Deuteronomy 3: 1 – 29
Give Me Eyes To See
3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and Og king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 2 And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’ 3 “So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. 4 And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns. 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. 7 But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves. 8 “And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir), 10 all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit. 12 “And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the giants. 14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and called Bashan after his own name, Havoth Jair, to this day.) 15 “Also I gave Gilead to Machir. 16 And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, the border of the people of Ammon; 17 the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah. 18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel. 19 But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, 20 until the LORD has given rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 “And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 22 You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’ 23 “Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying: 24 ‘O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? 25 I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’ 26 “But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. 28 But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’ 29 “So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.
I am thankful that our Holy Master has waked me up. For many years I thought I saw things pretty clearly but I am today very thankful and grateful that He has given me spiritual insight. In other words although my physical eyes are failing my eyes at the same time see things I never saw before. Has this situation ever occurred to you?
Let me give you just a couple of things that I see clearer today. For example, if you have been studying with us as we have journeyed through the bible now starting at Genesis then you have come to the portion where the Israelites had sent 12 spies to check out the Promised Land. As you know 10 came back and acknowledged that the land was truly as God had said it was, yet they somehow added that our Holy Jehovah Yahweh did not mention about all the giants that dwelt in the land. Also, I know that you are aware of the fact that because of their lack of trust in our Holy God Adoni Yahweh, they were told by Him that no one now could enter what God had promised to give to them. They were told to turn back into the wilderness and there they would wander for 40 years until all the rebels died. Then the children would be able to inherit what the older people had lost out on.
I think many would comment that our Lord’s judgment was kind of harsh. But was it really? Here are people who forsook God but He did not forsake. While they were in the Wilderness He continued to feed them. They didn’t need to go the Wal-Mart and buy any clothes or shoes because they did not wear out.
Sure many died from horrible conditions and that was because they grumbled and complained. They were not grateful. For those who just kept their mouths shut and accepted their fate, our Gracious and Holy God took care of them, provided for them, and protected them. The faithful died a natural death of old age and had seen a lifetime of care and personal blessings even though they were part of the original group who would not believe God. Although they did not believe in God, He believed and cared for them.
Just yesterday evening the Lord gave me vision to see that in the past I would miss. I love animals especially dogs. Our Holy Creator has blessed us cursed people with domestic animals that are loyal. As I was driving I noticed a small dog running down the street. Our Lord gave me insight that this poor little dog was lost and frightened and needed help. Along with my wife we stopped and attempted to catch this scared animal. Fortunately, our Great God then inspired some neighbors to help us round up this frightened Border collie.
In the grace of God the dog responded to one of the ladies helping with the rescue and held on to it. Another neighbor went and got a bowl of water to give to the dehydrated pup. Then in perfect timing the owner came driving by as he was out and about in search of his dog. Interestingly the dog had run for close to 4 miles from his home. The Lord directed this guy to come through our housing development. It was a joy to ‘see’ the reunion. The man said that he saw his dog almost hit by a car and was overjoyed it was okay. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Today we are going to talk about the need for our Lord to give us all eyes to see things. The Israelites originally had seen giants such as king Og and were terrorized. Our Lord makes sure that even these types that we think are giants can be overcome and defeated. I say Amen to that!
The first three verses of this chapter are an almost exact reproduction of Numbers 21.33-35) with slight changes to fit it into speech (altering ‘they’ to ‘we’). They describe the defeat of Og, king of Bashan. This is then followed by a more full description of the defeat, and the dividing up of the land between Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. After this the call goes out to these tribes to fulfill their covenant to provide troops for the conquest. It ends with a plea from Moses that he be allowed to enter the land, which is refused.
Intrinsic to all that is mentioned is the certainty that Yahweh Is about to give them their land to possess. The Amorites have been initially defeated, a foretaste of what is to come, the two and a half tribes have been settled on their land, their fighting men have been prepared for the invasion across the Jordan, Joshua has been commissioned, and Moses has been permitted to see the land that is to be theirs from Pisgah.
3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and Og king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
The next road that they took was ‘the way to Bashan’. This immediately brought the Amorite king Bashan out to fight them with his armies. It will be noted that both in this case and in the case of Sihon the belligerency was on the part of the enemy. Until they crossed the Jordan this current Israel never initiated an attack unless they were first attacked.
2 And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’
When this great king with his armies appeared there was no doubt some fearful hearts in the ranks of Israel. But Yahweh immediately assured Moses that He was with them, and that He would deliver Og, his armies, his cities and his land into the hands of Israel.
3 “So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining.
The result was a resounding victory. God was acting on their behalf. The whole of Og’s armies were slaughtered. As far as was possible not one was left alive. They were carrying out God’s requirements to the letter.
4 And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns.
Every city was taken. Not one was strong enough to stand up against them. There were sixty cities with high walls, gates and bars, and a great number of un-walled towns. Bashan was a very fertile area and there were many small cities and towns in it.
6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. 7 But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.
Every man, woman and child was put to the sword. Only the cattle and spoils of the city were spared. God’s judgment on gross sin and idolatry of the worst kind was fulfilled. These were executions, not slaughter. Each of these worshipped false gods in Yahweh’s own land, and the penalty for that was death. It is a reminder to us that in the end God will call all men into judgment even though it is delayed, as it had been for the Amorites for hundreds of years.
8 “And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon
Thus the whole of the land of the two kings of the Amorites was taken and possessed, from the River Arnon in the South (the border river of Moab) to Mount Hermon in the north. All of them being in Beyond Jordan.
9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir),
A note is added here to make clear which mountain was indicated. It was called Sirion by the Sidonians and Senir by the Amorites.
10 all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
The whole extent of the land is then described. It took in all the cities of the Moabite plain, ‘all Gilead’, a wide ranging region above the Moabite plain extending to Bashan, and ‘all Bashan’, and included the great cities of Salecah and Edrei. (Gilead can sometimes refer to a region in the north adjacent to Bashan, but ‘all Gilead’ was a wider expression and covered much of Transjordan. It is also possible that the geographical term ‘Gilead’ could sometimes be used as an overall term to refer to the whole of the land north of Moab including some parts or all of Bashan.
11 “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.
Here we learn that in Bashan Og was the only surviving remnant of the Rephaim. His great size was probably one reason why he had been made king. He would be a fearsome war-leader. He was buried in a sarcophagus of basalt (the colour of iron), the great size of which was well known, nine cubits by four cubits (roughly four metres or thirteen and a half feet, by two metres or six feet).
12 “And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the giants.
Moses emphasizes that they took overall possession of a large area of land, and then he caused the land to be divided up between the Reubenites and Gadites, who appear to have worked very closely together, and the half-tribe of Manasseh which included the sub-tribes Machir and Jair. From Aroer on the River Arnon, probably to the River Jabbok (half the hill-country of Gilead), together with its cities was given to the Reubenites and Gadites, the rest of Gilead from the Jabbok to the Yarmuk, and the whole of Bashan was given to the half tribe of Manasseh.
14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and called Bashan after his own name, Havoth Jair, to this day.)
This land was called ‘The land of Rephaim.’ This was possibly because it was ruled over by Og, the giant of a king, who was seen as descended from the Rephaim, who like the Anakim were a genetically huge people. They were seen as very sinister. Or it may signify that it was a ghostly land. The term is later applied to ghosts.
This description of the activities of Jair is intended to be a stimulus and a reminder that everyone in Israel must play their part in the possession of the land. It was God’s gift, but all must participate in claiming it, just as Jair did.
15 “Also I gave Gilead to Machir. 16 And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, the border of the people of Ammon; 17 the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.
Gilead (or Upper Gilead) was given to the sub-tribe of Machir, (another section of the half-tribe of Manasseh); from the River Arnon up to Upper Gilead, including Lower Gilead was given to the Reubenites and the Gadites. This latter included the Arabah (the Jordan valley) between the sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) and the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea). The eastern border was the River Jabbok.
The great victories over Sihon and Og having been described, along with the giving of their land to the two and a half tribes of Israel, the charge is now given for the advancement on the land proper. It is given, first to the two and a half tribes in response to their reception of their land, and then to Joshua on behalf of all the people.
When Moses had agreed that the land west of the Jordan which had been taken from the Amorites should be given to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, it was on condition that their warriors of over twenty years of age would pass over Jordan with their fellow-Israelites to assist in settling the land (Numbers 32). He now charged them to be faithful to that promise.
18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel.
In return for Yahweh giving them the land west of Jordan, the ‘men of valor’ of the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh were to pass over Jordan ahead of their brothers the children if Israel. That is, they were to go forward ready for battle, along with the fighting men, ‘the men of valor’ of the remaining tribes.
19 But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, 20 until the LORD has given rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’
Meanwhile their women and youngsters, together with their cattle, would settle the land and take possession of it. Protection would be afforded by Yahweh watching over them, by those under twenty able to fight, and by the older men who would be considered too old for battle, but would still be able to fight and defend cities if called on. Once all the tribes had found rest in the land they would then be able to return to the land of their possession (Joshua 22.9). The dangers would not be too great. The Israelite neighbors Edom. Moab and Ammon had had plenty of opportunity to see the victorious nature of the Israelite army and would hesitate to bring their wrath down on themselves.
By this Moses emphasized to them the need for them all to work together if they were to achieve their object of peace and security in the land. It was also a statement of confidence that their aim would be achieved. It was not a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’. He was seeking to build up confidence and loyalty.
We learn from all this that if we are faithful to God all our enemies will finally be thwarted, and as a result we will enjoy great spiritual wealth. However great our enemies may seem none will finally be able to stand against God.
21 “And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 22 You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’
He then applied the lesson of the two kings of the Amorites, which he had previously applied to Joshua, to his hearers. They are to remember what God did with respect to those two kings and their armies. He had brought about their total defeat and extinction. So would Yahweh their God do to all against whom they had to fight in the land as they conducted their holy war. They need not fear them, because Yahweh would be fighting for them. For through them He was bringing his judgment on those nations.
But one of the things that grieved Moses most was the fact that through his own sin of impatience, carelessness, petulance and uncontrolled anger in smiting the rock at Meribah when he had been told only to speak the powerful word of Yahweh, and as a result cloaking Yahweh’s act of compassion and mercy in providing water in a garb of petulance and anger (Numbers 20.1-13), he was to be prevented from entering the land by death.
He and Aaron had come from the presence of Yahweh having successfully been promised His mercy. But instead of approaching the people with joy over God’s provision, and rejoicing over His mercy, he and Aaron had been possessed by a spirit of animosity and anger, at a time when Yahweh was seeking to reveal love and compassion. They had given the people the impression that he and Aaron were the ones who were in control, and who were dispensing the gift, and not Yahweh, and that Yahweh was reluctant to offer His mercy. They had besmirched the holiness of God. It was a sign that they had grown too big for their own positions. They had become too important in their own eyes. No longer was Moses meeker than any other man on earth (Numbers 12.3). No longer did he fully represent Yahweh before the people. And God had clearly recognized that this was a permanent defect which now rendered them unsuitable for the next stage in His great deliverance. They would need to be replaced by those who were more submissive, and more obedient. It proved that no one is indispensable.
Those who are appointed to the highest positions in His service should ever be aware that they have the greatest responsibility. They must never treat God’s work as though it were their own. And that is what Moses had done. Great privilege requires great responsibility. And Moses was now reaping the consequences of irresponsibility. He explains how he had sought to reverse God’s sentence, only to be told that it could not be.
23 “Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying: 24 ‘O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? 25 I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’
He explains how he had come to Yahweh to plead for mercy and a reversal of the sentence. ‘At that time’ may indicate the same time as he had given his charge to the two and a half tribes about their necessary cooperation in possessing the land.
Indeed, he had humbly approached Yahweh exulting in what God was doing, in the greatness that He was revealing, and the strong hand that He was laying bare, demonstrating His superiority and that there was none like Him. There was none on heaven or earth, no spiritual being of any kind, who could do what He could do, and reveal the power that He would reveal (Exodus 15.11). And he had declared his desire to be a part of it.
He had pleaded that he might be allowed to cross the Jordan and see the ‘good land’ for himself, the goodly hill country and that which was beyond.
26 “But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan.
But Yahweh had firmly refused. We are probably to see in this that by his action at Meribah Moses was seen as having identified himself with the people in rebellion against Yahweh to such an extent that he had therefore to suffer the same fate if Yahweh was to be just. Yahweh could not judge them and yet let Moses be spared. That would indicate favoritism. Thus Yahweh could not listen to his plea. As far as He was concerned the matter was settled. However He showed His compassion by being prepared to let him see for himself the land for which he had sacrificed so much. He was to go to the top of Pisgah from where he would see it stretching before him. Thus having had a foretaste of the deliverance in the defeat of Sihon and Og, and the taking over of their land, He was to be allowed to see the full land that was to be Israel’s.
Paradoxically Moses probably intended this refusal to allow him to enter the land, while allowing him to see it from afar, to be seen as a further guarantee that the land would be given to Israel as a possession. His alone being forbidden indicating that those who were not forbidden would enter it.
28 But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’
However, although he was not to be allowed to enter the land himself, he had still been given a great responsibility. He had been told to charge Joshua with his responsibility, encouraging and strengthening him for the task ahead. For he was the one who would now go over before the people in Moses’ place, and it was he who would cause them to inherit the land which Moses would see from the Pisgah.
29 “So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.
At this point then they remained for a time in the valley over against Beth-peor.
Thus Israel was in many ways given the firm assurance that the land of Canaan would soon be their possession. This had been confirmed by reference to:
• 1) Three related nations, Edom, Moab, and Ammon, who had already been given land by Yahweh for the sake of their forefathers and had possessed it by defeating Anakim (2.4-23).
• 2) The land that they now already possessed which had previously belonged to Amorites, the peoples who had previously driven Israel back and from whom they had to seize the land (2.24-3.17).
• 3) The rallying of the troops of the two and a half tribes who were to go over with the invaders, with the promise that they would return when the task was completed (3.18-20).
• 4) The command to Joshua and the people to go forward without fear because Yahweh fought with them (3.21-22).
• 5) Moses being granted the right to see the land from afar as an earnest of what was to come (3.23-27).
• 6) The fact that they had as their leader Joshua to whom the promise was given that he would possess the land (3.28-29). All the signs were good.
So, we end this chapter with Moses seeing with His own eyes the Promised Land. I want to point out one thing about how Great, Gracious, and Loving our Holy Creator Is. We read in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 17 we read, “17 Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
You see our Holy God here allows Moses into the Promised Land after all. Thank You Adoni Yahweh. We worship and adore You in spirit and truth.
