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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
N U M B E R S
CHAP. XXI.
The armies of Israel now begin to emerge out of the wilderness, and to
come into a land inhabited, to enter upon action, and take possession
of the frontiers of the land of promise. A glorious campaign this
chapter gives us the history of, especially in the latter part of it.
Here is,
I. The defeat of Arad the Canaanite,
II. The chastisement of the people with fiery serpents for their
murmurings, and the relief granted them upon their submission by a
brazen serpent,
III. Several marches forward, and some occurrences by the way,
IV. The celebrated conquest of Sihon king of the Amorites
(ver. 21-32),
and of Og king of Bashan
(ver. 33-35),
and possession taken of their land.
| Arad Subdued. | B. C. 1452. |
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1 And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south,
heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he
fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt
indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly
destroy their cities.
3 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered
up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their
cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.
Here is,
1. The descent which Arad the Canaanite made upon the camp of Israel,
hearing that they came by the way of the spies; for, though the
spies which Moses had sent thirty-eight years before then passed and
repassed unobserved, yet their coming, and their errand, it is likely,
were afterwards known to the Canaanites, gave them an alarm, and
induced them to keep an eye upon Israel and get intelligence of all
their motions. Now, when they understood that they were facing about
towards Canaan, this Arad, thinking it policy to keep the war at a
distance, made an onset upon them and fought with them. But it proved
that he meddled to his own hurt; had he sat still, his people might
have been last destroyed of all the Canaanites, but now they were the
first. Thus those that are overmuch wicked die before their
time,
Eccl. vii. 17.
2. His success at first in this attempt. His advance-guards picked up
some straggling Israelites, and took them prisoners,
v. 1.
This, no doubt, puffed him up, and he began to thin that he should have
the honour of crushing this formidable body, and saving his country
from the ruin which it threatened. It was likewise a trial to the faith
of the Israelites and a check to them for their distrusts and
discontents.
3. Israel’s humble address to God upon this occasion,
v. 2.
It was a temptation to them to murmur as their fathers did, and to
despair of getting possession of Canaan; but God, who thus tried them
by his providence, enabled them by his grace to quit themselves well in
the trial, and to trust in him for relief against this fierce and
powerful assailant. They, by their elders, in prayer for success,
vowed a vow. Noe, When we are desiring and expecting mercy from
God we should bind our souls with a bond that we will faithfully do our
duty to him, particularly that we will honour him with the mercy we are
in the pursuit of. Thus Israel here promised to destroy the cities of
these Canaanites, as devoted to God, and not to take the spoil of them
to their own use. If God would give them victory, he should have all
the praise, and they would not make a gain of it to themselves. When we
are in this frame we are prepared to receive mercy.
4. The victory which the Israelites obtained over the Canaanites,
v. 3.
A strong party was sent out, probably under the command of Joshua,
which not only drove back these Canaanites, but followed them to their
cities, which probably lay on the edge of the wilderness, and utterly
destroyed them, and so returned to the camp. Vincimur in
prælie, sed non in bello–We lose a battle, but we finally
triumph. What is said of the tribe of God is true of all God’s
Israel, a troop may overcome them, but they shall overcome at the last.
The place was called Hormah, as a memorial of the destruction,
for the terror of the Canaanites, and probably for warning to posterity
not to attempt the rebuilding of these cities, which were destroyed as
devoted to God and sacrifices to divine justice. And it appears from
the instance of Jericho that the law concerning such cities was that
they should never be rebuilt. There seems to be an allusion to this
name in the prophecy of the fall of the New Testament Babylon
(Rev. xvi. 16),
where its forces are said to be gathered together to a place called
Armageddon–the destruction of a troop.
| The Brazen Serpent. | B. C. 1452. |
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4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea,
to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much
discouraged because of the way.
5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses,
Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any
water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
6 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they
bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned,
for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto
the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses
prayed for the people.
8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and
set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one
that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole,
and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when
he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Here is,
I. The fatigue of Israel by a long march round the land of Edom,
because they could not obtain passage through it the nearest way:
The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way,
v. 4.
Perhaps the way was rough and uneven, or foul and dirty; or it fretted
them to go far about, and that they were not permitted to force their
passage through the Edomites’ country. Those that are of a fretful
discontented spirit will always find something or other to make them
uneasy.
II. Their unbelief and murmuring upon this occasion,
v. 5.
Though they had just now obtained a glorious victory over the
Canaanites, and were going on conquering and to conquer, yet they speak
very discontentedly of what God had done for them and distrustfully of
what he would do, vexed that they were brought out of Egypt, that they
had not bread and water as other people had by their own care and
industry, but by miracle, they knew not how. They have bread enough
and to spare; and yet they complain there is no bread,
because, though they eat angels’ food, yet they are weary of it; manna
itself is loathed, and called light bread, fit for children, not
for men and soldiers. What will those be pleased with whom manna will
not please? Those that are disposed to quarrel will find fault where
there is no fault to be found. Thus those who have long enjoyed the
means of grace are apt to surfeit even on the heavenly manna, and to
call it light bread. But let not the contempt which some cast upon the
word of God cause us to value it the less: it is the bread of life,
substantial bread, and will nourish those who by faith feed upon it to
eternal life, whoever calls it light bread.
III. The righteous judgment which God brought upon them for their
murmuring,
v. 6.
He sent fiery serpents among them, which bit or stung many of
them to death. The wilderness through which they had passed was all
along infested with those fiery serpents, as appears,
But hitherto God had wonderfully preserved his people from receiving
hurt by them, till now that they murmured, to chastise them for which
these animals, which hitherto had shunned their camp, now invade it.
Justly are those made to feel God’s judgments that are not thankful for
his mercies. These serpents are called fiery, from their colour,
or from their rage, or from the effects of their bitings, inflaming the
body, putting it immediately into a high fever, scorching it with an
insatiable thirst. They had unjustly complained for want of water
(v. 5),
to chastise them for which God sends upon them this thirst, which no
water would quench. Those that cry without cause have justly cause
given them to cry out. They distrustfully concluded that they must
die in the wilderness, and God took them at their word, chose
their delusions, and brought their unbelieving fears upon them; many of
them did die. They had impudently flown in the face of God himself, and
the poison of asps was under their lips, and now these fiery
serpents (which, it should seem, were flying serpents,
flew in their faces and poisoned them. They in their pride had lifted
themselves up against God and Moses, and now God humbled and mortified
them, by making these despicable animals a plague to them. That
artillery is now turned against them which had formerly been made use
of in their defence against the Egyptians. He that brought quails to
feast them let them know that he could bring serpents to bite them; the
whole creation is at war with those that are in arms against God.
IV. Their repentance and supplication to God under this judgment,
v. 7.
They confess their fault: We have sinned. They are particular in
their confession: We have spoken against the Lord, and against
thee. It is to be feared that they would not have owned the sin if
they had not felt the smart; but they relent under the rod; when he
slew them, then they sought him. They beg the prayers of Moses for
them, as conscious to themselves of their own unworthiness to be heard,
and convinced of the great interest which Moses had in heaven. How soon
is their tone altered! Those who had just before quarrelled with him as
their worst enemy now make their court to him as their best friend, and
choose him for their advocate with God. Afflictions often change men’s
sentiments concerning God’s people, and teach them to value those
prayers which, at a former period, they had scorned. Moses, to show
that he had heartily forgiven them, blesses those who had cursed him,
and prays for those who had despitefully used him Herein he was
a type of Christ, who interceded for his persecutors, and a pattern to
us to go and do likewise, and thus to show that we love our
enemies.
V. The wonderful provision which God made for their relief. He did not
employ Moses in summoning the judgment, but, that he might recommend
him to the good affection of the people, he made him instrumental in
their relief,
God ordered Moses to make the representation of a fiery serpent, which
he did, in brass, and set it up on a very long pole, so that it might
be seen from all parts of the camp, and every one that was stung with a
fiery serpent was healed by looking up to this serpent of brass. The
people prayed that God would take away the serpents from them
(v. 7),
but God saw fit not to do this: for he gives effectual relief in the
best way, though not in our way. Thus those who did not die for their
murmuring were yet made to smart for it, that they might the more
feelingly repent and humble themselves for it; they were likewise made
to receive their cure from God, by the hand of Moses, that they might
be taught, if possible, never again to speak against God and Moses.
This method of cure was altogether miraculous, and the more wonderful
if what some naturalists say be true, that looking upon bright and
burnished brass is hurtful to those that are stung with fiery serpents.
God can bring about his purposes by contrary means. The Jews themselves
say that it was not the sight of the brazen serpent that cured them,
but, in looking up to it, they looked up to God as the Lord that healed
them. But there was much of gospel in this appointment. Our Saviour has
told us so
that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness so the Son of
man must be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish. Observe then a resemblance,
1. Between their disease and ours. The devil is the old serpent, a
fiery serpent, hence he appears
as a great red dragon. Sin is the biting of this fiery serpent;
it is painful to the startled conscience, and poisonous to the seared
conscience. Satan’s temptations are called his fiery darts,
Eph. vi. 16.
Lust and passion inflame the soul, so do the terrors of the Almighty,
when they set themselves in array. At the last, sin bites
like a serpent and stings like an adder; and even its sweets
are turned into the gall of asps.
2. Between their remedy and ours.
(1.) It was God himself that devised and prescribed this antidote
against the fiery serpents; so our salvation by Christ was the
contrivance of Infinite Wisdom; God himself has found the ransom.
(2.) It was a very unlikely method of cure; so our salvation by the
death of Christ is to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks
foolishness. It was Moses that lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, so the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, and
Moses wrote of him,
Christ was lifted up by the rulers of the Jews, who were the successors
of Moses.
(3.) That which cured was shaped in the likeness of that which wounded.
So Christ, though perfectly free from sin himself, yet was made in
the likeness of sinful flesh
(Rom. viii. 3),
so like that it was taken for granted that this man was a sinner,
(4.) The brazen serpent was lifted up; so was Christ. He was lifted up
upon the cross
for his was made a spectacle to the world. He was lifted up by the
preaching of the gospel. The word here used for a pole signifies
a banner, or ensign, for Christ crucified stands for
an ensign of the people,
Isa. xi. 10.
Some make the lifting up of the serpent to be a figure of Christ’s
triumphing over Satan, the old serpent, whose head he bruised, when in
his cross he made an open show of the principalities and powers which
he had spoiled and destroyed,
3. Between the application of their remedy and ours. They looked and
lived, and we, if we believe, shall not perish; it is by faith that we
look unto Jesus,
Look unto me, and be you saved,
Isa. xlv. 22.
We must be sensible of our wound and of our danger by it, receive the
record which God has given concerning his Son, and rely upon the
assurance he has given us that we shall be healed and saved by him if
we resign ourselves to his direction. The brazen serpent’s being lifted
up would not cure if it was not looked upon. If any pored on their
wound, and would not look up to the brazen serpent, they inevitably
died. If they slighted this method of cure, and had recourse to natural
medicines, and trusted to them, they justly perished; so if sinners
either despise Christ’s righteousness or despair of benefit by it their
wound will, without doubt, be fatal. But whoever looked up to this
healing sign, though from the outmost part of the camp, though with a
weak and weeping eye, was certainly healed; so whosoever believes in
Christ, though as yet but weak in faith, shall not perish. There are
weak brethren for whom Christ died. Perhaps for some time after
the serpent was set up the camp of Israel was molested by the fiery
serpents; and it is the probable conjecture of some that they carried
this brazen serpent along with them through the rest of their journey,
and set it up wherever they encamped, and, when they settled in Canaan,
fixed it somewhere within the borders of the land; for it is not likely
that the children of Israel went so far off as this was into the
wilderness to burn incense to it, as we find they did,
Even those that are delivered from the eternal death which is the wages
of sin must expect to feel the pain and smart of it as long as they are
here in this world; but, if it be not our own fault, we may have the
brazen serpent to accompany us, to be still looked up to upon all
occasions, by bearing about with us continually the dying of the Lord
Jesus.
| The Removal of the Camp. | B. C. 1452. |
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10 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in
Oboth.
11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in
the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.
12 From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of
Zared.
13 From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of
Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts
of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab
and the Amorites.
14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD,
What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,
15 And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the
dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.
16 And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well
whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together,
and I will give them water.
17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto
it:
18 The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged
it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And
from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:
19 And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:
20 And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of
Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.
We have here an account of the several stages and removals of the
children of Israel, till they came into the plains of Moab, out of
which they at length passed over Jordan into Canaan, as we read in the
beginning of Joshua. Natural motions are quicker the nearer they are to
their centre. The Israelites were now drawing near to the promised
rest, and now they set forward, as the expression is,
It were well if we would do thus in our way to heaven, rid ground in
the latter end of our journey, and the nearer we come to heaven be so
much the more active and abundant in the work of the Lord. Two things
especially are observable in the brief account here given of these
removals:–
1. The wonderful success which God blessed his people with, near the
brooks of Arnon,
They had now compassed the land of Edom (which they were not to invade,
nor so much as to disturb,
and had come to the border of Moab. It is well that there are more ways
than one to Canaan. The enemies of God’s people may retard their
passage, but cannot prevent their entrance into the promised rest. Care
is taken to let us know that the Israelites in their march religiously
observed the orders which God gave them to use no hostility against the
Moabites
(Deut. ii. 9),
because they were the posterity of righteous Lot; therefore they
pitched on the other side of Arnon
(v. 13),
that side which was now in the possession of the Amorites, one of the
devoted nations, though formerly it had belonged to Moab, as appears
here,
This care of theirs not to offer violence to the Moabites is pleaded by
Jephtha long afterwards, in his remonstrance against the Ammonites
&c.), and turned to them for a testimony. What their achievements were,
now that they pitched on the banks of the river Arnon, we are not
particularly told, but are referred to the book of the wars of the
Lord, perhaps that book which was begun with the history of the war
with the Amalekites,
Write it (said God) for a memorial in a book, to which
were added all the other battles which Israel fought, in order, and,
among the rest, their actions on the river Arnon, at Vaheb in
Suphah (as our margin reads it) and other places on that river.
Or, it shall be said (as some read it) in the rehearsal,
or commemoration, of the wars of the Lord, what he did in the Red
Sea, when he brought Israel out of Egypt, and what he did in the
brooks of Arnon, just before he brought them into Canaan. Note, In
celebrating the memorials of God’s favours to us, it is good to observe
the series of them, and how divine goodness and mercy have constantly
followed us, even from the Red Sea to the brooks of Arnon. In every
stage of our lives, nay, in every step, we should take notice of what
God has wrought for us; what he did at such a time, and what in such a
place, ought to be distinctly remembered.
2. The wonderful supply which God blessed his people with at
Beer
(v. 16),
which signifies the well or fountain. It is said
(v. 10)
they pitched in Oboth, which signifies bottles, so called
perhaps because there they filled their bottles with water, which
should last them for some time; but by this time, we may suppose, it
was with them as it was with Hagar
(Gen. xxi. 15),
The water was spent in the bottle; yet we do not find that they
murmured, and therefore God, in compassion to them, brought them to a
well of water, to encourage them to wait on him in humble silence and
expectation and to believe that he would graciously take cognizance of
their wants, though they did not complain of them. In this world, we do
at the best but pitch in Oboth, where our comforts lie in close
and scanty vessels; when we come to heaven we shall remove to
Beer, the well of life, the fountain of living waters. Hitherto
we have found, when they were supplied with water, they asked it in
unjust discontent, and God gave it in just displeasure; but here we
find,
(1.) That God gave it in love
(v. 16):
Gather the people together, to be witnesses of the wonder, and
joint-sharers in the favour, and I will give them water. Before
they prayed, God granted, and anticipated them with the blessings of
his goodness.
(2.) That they received it with joy and thankfulness, which made the
mercy doubly sweet to them,
Then they sang this song, to the glory of God and the encouragement of
one another, Spring up, O well! Thus they pray that it may
spring up, for promised mercies must be fetched in by prayer; they
triumph that it does spring up, and meet it with their joyful
acclamations. With joy must we draw water out of the wells of
salvation,
Isa. xi. 3.
As the brazen serpent was a figure of Christ, who is lifted up for our
cure, so is this well a figure of the Spirit, who is poured forth for
our comfort, and from whom flow to us rivers of living waters,
John vii. 38.
Does this well spring up in our souls? We should sing to it; take the
comfort to ourselves, and give the glory to God; stir up this gift,
sing to it, Spring up, O well! thou fountain of gardens,
to water my soul
(Cant. iv. 15),
plead the promise, which perhaps alludes to this story
I will make the wilderness wells of water.
(3.) That whereas before the remembrance of the miracle was perpetuated
in the names given to the places, which signified the people’s strife
and murmuring, now it was perpetuated in a song of praise, which
preserved on record the manner in which it was done
(v. 18):
The princes digged the well, the seventy elders, it is probable,
by direction of the lawgiver (that is, Moses, under God) with
their staves; that is, with their staves they made holes in the
soft and sandy ground, and God caused the water miraculously to spring
up in the holes which they made. Thus the pious Israelites long
afterwards, passing through the valley of Baca, a dry and
thirsty place, made wells, and God by rain from heaven filled the
pools,
Observe,
[1.] God promised to give them water, but the must open the ground to
receive it, and give it vent. God’s favours must be expected in the use
of such means as lie within our power, but still the excellency of the
power is of God.
[2.] The nobles of Israel were forward to set their hands to this work,
and used their staves, probable those that were the ensigns of their
honour and power, for the public service, and it is upon record to
their honour. And we may suppose that it was a great confirmation to
them in their offices, and a great comfort to the people, that they
were made use of by the divine power as instruments to this miraculous
supply. By this it appeared that the spirit of Moses, who must shortly
die, rested in some measure upon the nobles of Israel. Moses did not
strike the ground himself, as formerly the rock, but gave them
direction to do it, that their staves might share in the honour of his
rod, and they might comfortably hope that when he should leave them yet
God would not, but that they also in their generation should be public
blessings, and might expect the divine presence with them as long as
they acted by the direction of the lawgiver. For comfort must be looked
for only in the way of duty; and, if we would share in divine joys, we
must carefully follow the divine direction.
| Sihon and Og Overthrown. | B. C. 1452. |
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21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites,
saying,
22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the
fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters
of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way,
until we be past thy borders.
23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his
border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out
against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and
fought against Israel.
24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and
possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children
of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all
the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages
thereof.
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, even unto Arnon.
27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into
Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the
city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of
the high places of Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he
hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into
captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,
and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth
unto Medeba.
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
32 And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages
thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the
king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to
the battle at Edrei.
34 And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have
delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land;
and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the
Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.
35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until
there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
We have here an account of the victories obtained by Israel over Sihon
and Og, which must be distinctly considered, not only because they are
here distinctly related, but because long afterwards the memorial of
them is distinctly celebrated, and they are severally assigned as
instances of everlasting mercy. He slew Sihon king of the Amorites,
for his mercy endureth for ever, and Og the king of Bashan, for his
mercy endureth for ever,
Ps. cxxxvi. 19, 20.
I. Israel sent a peaceable message to Sihon king of the Amorites
(v. 21),
but received an unpeaceable return, worse than that of the Edomites to
the like message,
For the Edomites only refused them a passage, and stood upon their own
defence to keep them out; but Sihon went out with his forces against
Israel in the wilderness, out of his own borders, without any
provocation given him
(v. 23),
and so ran himself upon his own ruin. Jephtha intimates that he was
prompted by his politics to do this
(Judg. xi. 20),
Sihon trusted not Israel to pass through his coast; but his
politics deceived him, for Moses says, God hardened his spirit and
made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into the hand of
Israel,
Deut. ii. 30.
The enemies of God’s church are often infatuated in those very counsels
which they think most wisely taken. Sihon’s army was routed, and not
only so, but all his country came into the possession of Israel,
This seizure is justified,
1. Against the Amorites themselves, for they were the aggressors, and
provoked the Israelites to battle; and yet, perhaps, that would not
have been sufficient to entitle Israel to their land, but that God
himself, the King of nations, the Lord of the whole earth, had given
them a grant of it. The Amorites formed one of the devoted nations
whose land God had promised to Abraham and his seed, which promise
should be performed when the iniquity of the Amorites should be full,
Jephtha insists upon this grant as their title,
The victory which God gave them over the Amorites put them in
possession, and then, the promise made to their fathers having given
them a right, by virtue of that they kept possession.
2. Against the Moabites, who had formerly been the lords-proprietors of
this country. If they should ever lay claim to it, and should plead
that God himself had provided that none of their land should be
given to Israel for a possession
(Deut. ii. 9),
Moses here furnishes posterity with a replication to their plea, and
Jephtha makes use of it against the Amorites 260 years afterwards, when
Israel’s title to this country was questioned.
(1.) The justification itself is that though it was true this country
had belonged to the Moabites, yet the Amorites had taken it from them
some time before, and were now in full and quiet possession of it,
The Israelites did not take it out of the hands of the Moabites, they
had before lost it to the Amorites, and were constrained to give up
their pretensions to it; and, when Israel had taken it from the
Amorites, they were under no obligation to restore it to the Moabites,
whose title to it was long since extinguished. See here the uncertainty
of worldly possessions, how often they change their owners, and how
soon we may be deprived of them, even when we think ourselves most sure
of them; they make themselves wings. It is our wisdom therefore
to secure the good part which cannot be taken away from us. See also
the wisdom of the divine Providence and its perfect foresight, by which
preparation is made long before for the accomplishment of all God’s
purposes in their season. This country being designed in due time for
Israel, it is beforehand put into the hand of the Amorites, who little
think that they have it but as trustees till Israel come of age, and
then must surrender it. We understand not the vast reaches of
Providence, but known unto God are all his works, as appears in this
instance, that he set the bounds of the people according to the
number of the children of Israel,
Deut. xxxii. 8.
All that land which he intended for his chosen people he put into the
possession of the devoted nations, that were to be driven out.
(2.) For proof of the allegation, he refers to the authentic records of
the country, for so their proverbs or songs were, one of which he
quotes some passages out of
(v. 27-30),
which sufficiently proves what is vouched for, namely,
[1.] That such and such places that are here named, though they had
been in the possession of the Moabites, had by right of war become the
dominion of Sihon king of the Amorites. Heshbon had become his city,
and he obtained such a quiet possession of it that it was built and
prepared for him
(v. 27),
and the country to Dibon and Nophah was likewise subdued, and annexed
to the kingdom of the Amorites,
[2.] That the Moabites were utterly disabled ever to regain the
possession. Even Ar of Moab, though not taken or attempted by Sihon,
but still remaining the metropolis of Moab, yet was so wasted by this
loss that is would never be able to make head,
The Moabites were undone, and even Chemosh their god had given them up,
as unable to rescue them out of the hands of Sihon,
By all this it appears that the Moabites’ claim to this country was
barred for ever. There may be a further reason for inserting this
Amorite poem, namely, to show that the triumphing of the wicked is
short. Those that had conquered the Moabites, and insulted over them,
were now themselves conquered and insulted over by the Israel of God.
It is very probable that the same Sihon, king of the Amorites, that had
got this country from the Moabites, now lost it to the Israelites; for,
though it is said to be taken from a former king of Moab
(v. 26),
yet not by a former king of the Amorites; and then it shows how
sometimes justice makes men to see the loss of that which they got by
violence, and were puffed up with the gain of. They are exalted but
for a little while,
Job xxiv. 24.
II. Og king of Bashan, instead of being warned by the fate of his
neighbours to make peace with Israel, is instigated by it to make war
with them, which proves in like manner to be his destruction. Og was
also an Amorite, and therefore perhaps thought himself better able to
deal with Israel than his neighbours were, and more likely to prevail,
because of his own gigantic strength and stature, which Moses takes
notice of,
where he gives a more full account of this story. Here observe,
1. That the Amorite begins the war
(v. 33):
He went out to battle against Israel. His country was very rich
and pleasant. Bashan was famous for the best timber (witness the oaks
of Bashan), and the best breed of cattle, witness the bulls and kine of
Bashan, and the lambs and rams of that country, which are celebrated,
Wicked men do their utmost to secure themselves and their possessions
against the judgments of God, but all in vain, when their day comes, on
which they must fall.
2. That God interests himself in the cause, bids Israel not to fear
this threatening force, and promises a complete victory: “I have
delivered him into thy hand
(v. 34);
the thing is as good as done already, it is all thy own, enter and take
possession.” Giants are but worms before God’s power.
3. That Israel is more than a conqueror, not only routs the enemies’
army, but gains the enemies’ country, which afterwards was part of the
inheritance of the two tribes and a half that were first seated on the
other side Jordan. God gave Israel these successes, while Moses was
yet with them, both for his comfort (that he might see the beginning of
that glorious work, which he must not live to see the finishing of) and
for the encouragement of the people in the war of Canaan under Joshua.
Though this was to them in comparison but as the day of small things,
yet it was an earnest of great things.
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