Deuteronomy 2:26-37--The Defeat of King Sihon

Deuteronomy 2:26-37
English Standard Version

The Defeat of King Sihon
26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 You shall 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 foot, 29 as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving to us.’ 30 But Sihon the 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 he is this day. 31 And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle 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 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The LORD our God gave all into our hands. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the LORD our God had forbidden us.

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We're now at the point where the conquest begins.  While the Promised Land for the people of Israel to dwell in was all on the west side of the Jorden River, there was additional land promised to them that would belong to them, but not be their dwelling place, but instead a place where God-fearing Gentiles could come to dwell without the Jewish people needing to give up any of the land that belonged to their families and clans.  This would be part of that land, though the Reubenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh would choose to live on the east side of the Jorden River and not live in the Promised Land.

The LORD hardened the heart of King Sihon, one of the tribal kings of the area, and the LORD gave the Israelites victory over King Sihon and all of his people--there were no survivors left and all their cities were destroyed, but the LORD allowed the Israelites to take their livestock as spoils of war.

The people were careful not to encroach on the land of the Ammonites, that is the descendants of Lot, as the LORD had forbidden them from doing so.  The people knew that if they wanted to have success and victory they could only go where the LORD commanded and follow His lead every step of the way.