Numbers 20:14-21--Edom Refuses Passage

Numbers 20:14-21
English Standard Version

Edom Refuses Passage​
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” 18 But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” 19 And the people of Israel said to him, “We will go up by the highway, and if we drink of your water, I and my livestock, then I will pay for it. Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.” 20 But he said, “You shall not pass through.” And Edom came out against them with a large army and with a strong force. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.

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It's been a while since we've seen the name Edom come up, but we referenced this event the last time that we saw it.  Edom is the other name for Esau, the older brother of Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel by God.  Last we saw them, Israel was afraid to pass through his brother's territory (the land of Edom) to go home to the promised land while he had been away (self-exile of a sort) at the house of his uncle Laban in Paddan Aram.

The nation of Israel is now in a similar situation and is once again standing at the border of the kingdom of Edom (also called the land of Seir, it's capital city), and they know of the feud between the two kingdoms--a feud that exists because of the election by God of the younger to rule over the older and that the older should serve the younger.  The Edomites have been happy to do as they wish with the land that belonged to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and his descendants that that LORD said did not belong to them--we see this as a constant family feud between these two nations and that the Edomites will celebrate the Israelites are exiled from their land, they will support the enemies of the Israelites over and over again, they will take up arms against them from time to time, they will try to possess the land that does not belong to them in Israel's absence and they will oppose the return of Israel to their Promised Land as a general rule.  While relations between Jacob and his brother Esau were restored, relations between the nation of Israel and the nation of Edom remained divided and God will later curse the nation of Edom through the Old Testament prophets for their treatment of their "brother" Israel here and in a similar situation after the Babylonian Exile.

The Israelites offer to stay on the highway (a well-established trade route used by many other nations) and to not do anything to destroy fields or vineyards, nor let their cattle eat from their fields or drink of their water.  They even promised to take enough water with them for their journey (probably just a couple of days) that they would not even need to get water from their wells, for it would be taxing on Edom's supplies to have to provide food and water for so large a nation as Israel and all of its cattle.  Edom feels threatened by what it imagines to be an invasion force on its doorstep and they warn Israel to not step into their land, or they will respond with military force.

Maybe the Edomites are emboldened by the recent defeat of the Israelites after the various rebellions and the plagues that God sent on them, imagining that the people could be easily defeated because God was no longer with them.  Perhaps they even imagined they were keeping their land secure from this rebellious people that God had been cursing, or perhaps it simply was jealousy and fear and there was not much if any virtue in their decision at all.  No matter their reason, Moses tries once again to plead with with them as this was the fastest and safest way for them to get get from point A to point B, but God does not want them to be protected by Edom or indebted to them in any way, as Edom would likely lord this over them saying that Israel never would have made it home without their help and assistance.  God doesn't plan for the people to get there the quick and easy way though--He plans for them to take long enough for the entire generation of rebels to die (some quick deaths and others long, natural deaths) and for the new generation to rise up and take their place, hopefully learning to rely completely on the LORD's provision, power and Presence and to be a people that would understand that the Law is supposed to be something internal and not something external.  The Edomites would not help the Israelites along this journey that God had planned for them.