Deuteronomy · chapter 2 of 34
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Deuteronomy 2 tells how Israel, after years in the wilderness, is told to move on and not to attack Edom, Moab or Ammon, peoples to whom the Lord gave their own lands. Thirty-eight years pass until the generation of warriors dies out. Then the Lord delivers King Sihon of Heshbon into Israel's hands.
Moses continues to remind the new generation of the road traveled since Kadesh-barnea. After the rebellion of chapter 1, the people wander in the wilderness until the unbelieving generation is gone. Chapter 2 shows that God directs the history of all nations: he not only promises a land to Israel but also gave territories to Edom, Moab and Ammon, and Israel was to respect them.
Moses recalls that, at the Lord's command, Israel turned toward the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea and circled Mount Seir for many days. Then the Lord told them they had circled that mountain long enough and should head north.
Israel was to pass through the territory of the sons of Esau, who lived in Seir, without provoking them and without taking even a foot of their land, because the Lord had given it to Esau as a possession. They were to buy food and water from them with money. Moses recalls that in all those forty years the Lord had blessed them and they had lacked nothing. The same rule applied to Moab and then to Ammon, descendants of Lot, to whom the Lord had also given their land.
Moses reports that thirty-eight years passed from Kadesh-barnea until they crossed the brook Zered, until the whole generation of warriors had died, as the Lord had sworn. When they were gone, the Lord told Israel to cross the Arnon and begin taking the land. Moses sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon, king of Heshbon, with words of peace, asking only to pass along the road, but the king refused. The Lord had hardened his spirit in order to give him to Israel. At Jahaz he was defeated and Israel took his cities, but did not approach the land of the Ammonites, just as the Lord had commanded.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Lord forbids Israel to make war on the descendants of Esau, because he himself gave them Mount Seir. God is not only the owner of the land promised to Israel; he also assigns territories to other peoples.
Moses recalls that the Lord blessed Israel in all the work of their hands and watched over them for forty years of wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. The discipline of the desert came with constant provision.
From Kadesh-barnea to crossing the Zered took thirty-eight years, until the whole generation of warriors had died. The text shows that the Lord's oath was fulfilled exactly, and that his patience has its season.
King Sihon refused to let Israel pass because the Lord hardened his spirit in order to deliver him. The text joins the king's responsibility, who chose not to yield, with God's sovereign purpose in the conquest.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Mount Seir. — Deuteronomy 2:1
Answer: Because the Lord had given Mount Seir to them as a possession and would not give Israel even a foot of their land. — Deuteronomy 2:5
Answer: That the Lord had blessed them in all the work of their hands and they had lacked nothing. — Deuteronomy 2:7
Answer: Thirty-eight years, until the whole generation of warriors had died. — Deuteronomy 2:14
Answer: Words of peace: to pass along the road only, without turning aside, buying food and water. — Deuteronomy 2:26-28
Answer: They took them and utterly destroyed them, but kept the livestock and spoil for themselves. — Deuteronomy 2:34-35
Deuteronomy 2 teaches that the God of Israel governs all of history and that his promises are not fulfilled by trampling others. Israel was to respect the territories of peoples who were not their own. For a small group it is a good moment to ask whether we deal justly and with restraint toward those outside our community.
The chapter also reminds us that years of waiting are not wasted years: for forty years they lacked nothing. When we feel God is having us circle the same mountain for a long time, this text invites us to look at his daily provision and to wait for the hour to move ahead in obedience.
Deuteronomy 2 ends with Sihon defeated and Israel holding the land east of the Jordan, north of the Arnon. It is only the beginning of the victories: in chapter 3 the account continues with another king, Og of Bashan, and with Moses' plea to enter the land.
The text says the Lord hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate in order to deliver him into Israel's hand. The Bible joins here the king's real decision with God's purpose, without presenting him as a mere puppet. Readers have seen in this God's sovereignty working through free human choices.
The Edomites descended from Esau, Jacob's brother; the Moabites and Ammonites descended from Lot, Abraham's nephew. They were distant relatives of Israel, which is why the Lord commanded Israel not to attack them or take their lands.
The text speaks of the ban, a dedication to God's judgment applied to certain peoples of Canaan and its surroundings during the conquest. Christian readers usually understand it as a historical judgment, limited to its time, and not as a pattern of conduct for today.