and manipulating him to his glory and the advantage of his people. The following comment by James R. McMorrow applies equally well to Pharaoh or Og. The Bible plainly states that God hardened Pharaoh's heart: -The Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart-' (Exodus 10:1); -But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go-' (Exodus 10:20). Also read Exodus 10:27; Exodus 11:10.

Did God harden Pharaoh's heart, and, thus, -cause him to be lost-'. ? No, not at all. Pharaoh had already killed thousands of innocent babies. He had already opposed the people of God year in and year out. Pharaoh was already a sinner of the deepest dye. No person or power could do anything to this man to cause him to be lost, for he was already in that condition.
God knew what kind of man Pharaoh was and that this wicked old king would never come to repentance. God's decision was: -I am going to make him stubborn to accomplish several things.-' God, in this act, showed Israel that he was greater than the oppressor. Again, God used Pharaoh as an example to show what would happen to those who would not obey.
It is plain to see that God was honored by hardening Pharaoh's heart and bringing about his destruction. If God could not get honor in the ruler's life by repentance, He will get honor by destruction of his body.[22]

[22] From the Voice of Evangelism, March 3, 1951

We believe when God hardened the spirit of Sihon, and made his heart obstinate his purposes were similar to those he had when he hardened Pharaoh's heart. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this very purpose did I raise thee up, that I might show in thee my power, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth, So then he hath mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? (Romans 9:17-18; Romans 9:21). It is significant to note how God thus showed his power over a wicked king, both as Israel was getting out of his land of bondage, and as he was getting into his land of promise.

This was their first armed battle, and so important both to the encouragement of a people so very unused to war as they were, and for the discouragement of the neighboring tribes round about (Note Deuteronomy 2:25). By the time the spies were sent to Jericho, Rahab could very truly say, I know that Jehovah hath given you the land, and that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you (Joshua 2:9).

AND I SENT MESSENGERS OUT OF THE WILDERNESS OF KEDEMOTH (Deuteronomy 2:26)a town on the eastern border of Moab, and the pasture grounds around it were called the wilderness (midbar) Kedemoth Josiah Porter.

THOU SHALT SELL ME FOOD. WATER. AS THE CHILDREN OF ESAU THAT DWELL IN SEIR, AND THE MOABITES THAT DWELL IN AR, DID UNTO ME (Deuteronomy 2:28-29)We have seen the great change in the attitude of the Edomites (Deuteronomy 2:6) from the first refusal (Numbers 20:21). The Moabites are here said to have sold Israel food and water, but it appears from Deuteronomy 23:3-6 that it was not a willing service, and that nation, along with Ammon, was severely cursed for their lack of hospitality. Later, they showed outright antagonism toward Israel. See the account in Numbers 31:10-20, and the evil schemes of Balaam and Balak in Numbers 22-25.

JAHAZ (Deuteronomy 2:32)Numbers 21:23 tells us Sihon went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israelthus the city must have been some distance from the more civilized areas. Its location is uncertain, but we know it was north of the Arnon river (Numbers 21:13).

ONLY TO THE LAND OF THE CHILDREN OF AMMON THOU CAMEST NOT NEAR; ALL THE SIDE OF THE RIVER JABBOK, AND THE CITIES OF THE HILL COUNTRY, AND WHERESOEVER JEHOVAH OUR GOD FORBADE US (Deuteronomy 2:37)Better, But you did not encroach upon the land of the Ammonites, all along the wadi Jabbok and the towns of the hill country, just as the Lord our God had commandedThe Torah, God gave them their commission; and those only were to be cut off, the cup of whose iniquity was full. Though the Moabites and Ammonites were thus spread, they requited good with evil, for they [later] fought against the Israelites, and cast them out of their possessions, Judges 11:4-5; 2 Chronicles 20:1, & c., and committed the most shocking cruelties; see Amos 1:13. Hence God enacted a law, that none of these people should enter into the congregation of the Lord even to their tenth generation: see chapter Deuteronomy 23:3-6Clarke. But see also our notes under the passage. The curse itself was specifically for their mistreatment of Israel as they came out of the wilderness.