Following the Israelites’ foolish decision to again defy God’s command and receiving a sound defeat at the hands of the Amorites, Moses relays that the Israelites turned from Kadesh to journey back into the wilderness towards the Red Sea, traveling around the hill country of Mt. Seir. But finally, the day came when God told them their wandering had gone on long enough. They were now to turn north back toward the Land of Promise.
Their travels would lead them to encounter 3 people groups: the Edomites (of Esau), the Moabites (of Lot), and the Ammonites (also of Lot). God warned the Israelites that these were their brothers and that they were to avoid any contention or warring with them and that this was NOT their land of promise. In fact, the very land in these areas had been promised as a possession by God to these people groups, and it was His power on display that had helped them drive out the giants who previously lived there.
Furthermore, they had no need to covet these people’s possessions or supplies because God had been with them every step of the way for 40 years, a time in which they lacked nothing! A decisive moment comes when they crossed the brook Zered, for it marked 38 years since they had rebelled against God’s command to go into the land, and it also marked the reality that every man of war from that evil, unbelieving generation was now dead, destroyed by the LORD.
In the final 2 verses, we find God giving them a new command. They were to cross the Valley of the Arnon, no longer careful to pursue peace. For they would encounter King Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and God assures them that He has given these people and this land into the Israelites’ hands. Thus, He instructs them to begin to take possession of what God had promised them … and they need not fear, for God was putting that very day a dread and fear in the other people groups that would leave them terrified of the otherwise unimpressive Israelite warriors. God would fight for them and lead them into successful holy war. This 2nd obedient generation was to begin what their fathers rebelled against.
You can listen to this teaching on Deuteronomy 2:1-25 by clicking on the following link: Now’s The Time!
We Used These Questions to Guide Our Study:
- What does this passage reveal to us about the character/qualities of God?
- What human behavior (good or bad) can be identified and learned from?
- What has occurred in history that can serve as a warning to us?
- What typological pictures can be found in the text, and how should that lead us to Christ?
- What elements/details within the narrative can potentially disrupt our focus if we become too fixated on the details to the detriment of the overall theme of the narrative?
- Notwithstanding: those details are still worth studying out!
- How can we properly reconcile Numbers and Deuteronomy, understanding Numbers presents a linear historical narrative, while Deuteronomy is much more thematically arranged?
- What covenantal implications are found in this passage?
