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Two things stand out in this structure:--
(1)
That God had given Israel the land to possess, which He had sworn to Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob (1: 8 and 3: 18).
(2)
That the people failed to enter in because of unbelief, Joshua and Caleb being the
exceptions.
Allied with these facts we have the intimidating presence of the giants, the sons of
Anak, the unbelief that suggested the sending of the spies, and the failure even of Moses
in the matter of sanctifying the Lord in his high and responsible office. We have dealt
with the unbelief that prompted the sending of the spies of Volume XXII, pp. 202-208,
and in articles dealing with the Hope and the Prize and the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Under other headings we have sought to explain the teaching of Scripture dealing with
the failure of Israel to enter into the land of promise, and the typical teaching of that
failure in so far as it bears upon the ways of God in all dispensations. We would refer the
reader to these articles, and also to I Cor. 9: 24 - 10: 13.
Our subject at the moment is the presence of the Canaanites and other enemies that
barred the way, when Israel were ready to go up and possess the land. A pronounced
difference is made between the attitude that Israel were to adopt toward Esau, Moab and
Ammon, and their attitude toward Sihon and Og:--
"Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a
foot-breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession" (Deut. 2: 5).
"Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give
thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a
possession" (2: 9).
"And when thou comest over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor
meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any
possession: because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession" (2: 19).
In contrast with these prohibitions, we read concerning Sihon & Og and their lands:--
"Behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his
land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle" (2: 24).
"Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og, King of Bashan came out
against us . . . . . thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon King of the Amorites"
(3: 1, 2).
The destruction of Sihon and Og was an utter destruction: "Men, women and children
of every city were destroyed; none were left" (2: 33, 34; 3: 3-6).
The lesson underlying this differentiation is as fundamental to the Church as it was to
Israel. Let us seek to understand it.
First, let us observe one difference between these two classes. Esau was the brother of
Jacob; Ammon and Moab were both the sons of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. Sihon, on
the other hand, was an Amorite (2: 24), and Og one of the remnant of the "Rephaim";
the former was a Canaanite (Gen. 10: 16), the latter one of the evil seed whose origin is