Numbers 21:1 - Meaning and Application

Here we see four things about this event.

First, Arad the Canaanite attacked Israel’s camp after hearing that they were coming by the way of the spies. Though the spies Moses had sent thirty-eight years earlier had passed through unnoticed, it is likely that their visit was later learned by the Canaanites. That news would have warned them and led them to watch Israel closely. When Arad saw that Israel was turning toward Canaan, he decided to keep the war far from his own land by striking first.

But this move brought trouble on his own people. If he had stayed quiet, his people might have been the last of all the Canaanites to be destroyed. Instead, they were the first. Those who become more and more wicked often die before their time (Ecclesiastes 7:17).

Second, Arad had some early success. His advance guard captured some Israelites who had strayed from the group and took them prisoner (Numbers 21:1). This likely made him proud, and he may have thought he could crush the whole nation and save his country from the danger it feared. At the same time, this was a test for Israel’s faith and a check on their distrust and complaints.

Third, Israel responded to this danger by turning humbly to God (Numbers 21:2). This could have tempted them to grumble like their fathers and give up hope of ever taking Canaan. But God, who tested them through his providence, also gave them grace to respond well. Through their leaders, they prayed for victory and made a vow. When we ask God for mercy, we should also bind ourselves to do our duty to him, especially to honor him with the mercy we are seeking. Israel promised to destroy these Canaanite cities, since they were devoted to God, and not to take their goods for themselves. If God gave them victory, he would get all the praise, and they would not use the victory for selfish gain. When our hearts are in that condition, we are ready to receive mercy.

Fourth, Israel won the victory over the Canaanites (Numbers 21:3). A strong force, likely led by Joshua, drove them back and pursued them even to their cities, which probably stood near the edge of the wilderness. They utterly destroyed them and returned to the camp. We may lose a battle, but in the end we triumph. What is true of God’s people as a whole is true of every one of them, a small force may defeat them for a time, but they will overcome in the end.

The place was named Hormah to remember that destruction, to warn the Canaanites, and likely to warn later generations not to try to rebuild those cities. They had been destroyed as things devoted to God and as acts of divine justice. The story of Jericho shows that the law about such cities was that they were never to be rebuilt. This name seems to be echoed in the prophecy about the fall of New Testament Babylon (Revelation 16:16), where its armies are gathered to a place called Armageddon, which means the destruction of a troop.