Deu 3:1-6 | KingComments | STEP | Og has not been warned by Sihon’s defeat. Audaciously, relying on his own strength, he comes out to meet Israel to fight against them. With his gigantic length and with, which can be deduced from the size of his bed ( ), he must have made a great impression on God’s people. Hence the encouragement of the LORD that they should not be afraid of him and that he would give him and his people and land into their hands. The previous victory, that over Sihon, is cited as evidence. As God spoke, so He did . The victory over Og is often mentioned along with that over Sihon ( ; ). The areas ruled by these kings were the first areas to be conquered by Israel. They both lay on the eastern side or the wilderness side of the Jordan. For the Christian, they represent enemies with whom he will have to deal if he wants to take possession of the blessings of the heavenly land. Before that battle begins, the enemy he meets in everyday life must first be conquered. In Sihon we meet a person who is proud and has a hardened heart. With him the emphasis is on the spirit, the intellect of man. He looks upon his possessions as his property; it is his. God is outside his thoughts. He is king of Heshbon. About the meaning of the name Heshbon, or Cheshbon, I got the following from a sister from Israel as an explanation: ‘Here is a brief explanation of Cheshbon. Each Hebrew verb consists of a root of usually three letters. In this case that is ch’sh’v (pronounce chashav ) which means thinking or reflect on. The word cheshbon is used in the daily Ivriet of today for calculation lessons (at primary school) but also for an invoice or calculation.’ From this explanation we can make the application that in Sihon, who is king of Heshbon, we see someone who relies on his intellect, and who excludes God from his thinking. He says of his possessions: ‘I have worked hard for it, so why should I thank God for it?’ The question may be asked: How do we see for example our health and money and possessions? As something to which we are entitled to and what we can use for ourselves, or as something with which we can serve the Lord? The Lord wants us to learn to receive this as an inheritance from His hand. That is why we will have to conquer it in battle, that is to say, it is not without difficulty that our earthly blessings are realized. With Og, the emphasis is more on the soul, the desire. He had a large bed. That’s the way Og enjoys what he has: in laziness and relaxation. Do we spend our holidays and leisure time as if it were something that belongs to us? We have to withdraw these things from Og’s area of power in order to do something with them for the Lord. The zeitgeist of the world also comes to us. We stand on our rights, without remembering that God has given them to us. If these things make our thankfulness go to God, we will relish engaging in ‘the land’. We should not, by the way, go wrong to the other side either. We are not dead to everything of nature. Then we shouldn’t eat and drink anymore. The things of the earth are given to us by God and we thank Him for them, but they are not our specific Christian, heavenly blessings. Og underwent the same fate as Sihon. The victory was great. After forty years of roaming through the wilderness, where they probably did not see a city, they are now facing fortresses that are considered impregnable. But for a people with God at her side, no obstacle is too great. No less than sixty fortified cities were taken and also “a great many unwalled towns.” With God, the weakest people are the most powerful enemies. There was no struggle not to be conquered and to remain free, but there was a struggle to conquer and take possession. The enemies were expelled, not because of a cruel, avenging God. God is a merciful God. He always gives the opportunity to escape judgment, but over unrepentance He metes righteous judgment.

‏ Deuteronomy 3:1-6

Og Given into the Hand of Israel

Og has not been warned by Sihon’s defeat. Audaciously, relying on his own strength, he comes out to meet Israel to fight against them. With his gigantic length and with, which can be deduced from the size of his bed (Deu 3:11), he must have made a great impression on God’s people. Hence the encouragement of the LORD that they should not be afraid of him and that he would give him and his people and land into their hands. The previous victory, that over Sihon, is cited as evidence. As God spoke, so He did .

The victory over Og is often mentioned along with that over Sihon (Jos 9:10; Psa 135:10-11 ; Psa 136:19-20). The areas ruled by these kings were the first areas to be conquered by Israel. They both lay on the eastern side or the wilderness side of the Jordan. For the Christian, they represent enemies with whom he will have to deal if he wants to take possession of the blessings of the heavenly land. Before that battle begins, the enemy he meets in everyday life must first be conquered.

In Sihon we meet a person who is proud and has a hardened heart. With him the emphasis is on the spirit, the intellect of man. He looks upon his possessions as his property; it is his. God is outside his thoughts. He is king of Heshbon. About the meaning of the name Heshbon, or Cheshbon, I got the following from a sister from Israel as an explanation:

‘Here is a brief explanation of Cheshbon. Each Hebrew verb consists of a root of usually three letters. In this case that is ch’sh’v (pronounce chashav) which means thinking or reflect on. The word cheshbon is used in the daily Ivriet of today for calculation lessons (at primary school) but also for an invoice or calculation.’

From this explanation we can make the application that in Sihon, who is king of Heshbon, we see someone who relies on his intellect, and who excludes God from his thinking. He says of his possessions: ‘I have worked hard for it, so why should I thank God for it?’ The question may be asked: How do we see for example our health and money and possessions? As something to which we are entitled to and what we can use for ourselves, or as something with which we can serve the Lord? The Lord wants us to learn to receive this as an inheritance from His hand. That is why we will have to conquer it in battle, that is to say, it is not without difficulty that our earthly blessings are realized.

With Og, the emphasis is more on the soul, the desire. He had a large bed. That’s the way Og enjoys what he has: in laziness and relaxation. Do we spend our holidays and leisure time as if it were something that belongs to us? We have to withdraw these things from Og’s area of power in order to do something with them for the Lord. The zeitgeist of the world also comes to us. We stand on our rights, without remembering that God has given them to us. If these things make our thankfulness go to God, we will relish engaging in ‘the land’.

We should not, by the way, go wrong to the other side either. We are not dead to everything of nature. Then we shouldn’t eat and drink anymore. The things of the earth are given to us by God and we thank Him for them, but they are not our specific Christian, heavenly blessings.

Og underwent the same fate as Sihon. The victory was great. After forty years of roaming through the wilderness, where they probably did not see a city, they are now facing fortresses that are considered impregnable. But for a people with God at her side, no obstacle is too great. No less than sixty fortified cities were taken and also “a great many unwalled towns.” With God, the weakest people are the most powerful enemies.

There was no struggle not to be conquered and to remain free, but there was a struggle to conquer and take possession. The enemies were expelled, not because of a cruel, avenging God. God is a merciful God. He always gives the opportunity to escape judgment, but over unrepentance He metes righteous judgment.