“After
you had stayed at Kadesh as many days as you did, we journeyed back
into the wilderness, in the direction of the Red Sea,as the Lord had
told me,1
and skirted Mount Seir for many days.”
“Then the Lord said to me: ‘You have been skirting this hill country long enough.2 Head north, and charge the people as follows: You are about to pass through the territory of your kindred, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful not to engage in battle with them, for I will not give you even so much as a foot’s length of their land,3 since I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.4 You shall purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them for money, so that you may drink. Surely the Lord your God has blessed you in all your undertakings; he knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.’”5
“So we passed by our kin, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind the route of the Arabah, and leaving behind Elath and Ezion-geber. When we had headed out along the route of the wilderness of Moab, the Lord said to me: ‘Do not harass Moab or engage them in battle, for I will not give you any of its land as a possession,6 since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’7 (The Emim—a large and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim—had formerly inhabited it. Like the Anakim, they are usually reckoned as Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim. Moreover, the Horim had formerly inhabited Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, destroying them and settling in their place,8 as Israel has done in the land that the Lord gave them as a possession.) ‘ Now then, proceed to cross over the Wadi Zered.’”
“So we crossed over the Wadi Zered. And the length of time we had travelled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of warriors had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn concerning them.9 Indeed, the Lord’s own hand was against them, to root them out from the camp, until all had perished.”10
“Just as soon as all the warriors had died from among the people, the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘Today you are going to cross the boundary of Moab at Ar. When you approach the frontier of the Ammonites, do not harass them or engage them in battle, for I will not give the land of the Ammonites to you as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot.’ (It also is usually reckoned as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly inhabited it, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place. He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by destroying the Horim before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place even to this day. As for the Avvim, who had lived in settlements in the vicinity of Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)'”11
1 Again reporting his own obedience.
“Then the Lord said to me: ‘You have been skirting this hill country long enough.2 Head north, and charge the people as follows: You are about to pass through the territory of your kindred, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful not to engage in battle with them, for I will not give you even so much as a foot’s length of their land,3 since I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.4 You shall purchase food from them for money, so that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them for money, so that you may drink. Surely the Lord your God has blessed you in all your undertakings; he knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.’”5
“So we passed by our kin, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir, leaving behind the route of the Arabah, and leaving behind Elath and Ezion-geber. When we had headed out along the route of the wilderness of Moab, the Lord said to me: ‘Do not harass Moab or engage them in battle, for I will not give you any of its land as a possession,6 since I have given Ar as a possession to the descendants of Lot.’7 (The Emim—a large and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim—had formerly inhabited it. Like the Anakim, they are usually reckoned as Rephaim, though the Moabites call them Emim. Moreover, the Horim had formerly inhabited Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them, destroying them and settling in their place,8 as Israel has done in the land that the Lord gave them as a possession.) ‘ Now then, proceed to cross over the Wadi Zered.’”
“So we crossed over the Wadi Zered. And the length of time we had travelled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of warriors had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn concerning them.9 Indeed, the Lord’s own hand was against them, to root them out from the camp, until all had perished.”10
“Just as soon as all the warriors had died from among the people, the Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘Today you are going to cross the boundary of Moab at Ar. When you approach the frontier of the Ammonites, do not harass them or engage them in battle, for I will not give the land of the Ammonites to you as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot.’ (It also is usually reckoned as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly inhabited it, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, a strong and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim. But the Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place. He did the same for the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, by destroying the Horim before them so that they could dispossess them and settle in their place even to this day. As for the Avvim, who had lived in settlements in the vicinity of Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.)'”11
1 Again reporting his own obedience.
2
Neither this command form Moses, nor any of God's commands in the
following paragraph, appear in the Numbers 20 account.
3
Israel can only win the battles that God give to them.
4
Esau has received land from God as well!
5
God's providence is reiterated as a reason to trust and obey.
6
Again, they will only be able to win the battles that God gives to
them.
7
Lot has also received from God.
8
Interesting side-note emphasizes the kind of things that God's
provision can overcome.
9
A reminder of why they are traveling, and why the old ones died.
10
Quite aggressive and vividly judgmental.
11
Another side-note partially repeating verses 10-12, again emphasizing
that the Lord can deliver anything.
Take-home: Groups of people are identified who Israel is not to war with, because God will not give Israel their land. God's complete control and ability to deliver battle to those He chooses is emphasized.
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