Deuteronomy · chapter 3 of 34
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Deuteronomy 3 relates the defeat of Og, king of Bashan, at Edrei and the assignment of the lands east of the Jordan to Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. Then Moses begs the Lord to let him cross the Jordan, but is told no: he may only see the land from Mount Pisgah, and Joshua will lead the people.
Moses continues to review Israel's recent history. After the victory over Sihon (chapter 2), the people face a second Amorite king to the north. The chapter closes the look backward with a very personal moment: the prayer of Moses, who longed to enter the land and must accept God's answer. It prepares the handing over of leadership to Joshua.
Israel turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan came out against them with all his people, at Edrei. The Lord told Moses not to fear, for he had given Og into his hand, and so it happened: no one was left alive. Israel took sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, fortified with high walls, gates and bars, besides many unwalled villages, and destroyed them as they had done to Sihon. Moses adds a detail: Og was one of the last of the Rephaim, and his bed of iron was nine cubits long and four wide, kept in Rabbah of the Ammonites.
Then Moses tells how that land was divided. To Reuben and Gad he gave the territory from Aroer, by the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities; to half the tribe of Manasseh, the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan. Jair of Manasseh took the region of Argob and named the villages after himself. To Machir he gave Gilead. The warriors of those tribes were to cross the Jordan armed ahead of their brothers until the Lord gave them rest, while their wives, children and livestock stayed in the cities.
Moses reminded Joshua of what he had seen and told him not to fear, because the Lord would fight for Israel. Then he pleaded with the Lord to let him cross and see the good land beyond. The Lord was angry with him because of the people and said that was enough, he should not speak of it again. He told him to go up to the top of Pisgah, look in all four directions, and charge and strengthen Joshua, who would go ahead of the people. Israel stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Before the battle against Og, the Lord tells Moses not to fear, because he has already delivered him. The victory is presented as God's work, just like that over Sihon, and Israel is asked for trust, not only strength.
Moses tells Joshua not to fear, because the Lord himself will fight for Israel. The command sums up a lesson of the book: taking the land does not depend on weapons but on God being with his people.
Moses praises the greatness of the Lord, whose works no god in heaven or on earth can match, and begs to see the good land beyond the Jordan. It is the honest prayer of someone who gave everything for that moment.
The Lord answers that it is enough, he should say no more about it, and lets him only look from Pisgah. God says no to the prayer of his most faithful servant but gives him a view: the answer is more than a refusal.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: At Edrei. — Deuteronomy 3:1
Answer: Sixty fortified cities, besides many unwalled villages. — Deuteronomy 3:4-5
Answer: It was iron, nine cubits long and four wide, and was in Rabbah of the Ammonites. — Deuteronomy 3:11
Answer: Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. — Deuteronomy 3:12-13
Answer: Cross the Jordan armed ahead of their brothers until the Lord gave them rest. — Deuteronomy 3:18-20
Answer: He asked to cross and see the good land; the Lord said it was enough and let him only view it from the top of Pisgah. — Deuteronomy 3:25-27
Moses received one of the hardest answers to prayer: a no. Deuteronomy 3 teaches that God may deny something good to a faithful servant and still give comfort, a view and the task of preparing the next generation. In a small group we can talk about how we receive God's noes without bitterness.
The chapter also shows the solidarity of the eastern tribes with the western ones: they already had their land, yet crossed over to help their brothers. Today we can ask whether we help others reach the rest we have already received, and whom we are encouraging and strengthening, as Moses did with Joshua.
Deuteronomy 3 closes the historical part of Moses' first speech, with Israel camped opposite Beth-peor. In chapter 4 Moses moves from recalling the past to exhorting: he calls Israel to listen to and keep the laws he is about to teach.
In this chapter, Moses attributes it to the Lord's anger with him on account of the people. Numbers 20 tells of the episode at Meribah, where Moses and Aaron did not honor the Lord before the congregation. The book teaches that even the greatest leaders stand under God's holiness.
Og was an Amorite king of Bashan, north of the Arnon. The text calls him the last of the Rephaim, a people of notable stature who are also named as earlier inhabitants of the region. His iron bed is mentioned as a sign of his size and of the greatness of the victory.
Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh received their land first, but they belonged to one people. Moses requires them to cross armed and fight beside their brothers until all had rest. It is a model of unity: one part of the people cannot ignore the rest.