The Defeat of Arad
“When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked Israel and captured some prisoners. So Israel made a vow to the LORD: “If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction.” (The Hebrew term refers to giving over things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.) And the LORD heard Israel’s plea and delivered up the Canaanites. Israel devoted them and their cities to destruction; so they named the place Hormah (Destruction.)
The Bronze Serpent
Then they set out from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, in order to bypass the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient on the journey and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
So the LORD sent venomous snakes among the people, and many of the Israelites were bitten and died.
Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD to take the snakes away from us.” So Moses interceded for the people.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will live.” So Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. If anyone who was bitten looked at the bronze snake, he would live.
The Journey to Moab
Then the Israelites set out and camped at Oboth. They journeyed from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim in the wilderness opposite Moab to the east. From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. From there they moved on and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends into the Amorite territory.
Now the Arnon is the border between the Moabites and the Amorites. 14Therefore it is stated in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “Waheb in Suphah and the wadis of the Arnon, seven the slopes of the wadis that extend to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.”
From there they went on to Beer, the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people so that I may give them water.” Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well, all of you sing to it! The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.”
From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah, and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.
The Defeat of Sihon (Deuteronomy 2:24-37) Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, “Let us pass through your land. We will not cut through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.”
But Sihon would not let Israel pass through his territory. Instead, he gathered his whole army and went out to confront Israel in the wilderness. When he came to Jahaz, he fought against Israel. And Israel put him to the sword and took possession of his land, from the Arnon to the Jabbok—but only up to the border of the Ammonites, because it was fortified.
Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including Heshbon and all its villages. Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land as far as the Arnon. That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt;
let the city of Sihon be restored. For a fire went out from Heshbon, a blaze from the city of Sihon. It consumed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon’s heights. Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites. But we have overthrown them; Heshbon is destroyed as far as Dibon. We demolished them as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”
The Defeat of Og (Deuteronomy 3:1-11)
So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, Israel captured its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan marched out against them with his whole army to do battle at Edrei. But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hands, with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”
So they struck down Og, along with his sons and his whole army, until no remnant was left. And they took possession of his land.”
One slogan much beloved by citizens of Texas is “Don’t mess with Texas!” In this case, the slogan should read “Don’t mess with God’s people!” The Canaanites in the Negev try and their cities are destroyed. Such a victory should encourage the Israelites to trust God, right? Um, no. Ignoring this latest miracle, the Israelites are griping again. “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!” YIPES! What a bunch of whiners! Notice the Israelites aren’t going hungry; they are just bored with manna. Moses has recently forfeited his chance to enter the Promised Land while God has miraculously supplied water gushing out of a rock, but hey! That was yesterday. Moses, what are you going to do today?
This time God deals with the gripers by sending venomous snakes in that bite them so they die. How do these snakes know which people to bite? Perhaps these snakes respond to the evil in people’s hearts. Those people who are not complaining are safe while those who are complaining put themselves at risk for death by snakebite. After watching friends and neighbors die, the elders come to Moses, “Um, maybe we have made a small mistake. Ask God to take the snakes away.” When Moses asks God for advice, God orders Moses to create a bronze serpent and mount it on a tall pole so that anyone bitten by a snake can look at the image of the serpent. God’s healing power will then flow to that person and they will live. Notice that God does not immediately remove the snakes.
The Israelites continue to journey to a place called Beer, or well. This time, all the Israelites sing to the water and God causes it to spring up. Perhaps the elders tap into an underground river or aquifer with their staffs. At any rate, the Israelites have water again. The chapter concludes with the Israelites defeating the Amorites and the citizens of Bashan under King Og. Og is one of the giants, a fact that is mentioned elsewhere because his huge bedstead is kept as a reminder. (Deuteronomy 3:11 “Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites. His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.”)
APPLICATION: Proverbs 15:15 tells us, “All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Now we see why God has allowed Moses to spend forty years herding sheep; the Israelites are every bit as willfully stupid as any sheep can possibly be! Why send venomous serpents to bite the ungrateful? Ingratitude is as deadly as the venom from any snake ever known. Ungrateful people always stir up problems with others, spreading their unhappiness. Nothing good can come from complaining.
Why has God ordered Moses to create a bronze serpent on a pole? Sadly, this serpent will receive the name “Nehushtan” and will become an idol for many Israelites. But God has a greater purpose. This serpent is a hint of what will happen to Jesus Christ. The story is found in John 3. Nicodemus, a Jewish religious ruler and a sincere seeker after God, visits Jesus at night to avoid criticism by his fellow religious leaders. Jesus tells Nicodemus, “ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:14-17)
During the attack of venomous snakes, those who were bitten and who looked at the image of the snake on the pole were healed. Those who thought they could cope on their own died. Nothing has changed. None of us can do sufficient good deeds to earn our way into heaven. Only Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross at Calvary can save us from our sins. We have two choices: Look at Jesus and live or turn our heads away and die in our sins. The choice is yours; choose wisely!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to look to Jesus for salvation and healing. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus we pray with thanksgiving. Amen.
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