The Historical Prologue 2: Edom, Moab & Ammon
Deuteronomy 2: 1-37
The Great Covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Max A Forsythe
Introduction: There is an old Arab proverb that goes something like this: “the enemy of my friend is my enemy as well.” In that wisdom is the worldly basis for too much international diplomacy in all ages and places. While there have been many civilized attempts at foreign diplomacy over the centuries, not only are there many ways to say “I’m sorry” in Chinese, but also more than several understandings to the concept of: promises made not always being kept! We have to remember even as Augustine went to great pains to explore; there really are two cities on this earth – the City of God and the city of mankind. For every statesman who was and is familiar with the principles of the Bible, there were many more whose primary instincts are more in tune with Machiavelli’s treatise on politics: The Prince. In that worldly piece of selfish aggrandization, the only binding principle is the “fact” that “the end justifies the means.” In that wanton thinking, anything that serves the long-term purpose of an individual or political group is ethical. Socialists and all kinds of despots, Oriental and otherwise – have found this selfish principle to be most satisfactory. Princes of all kinds have thus enjoyed the unlimited power that political positions often convey to the holders. Rex Lex, “the king is law” is how Samuel Rutherford described the worldly kingdoms prime directive.
By comparison, Lex Rex is the biblical concept promoted throughout the Scriptures and by civilized governments in all times and places. “The Law is King” is the unpopular theme that would limit the activities of every George III, Richard Millhouse and Hillary who might believe themselves and their activities to be above the law! You really have to redefine ethics as well as certain active verbs to see the self-proclaimed “righteousness” popular in the worldly city.
Our resident Malaysian was once extremely agitated over the political scene during the nineties. And he wanted to write a letter describing the wickedness of a particular political party. Certainly, many of us would probably have agreed with his understanding. But, let me qualify the true political reality. Real politicians who have no core values or organized set of principles will join whatever party is most likely to have elective control in their city, county or state. This we have seen played out in the nation’s capital in the last few weeks. A party label is nothing more than a label of convenience for this type of humanity. As I understand it from several sources, a goodly portion of our representatives and senators maintain a dual membership in socialist organizations as well as in one of the national parties. In such a position, they are bound to prosper if they are ever able to reorganize the republic along socialist lines. They might want to call their wanton creation the U.S.S.A.
Second point, the ancient legal principle of an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, runs riot in our increasingly paganized legal system. The godly principles of England’s greatest jurist, Judge Blackstone are no longer being studied or remembered by legal professionals, l et alone, being applied in real courts of law! Once, there was a possibility of a close friend having to testify in an educational case. He asked someone in authority if he could lie like the proverbial dog, just as one of the major players in the case undoubtedly would! The other person said, “of course not!” He must have made a good point, because by casting doubt on the major player, and his refusal to support the anecdotal and statistical evidence, a settlement was quickly reached and he never had to take the appropriate oath to tell the truth in court.
Old Covenant Milieu: I say all of that to prepare you for the “constitutional” limits that our Sovereign Lord establishes in this prologue to The Great Covenant. These limits are well expressed in verses five and nine. We see in those verses that just as Israel has her promised allotment of land, so do the relative sons and nephews of Abraham have theirs. Mt Seir and the Land of Ar belong to the descendents of Esau and Lot respectively.
Thus, we may understand that the Lord God of Creation does indeed make provisions for every people under the sun and we may know that He will keep the provisions of every promise made to, even pagan peoples! We should note that by the time of Christ, not only these two kingdoms had passed away, but others in the area as well. However, remnants of Edom and Moab as well as Philistia and Samaria had migrated to Judea and many became one in spirit and passion with the true people of God. But, that is many years in the future from the passage before us. Certainly, there would be border problems with these two kingdoms in the future, but the Lord makes it clear through Moses that it will not be because of anything that Israel has or will do.
We should note the importance of verse fourteen in the context of God’s Almighty providence. The crossing of the Zered was on the occasion of the thirty-eighth anniversary since their rebellion against the Lord. Dr Craigie notes, “the language with which they are described is slightly sarcastic; they are called “the men of war”, which is just what they should have been, had they not failed to obey the command of the Lord.” Thus, “the crossing of the Zered here seems to mark a new beginning.”
A next theme that we must observe is the providential ordering of Israel’s itinerary. In verse one we see where the people wandered for many years. But, in the next verse, He calls them from that wandering and commands them to “turn northward.” From the prosperity that the Lord has given to them, the people are to pay their Edomite relatives for any resources that are consumed in their passage through their territory. Then in verse nine, the same terms are commanded in their passage through Moab. While there is evidence in the book of Numbers that the Edomites refused passage, my commentators suggest that food and water was made available along the border area when they passed by.
We understand from these passages that while there had been formidable residents in the land before the establishment of Edom and Moab, the Lord had allowed the lesser relatives of Israel to drive them out and occupy their towns, fields and strong points. Interestingly enough, Moses describes the former residents in terms similar to those mentioned by the spies who scouted into the Promised Land forty years before. No doubt, there is an element of irony here, if these less loved nations can handle the giants in the earth, neither should Israel be afraid.
Once the passage around and through “friendly” kingdoms is accomplished, Israel is given her marching orders in verse twenty-four: “Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Hesbon, and his land. Begin to possess it, and engage him in battle.” We should well note, that even this enemy of God, just like Pharaoh, was given a kindly offer similar to the offers made and allowed by Edom and Moab. However, there the similarities end. As the Lord makes known in verse twenty-five: “This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.”
Again, Dr Craigie notes the importance of the river crossing, “the crossing of the Arnon marked the beginning of Israel’s possessing of the land east of the Jordan.” While we in our time little note such crossings because of the marvels of modern bridge engineering, river crossings, especially in the face of real or potential enemies has always been a military problem. Classical authors still mark the crossing of Julius Caesar over the “Rubicon”, where Roman Counsels were supposed to leave their armies to prove they returned home in peace. Once peacefully across the Arnon, the military might of Israel may better be deployed. Now it really doesn’t matter if there wasn’t much in the way of water in the valley. The geographic lay of the land would still have presented a military barrier of no small significance.
Sihon, king of Heshbon mobilized his forces and confronted the God of Israel at a place called Jahaz, Armageddon we might style such a confrontation in our times. The results of that confrontation display the wrath of God against any and all who would oppose His divine and sovereign will. It is well that we can count ourselves, as citizens of the City of God; otherwise, like this all to human, kingdom of Amorites, we could just as easily be crushed. Certainly, many worldly people today decry the presumed wanton destruction of men, women and children in the conquest of Canaan. However, it must be remembered that like the Aztec Indians destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadors, these people were ripe for destruction. We know today that whole peoples can be corrupted by social diseases, which make them imperfect mates for the wholesome and healthy. Of course, we do not imitate the policy of the Israelites because the Lord Himself has already provided a fit punishment for those who refuse to consider the healthy implications of His commandment for sexual purity.
Exactly what national sins the Amorites were guilty of to deserve such a terrible destruction is not recorded here. However, we may observe that very many of the Canaanite tribes were absolutely wanton in the sacrifice of their own children to the terrible gods of the land. At the end of the chapter we see displayed for us – the fact that the neutrality of Ammon was observed and that the whole of Sihon’s kingdom was taken without any significant problem. “There was not a town that was too high for us,” Moses noted to impress upon the people God’s Divine prerogative.
Now, we are going to have to address this question sooner or later, and that is the question of what today would be called ethnic cleansing. Verse thirty-four is forthright in recording the destruction of all the Amorites at hand. This action is only the beginning of that which must take place if the people of Israel are to claim the totality of their inheritance. However difficult this scene is to comprehend in our day and age, we must carefully and prayerfully consider the implications of the holy war being waged. Last winter, the media and the art world were up in arms about the Muslim destruction of a Buddhist shrine. In a similar vein, I run across an art historian now and then who refuses to forgive the early Christians for the destruction of the idolic statutes of ancient Rome and Greece. What the worldly all fail to realize is the purification of the land that all parties in these examples feel or felt compelled to accomplish once the old pagan gods and goddesses were dethroned.
Commentator Vern Poythress shares several insights.
1. “The conquest is first of all God’s providential act to punish the Canaanites for their sins.”
2. “The earlier inhabitants of Canaan had sinned grievously and were polluting God’s Promised Land.”
3. “Holy war establishes justice and purity in the land of Palestine during the conquest.”
4. “The coming of God’s reign is simultaneously the coming of His justice and the enforcement of His standards over new people or new regions.”
Land after all is land anywhere you go in the world, but in some places the pollution of culture is far worse than any natural disaster that has taken its toll. Sadly, in many places where people have not understood the stewardship required by God, sustainable agriculture is no longer possible! In Palestine today, prosperity of sorts has returned with the Jewish reoccupation. The simple realization of property rights for individuals and peoples does indeed encourage the improvement of farms, fields and villages, so that an improved local environment may be handed down to the next generation.
One final note before going on, some human habitations are so poorly built and maintained that it is a positive public health issue when destruction takes place. All of these issues may well work together to more than justify the cleansing and purification of Palestine during the time of Joshua.
New Covenant Continuum: Certainly through history, there have been actions similar to those that took place during the occupation of the Promised Land in Joshua’s time. But, however much individual Christians may have wanted to proclaim a similar Holy War – this is no longer an option under the new administration of the Covenant under Christ. Unfortunately, overly zealous Christian individuals and organizations have adopted the concepts of the Holy War in many historic instances. The Reformational and Counter Reformational period was one where blood flowed all too freely. A great advance in Church history came at the end of the Cromwell period in English History, when the Catholic and Protestant warriors all came to the same conclusion – that it was unseemly for them to be killing each other in the Name of their common Lord and King Jesus Christ. Even as we must learn ever and anew, the economy of the New Covenant is different in nature and understanding from Israel’s Old Covenant conquest of the Promised Land. Unlike today’s Muslim invocation of such holy wars, Christians must attempt to realize the present spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God.
Vern Poythress describes the spiritual type of Holy War that continues through the Christian era even into our time, today. “The book of Revelation depicts a holy war of cosmic proportions in which Christians are involved. In this war they must maintain their confession and their purity in the face of every kind of opposition springing from Satan. Revelation even presents us with specific parallels between Christ’s holy war and the holy war in the Old Testament.” He goes on to give several examples of this:
1. “The seven trumpets of Revelation are reminiscent of the trumpets sounded for the fall of Jericho....”
2. “The effects of the seven trumpets and the seven bowls of Revelation are similar to the plagues on Egypt.”
3. “The conspiracy of kings in Revelation 17: 12 is reminiscent of the conspiracies in Joshua chapters 10-11.”
4. “The fall of Babylon is reminiscent of the fall of Jericho.”
So, in light of the comparison to Revelation – what are we to make of a continuing Holy War raging still in the world today between the two cities of man and God? Yes, the worldly crowned Humpty Dumpty may be leaning right or left on top of his fence, but it is not for us to bodily push him over the edge. For that same reason we may not turn humanistic aboratoriums and sodomite tearooms into bloody battlefields. No indeed, because we belong to Christ and are ruled by Him, we can no longer exercise a material version of a Church militant. In the coming of Christ, the whole battle for conquest became spiritualized.
The real reason, is that the purpose and the work of the Church today is to be a rescue mission, showing the love of God to sinners in order to snatch them out of the eternal fires of destruction. No more may the people of God bring a fire and brimstone approach to the conquest of geography and sinful personalities. Before you think that I have become a pacifist giving up any and all means of resistance to the world, let me state that I do not understand the New Covenant to limit self-defense or providing protection to the weak and innocent. I have served in the military and in public service I have used physical force to prevent students from being harmed by violent persons. In those few violent encounters, I did exercise more physical restraint than I might have wanted. To use a modern phrase, extreme prejudice in putting someone down was neither necessary nor warranted! And in many of those cases – I was able to literally pick the aggressors up both emotionally and physically where no personality grudges were evident.
Contemporary Application: Of course, in my scholarly meanderings on this subject today, I have drifted from the time of Moses to that of Christ and even into the present Church Age. Remember, there is and always has been a Kingdom of the Spirit to which God’s people have been called to live, love and witness. So you may ask for a simple compilation of the lessons and expectations that may be drawn from both Testamental periods.
1. We must observe that even in Moses’ time, the Lord places “constitutional” restraints on what manner of warfare the people of God might engage in. He shows us that he has given, even to pagan nations that honor not His Name, have property rights and should be left in peace to enjoy them.
2. Certain national bodies and their populations may choose to wage war against the God of heaven by attacking His people or even denying His people reasonable requests to pursue their service under the Lordship of Christ.
3. There is in fact a continuing spiritual war between the City of God and the cities of mankind. While there have been casualties on both sides down through the centuries, the citizens of the Kingdom of the Spirit are encouraged to wage spiritual warfare carefully and in consideration that the Sovereign Lord may turn our enemies into His own friends. The conversion of Jane Fonda in the last year or two has taught me a difficult lesson. To re-paraphrase that old Arabic proverb that I started with, “Those who my God counts as friend, must be my friend as well”
4. Further, the Great Commission encourages us to treat all enemies as potential friends of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even at some considerable personal risk – we are to show and demonstrate the love of God to all whom providence brings our way.
5. Finally, we are week by week to declare our citizenship in heaven as we step away from our worldly cares and concerns to worship the Sovereign Lord revealed in His Son Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.
To that end, we have gathered today as contemporary heirs of the New Covenant of Grace. And here in this fellowship we must learn to live within the “constitutional” constraints revealed to the citizens of heaven in that Great Covenant given through Moses to the people of God in every age, until Christ shall come again. Come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.
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