Numbers 21:21-30 English Standard Version King Sihon Defeated 21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King's Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. 28 For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon. 30 So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.” The message given to King Sihon sounds identical to that given to Edom and the response of King Sihon is identical to that of the king of Edom, so then why is it that Israel was told to turn back and leave Edom alone but this time the Israelites fought King Sihon and the Amorites and defeated them in battle? We aren't really told here, but we know that God used His people to judge the nations when they had become so wicked and corrupt that none of them were going to repent and believe and they would only try to cause Israel to delve into idolatry and all kind of pagan practices (child sacrifice, beastiality, witchcraft, etc).
The Israelites defeated the Amorites and took all of their land and towns and villages and settled in the land of the Amorites. Once again, the events here are backed up with historical data that was meant for people to fact-check with names of kings and previous battles and land that had been taken away from the Moabites by the Amorites, and there were songs that had been written about it that were quoted here. Moab is going to see this victory and be scared because this is the kingdom that had just defeated them in battle, but they are not going to give way to the children of Israel and they will be some of the next on the list, though they will not only try to attack with their armies, but also through trying to bet Balaam to curse them (which won't go well). They do figure out though that the only way they will get God to turn against His people is if they can make them sin in open rebellion (specifically sexual sin and idolatry). That will be a major part of the narrative coming up soon. Comments are closed.
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Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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