Archives

Deuteronomy 3:1-11

Og came out to meet Israel.  Bashan was associated with the Rephaim.  The Old Testament as well as tablets of Ugarit tell us this.  This area is east of the sea of Galilee and bordered on the North by Mt Hermon.  We know this area as the Golan Heights.  Og was the last of the giants among his people.  His bed was 13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide.

God told Moses that He delivered Og and all his people into the hands of Isarel.  They were not to fear.  The battle was won before it was fought because the battle was the Lords.  Og was defeated in the same manner as Sihon.  The cities of Bashan were devoted to the Lord for destruction.  No survivors were to remain.  All the men, women and children were killed while the livestock and spoil of the cities was taken.

Why did God devote them to destruction?  In Genesis 15:16, God promises the land to Israel when the sin of the Amorites is complete.  God would judge the Amorites and detestable practices.  Some believe this judgment may also have been due to their polluted genetics associated with Genesis, when the sons of god came and took the daughters of men.  The giants were their offspring (Genesis 6).  They were also around after the flood (Gen 6:4).

Deuteronomy 3:12-22

These lands conquered north of Moab along the Transjordan are the lands given to Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh.  Specifically noted was Jair, the son of Manasseh, who was given a specific region.  Gilead was given to Machir.

These lands were given to the tribes, but they still had to cross the Jordan and take part in conquering the remainder of the land.  Then, when that was complete, they could return.  Their families and flocks would stand in the inherited land during that time.

We see the familiar theme of faith instead of fear.  We repeatedly see the command to not fear.  In this case it is reinforced with the knowledge that God Himself fights for them.

Deuteronomy 3:23-29

As part of the historical recap, Moses recounts his punishment from God due to his disobedience at Meribah (Numbers 20:1-13).  Moses pleaded with God to enter the land.  Imagine his disappointment.  The last forty years of his life was committed to bring the people into the land, then he couldn’t go himself.

Note: Moses was a kind of representative of the law.  The promise of God is delivered by grace, never by the law.  Joshua (Jehovah is salvation) would deliver them into the land.  He appears to be a type of Christ, the greater Yeshua to come and bring salvation.

Moses frames the Lord’s anger as being toward him on account of the people.  The root cause of a Moses failure was the people’s rebellion.  However, we see the individual is accountable to God for obedience without excuse. 

Moses was told to go to the top of Pisgah to see the land.

Though Pisgah is about four hundred feet lower than Nebo in elevation, it is farther north and west and affords a better view of the Jordan Valley and the land opposite. At this point the Mediterranean is about sixty miles west, but it cannot be seen because the hills on the west side of the Jordan obscure the view. On a clear day one can see Mount Hermon, about a hundred miles to the north, the mountains to the northwest that flank the Jezreel Valley (Tabor and Gilboa), the mountains of the central hill country (Ebal and Gerizim) and to the southwest as far as Engedi. 

Matthews, V. H., Chavalas, M. W., & Walton, J. H. (2000).

The IVP Bible background commentary: Old Testament (electronic ed., Dt 3:27

Moses was command, encourage and strengthen Joshua.  It was by the hand of Joshua that Israel would receive their inheritance. 

©2007, 2023 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater