Deuteronomy 2:16-37 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 2:16-37. Let’s go!
Deuteronomy 2:16-23 (NIV)
16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,
17 the LORD said to me,
18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.
19 When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”
20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.
22 The LORD had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.
23 And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)
On verses 16-23: When you read these verses it becomes clear that the Israelites were not the only ones that God had been protecting and leading the way for. In verses 18-21 we read about how God was with the Ammonites and enabled them to drive out a strong and formidable force in the Rephaites, who were known to be much larger in size, and takeover their land. In verse 22 we read about how God was with the descendants of Esau and enabled them to drive out the Horites and takeover their land. Moses speaks to the Israelites this way to drive home a number of points that are good for us to learn as well:
– The world does not revolve around you and me. God does not exist to serve our interests and our agenda. He has a much bigger story He is writing with all of our lives.
– God can choose to bless and empower whomever He wants. While you and I are chosen by God, we must also humbly recognize that God could just as easily have chosen someone else instead of us. So let’s be humble, recognizing that it is only because of God’s mercy and grace that we have been chosen as His children, adopted into His family and blessed by Him.
Deuteronomy 2:24-37 (NIV)
24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.
25 This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.”
26 From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying,
27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.
28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot–
29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us–until we cross the Jordan into the land the LORD our God is giving us.”
30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.
31 The LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”
32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz,
33 the LORD our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army.
34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them–men, women and children. We left no survivors.
35 But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves.
36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
37 But in accordance with the command of the LORD our God, you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabbok nor that around the towns in the hills.
On verses 24-37: While God told the Israelites not to intrude upon the Ammonites (v16-21) or the Moabites (v9), God here tells the Israelites to advance against Sihon king of Heshbon and his land. Why? One theory is that the Ammonites and the Moabites were the descendants of Lot, who in turn was the nephew of Abraham. Because of their connection to Abraham, God was committed to protecting and providing for the Ammonites and Moabites. In contrast, Sihon and his people had no connection to Abraham.
If that theory holds true, then a lesson we can learn is this: just as it was because of their connection to Abraham that the Ammonites and Moabites were spared here, so it is because of our connection to Jesus that we are spared from God’s wrath. God deciding to spare us has nothing to do with how good we are, and everything to do with our connection to His Son Jesus.
Another lesson is that, just as Sihon king of Heshbon resisted the Israelites but to no avail, in the end there’s no stopping the kingdom of God. Like Sihon king of Heshbon we can refuse to give God passage in our lives, stubbornly insist on fighting God till the end, but if we do, we’re guaranteed to lose the war and with it everything that we hold dear. It is much wiser and better for us to surrender to God than to resist Him.
Father, I recognize today that the reason I can be called Your child and chosen by You has nothing to do with how good I am and everything to do with how merciful and sovereign You are. Thank You for reminding me today that it is only because of Your mercy that I’m even alive today, and so may I keep an attitude of gratitude and humility in whatever I do today. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
