Deuteronomy 2:24 - Meaning and Application

God had tested his people’s self-denial by forbidding them to bother the Moabites and Ammonites. They quietly passed by those rich lands, and though they were stronger in number, they did not attack. Now God rewards their obedience by giving them the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites. If we hold back from what God forbids, we will receive what he promises, and in the end obedience will never leave us poorer, even if it seems that way for a time. Do no wrong to others, and God will set things right for you.

I. God gives them the order to take the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon (Deuteronomy 2:24, 25). This was then one way God directed the rise and fall of kingdoms, but people should not expect or claim such special grants now. In this command, notice two things. Though God promised the land would be theirs, they still had to go forward and fight the enemy. What God gives us, we must still work to obtain. God also promised that when they fought, he would fight for them. They were to begin taking possession, and he would begin to spread fear of them among the nations. God would weaken the enemy and so destroy them, while also making Israel great and so frightening those who opposed them. See (Exodus 15:14).

II. Moses sends Sihon a peaceful message and asks only for safe passage through his land, promising to leave his country unharmed and even to bring trade and payment from such a large group passing through (Deuteronomy 2:26-29). In doing this, Moses did not disobey God, who had told him to contend with Sihon, and he did not deceive Sihon either. Most likely he acted under God’s direction, so that Sihon would be left without excuse, even though God had hardened his heart. This helps us understand how God deals with people who hear the gospel, but are not given the grace to believe it.

III. Sihon started the war himself (Deuteronomy 2:32), because God had made him stubborn and had hidden from him the thing that would have brought him peace (Deuteronomy 2:30), in order to hand him over to Israel. Those who trouble God’s people only bring harm on themselves, and God sometimes destroys his enemies through their own choices. See (Micah 4:11-13; Revelation 16:14).

IV. Israel won the victory. First, they put all the Amorites to the sword, men, women, and children (Deuteronomy 2:33, 34). They did this as the agents of God’s judgment, because the Amorites’ sin was now full (Genesis 15:16), and the longer judgment is delayed, the heavier it falls at last. This was one of the nations devoted to destruction. They died not merely as Israel’s enemies, but as offerings to God’s justice, with Israel acting as a nation of priests. Since this was an unusual case, it should not be used to justify ordinary military killings that make no distinction and give no mercy. Those who show no mercy will face judgment without mercy.

Second, Israel took possession of everything the Amorites had, their cities (Deuteronomy 2:34), their goods (Deuteronomy 2:35), and their land (Deuteronomy 2:36). The wealth of sinners is stored up for the righteous. What a new world Israel entered then. Most of them had been born and had lived their whole lives in a vast, lonely wilderness, where they had never seen fields or cities, had no homes, and neither planted nor harvested. Then suddenly they became owners of a well-built and well-tended country. This made up for their long waiting, though it was only a small foretaste of much more to come. The change will be even more joyful when holy people leave the wilderness of this world for the better country, the heavenly one, the city with foundations.