seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 2:24 “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[c] 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.
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[c] 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.
c. Deuteronomy 2:34 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them
Now think about it. Does anyone remember when we invaded Kuwait? I googled it this morning.... the foxnews.com site offers this.
At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld called on Iraq's military to "do the honorable thing, stop fighting that you may live to enjoy a free Iraq, where you and your children can grow and prosper."
Now everyone might say that the battles in the Bible aren't the same as the one in Kuwait. I agree.... but just think about it for a moment or two. The footnote here says that "destroy" is a term that refers to the "irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them". So if the Israelites took all their little toy gods, if the Israelites took the people in as slaves, if the Israelites totally destroyed everyday life for them.... wouldn't that destroy them? If a country looses its government, its religion, and if someone else takes over its commerce, wouldn't that totally destroy the nation?
Maybe they didn't have go out and kill every single man, woman, or child. Maybe they enslaved every one of them. After all, God was totally in control and He could bend a mind.
Verse 25 says "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."
Sadly, I remember that God hardened Pharaoh's heart and it wasn't until Pharaoh lost his own son on the night of the Passover that God let up a little. Remember Pharaoh's heart was hardened again and took off after the Israelites, leading to the massive deaths when the walls of water caused the troops to drown.
At any rate... it had to be a stunning victory. The Israelites needed a stunning victory because they were about to face some giants.
This is from the blueletterbible.org.
Thirty-eight years before, Israel refused to go into the Promised Land because they felt they were over-matched militarily. Here, when they began to enter the land by faith, God showed them how it could have been 38 years before - if they had only believed Him.
There was not one city too strong for us is actually, "there was not one city too high for us." The high walls of the Canaanite cities had intimidated Israel 38 years before (see Deuteronomy 1:28). But walking in faith, they were now nothing before the LORD.
Today, after reading this, I am sure that there is nothing I can't face with God clearing the path for me. All I have to do is stay on the path...
Oh I know that later in the Bible, I will see what happens when an Israeli king enslaves instead of destroying an enemy. Saul will do it on his own.
