Num 21:21-35 | KingComments | STEP | The third part of the book of Numbers begins with the battle against Sihon. Part 1 is Numbers 1-10:10, in which the preparation of the journey is described. Part 2 is Numbers 10:11-21:20, in which the journey itself is described. The third part, which contains the rest of the book, takes place in the plains of Moab. The spiritual meaning of the journey is that as we go through the world, we are discovered to ourselves and that we learn about the faithfulness of God through the high priest, for us the Lord Jesus. He wants us to learn to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. ‘The plains of Moab’ also has a spiritual meaning. The special thing about the plains of Moab is that the people are no longer in the wilderness, but they are not yet in the land either. The Jordan has still not been crossed. Spiritually speaking, we are not yet seen as in the letter to the Ephesians, where we see how we are blessed with all the spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. That is the land for us. But we are not there yet. But we are also no longer in the wilderness. Spiritually, we have understood what the letter to the Romans teaches us: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We no longer walk according to the flesh, “but according to the Spirit” ( ). The area of the plains of Moab gives the picture of the Christian that we have in the letter to the Philippians. This Christian is still on earth, he has not yet gone through the Jordan, so to speak, but his whole heart goes out to heaven, to which he presses ( ). We learn this in the rest of the book of Numbers and the whole book of Deuteronomy. The heart of the people will be completely focused on the land they will soon enter, so that they will love to enter. The first thing we encounter in the plains of Moab, is battle. The first enemies are Sihon and Og. So this is not yet the battle in the land. There are different types of battle: 1. In the wilderness there is a defensive battle that cannot be escaped. It is a battle where the people have to fight, but which the LORD takes for his account ( ). 2. In the land there is an attacking battle to conquer the land. 3. In the plains of Moab, it’s a battle they don’t seek and try to avoid, but they can’t escape it either. Then they also take possession of the cities of the Amorites, something that has never been the case in their battle in the wilderness. The cities on the wilderness side of the Jordan are taken possession of. That is not yet the actual land, because that is on the other side of the Jordan. Later, two and a half tribes will ask for and receive their inheritance in this area. It turns out that they do not appreciate an inheritance in the land. Moses later blames them for this. Just as the land of Canaan speaks of the heavenly places and the spiritual blessings therein, so the territory on this side of the Jordan, the plains of Moab, speaks of the earthly blessings. The blessing of the Christian consists of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places and not the earthly blessings. To really enjoy the spiritual blessings, we first have to conquer the earthly ones. This means on the one hand that we can accept the earthly blessings gratefully from God’s hand. It also means, on the other hand, that we rule over it and not that we allow ourselves to be dominated by the earthly blessings. Only when we give the earthly blessings their true place, we can occupy ourselves with the heavenly. Many Christians, and in fact professing Christianity as a whole, are like the two and a half tribes. They are satisfied with the earthly blessings in a way that they are not interested in the spiritual blessings and do not worry about them. They focus on the earthly as if the earth is their actual home. This also leads to political efforts to ensure a long and pleasant stay on earth. This is not God’s purpose with earthly blessings. If that’s all, we don’t distinguish ourselves from the unbelievers who also (want to) have these blessings, without, by the way, thanking God for them or involving Him in them. God wants us, His children, to reach out to our real inheritance: the spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, which is the eternal life in Christ. Sihon and Og are unbelievers. They represent people who possess blessings in the power of the flesh. With them there is no gratitude to God. The characteristic of Sihon is his honor, his fame. He did not conquer the land from the Ammonites for the glory of God, but for his own glory. This is expressed in the song by the poets of proverbs that Moses mentions here. Og uses the land for its own enjoyment. This is reflected in the only characteristic given of him: his giant bed ( ). In Sihon and Og we see the dangers that the earthly blessings have for us. If we do not keep the flesh in the place of death and walk through the Spirit, we will forget our actual spiritual blessings. The result is that we look for our own honor and pleasure that are connected to the earthly blessings. After this digression about the spiritual meaning we return to the text. Israel has revived and rejuvenated at Beer. A people who are happy in the LORD is strong ( ). Through the joy of the well they can successfully fight against enemies. But first they send messengers to Sihon, as they did to Edom ( ). Sihon reacts just like Edom. Unlike with Edom, Israel is now ordered to fight against the enemy and to take its land. Already in Genesis 15 God foretold the judgment of the Amorites, but it will only be carried out when their iniquity is full ( ). That moment has now arrived. In , those who use proverbs are quoted to prove that this area first belonged to the Ammonites and was conquered by the Amorites. Some say they are poets of proverbs from Israel, others think they belong to the Amorites. In any case, it is a victory song. In the first case the Ammonites, and in the second case the Amorites are challenged to rebuild their conquered and fire-destroyed capital. The song sings of a total victory. About Moab the “woe to you” is proclaimed. Chemosh, the main god of the Ammonites ( ) and of the Amorites ( ), is a worthless god who is unable to protect the people who have taken him to be their god. The Ammonites were overpowered by the Amorites and the Amorites were destroyed by the Israelites. If the area where Sihon reigns had belonged to the Ammonites, Israel would not have been allowed to take it. Now they are allowed to do so and they can even live there. Jephthah appears to be well aware of this historical data. He can later use this to refute the claim of the king of the Ammonites ( ).

‏ Numbers 21:21-35

Fight Against Sihon

The third part of the book of Numbers begins with the battle against Sihon. Part 1 is Numbers 1-10:10, in which the preparation of the journey is described. Part 2 is Numbers 10:11-21:20, in which the journey itself is described. The third part, which contains the rest of the book, takes place in the plains of Moab. The spiritual meaning of the journey is that as we go through the world, we are discovered to ourselves and that we learn about the faithfulness of God through the high priest, for us the Lord Jesus. He wants us to learn to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

‘The plains of Moab’ also has a spiritual meaning. The special thing about the plains of Moab is that the people are no longer in the wilderness, but they are not yet in the land either. The Jordan has still not been crossed. Spiritually speaking, we are not yet seen as in the letter to the Ephesians, where we see how we are blessed with all the spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. That is the land for us. But we are not there yet. But we are also no longer in the wilderness. Spiritually, we have understood what the letter to the Romans teaches us: “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” We no longer walk according to the flesh, “but according to the Spirit” (Rom 8:1-4).

The area of the plains of Moab gives the picture of the Christian that we have in the letter to the Philippians. This Christian is still on earth, he has not yet gone through the Jordan, so to speak, but his whole heart goes out to heaven, to which he presses (Phil 3:12). We learn this in the rest of the book of Numbers and the whole book of Deuteronomy. The heart of the people will be completely focused on the land they will soon enter, so that they will love to enter.

The first thing we encounter in the plains of Moab, is battle. The first enemies are Sihon and Og. So this is not yet the battle in the land. There are different types of battle:

1. In the wilderness there is a defensive battle that cannot be escaped. It is a battle where the people have to fight, but which the LORD takes for his account (Exo 17:8 ; 16b).

2. In the land there is an attacking battle to conquer the land.

3. In the plains of Moab, it’s a battle they don’t seek and try to avoid, but they can’t escape it either. Then they also take possession of the cities of the Amorites, something that has never been the case in their battle in the wilderness.

The cities on the wilderness side of the Jordan are taken possession of. That is not yet the actual land, because that is on the other side of the Jordan. Later, two and a half tribes will ask for and receive their inheritance in this area. It turns out that they do not appreciate an inheritance in the land. Moses later blames them for this. Just as the land of Canaan speaks of the heavenly places and the spiritual blessings therein, so the territory on this side of the Jordan, the plains of Moab, speaks of the earthly blessings.

The blessing of the Christian consists of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places and not the earthly blessings. To really enjoy the spiritual blessings, we first have to conquer the earthly ones. This means on the one hand that we can accept the earthly blessings gratefully from God’s hand. It also means, on the other hand, that we rule over it and not that we allow ourselves to be dominated by the earthly blessings. Only when we give the earthly blessings their true place, we can occupy ourselves with the heavenly.

Many Christians, and in fact professing Christianity as a whole, are like the two and a half tribes. They are satisfied with the earthly blessings in a way that they are not interested in the spiritual blessings and do not worry about them. They focus on the earthly as if the earth is their actual home. This also leads to political efforts to ensure a long and pleasant stay on earth.

This is not God’s purpose with earthly blessings. If that’s all, we don’t distinguish ourselves from the unbelievers who also (want to) have these blessings, without, by the way, thanking God for them or involving Him in them. God wants us, His children, to reach out to our real inheritance: the spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, which is the eternal life in Christ.

Sihon and Og are unbelievers. They represent people who possess blessings in the power of the flesh. With them there is no gratitude to God. The characteristic of Sihon is his honor, his fame. He did not conquer the land from the Ammonites for the glory of God, but for his own glory. This is expressed in the song by the poets of proverbs that Moses mentions here. Og uses the land for its own enjoyment. This is reflected in the only characteristic given of him: his giant bed (Deu 3:11).

In Sihon and Og we see the dangers that the earthly blessings have for us. If we do not keep the flesh in the place of death and walk through the Spirit, we will forget our actual spiritual blessings. The result is that we look for our own honor and pleasure that are connected to the earthly blessings.

After this digression about the spiritual meaning we return to the text. Israel has revived and rejuvenated at Beer. A people who are happy in the LORD is strong (Neh 8:10b). Through the joy of the well they can successfully fight against enemies. But first they send messengers to Sihon, as they did to Edom (Num 20:14). Sihon reacts just like Edom. Unlike with Edom, Israel is now ordered to fight against the enemy and to take its land. Already in Genesis 15 God foretold the judgment of the Amorites, but it will only be carried out when their iniquity is full (Gen 15:16). That moment has now arrived.

In Num 21:27-30, those who use proverbs are quoted to prove that this area first belonged to the Ammonites and was conquered by the Amorites. Some say they are poets of proverbs from Israel, others think they belong to the Amorites. In any case, it is a victory song. In the first case the Ammonites, and in the second case the Amorites are challenged to rebuild their conquered and fire-destroyed capital. The song sings of a total victory.

About Moab the “woe to you” is proclaimed. Chemosh, the main god of the Ammonites (Jer 48:7) and of the Amorites (Jdg 11:24), is a worthless god who is unable to protect the people who have taken him to be their god. The Ammonites were overpowered by the Amorites and the Amorites were destroyed by the Israelites.

If the area where Sihon reigns had belonged to the Ammonites, Israel would not have been allowed to take it. Now they are allowed to do so and they can even live there. Jephthah appears to be well aware of this historical data. He can later use this to refute the claim of the king of the Ammonites (Jdg 11:13-23).

Fight Against Og

No messengers are sent to Og, who rules the northern half of Gilead and Bashan. Og has not been warned by what happened to Sihon. He takes the initiative and attacks Israel. The LORD assures Israel of the victory. With this commitment, the people are fighting and Og is completely defeated. They also take possession of his land.

The victory over Sihon and Og is quoted several times later in the Bible (Neh 9:22; Psa 135:10-11 ; Psa 136:18-20).