And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to Sihon the king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city, men, women and little ones.
Moses looks back at how Israel dealt with the cities of Og, king of Bashan, just as it had dealt with Sihon. The verse raises hard questions: what does "devoted to destruction" mean, and why did God command the killing of women and children?
The phrase translates a specific Hebrew term with a legal history behind it. One writer traces it back to the law of vows, where a thing given over to God in this way could never be bought back:
Here we learn what could be set apart for God in this way. There were two ways to vow living things to Him. A person could consecrate them to Him in life, or, under certain conditions, devote them to Him for ever. This second kind of vow is called cherem. Men, animals and fields could be devoted in this way, and no one could buy them back. For people, such a vow was probably meant only for the enemies of God and of Israel. Their death was the only possible way to fulfil it. The Canaanites are an example of this, as well as the Amorites under Sihon and Og, east of the Jordan.
Commentators place this act under God's government of the world, not His grace. They do not soften what it involved.
The divine instructions about Og king of Bashan matched those given in the previous chapter about Sihon the Amorite. To understand both, we must look at them in the light of the government of God. We must be careful to distinguish between grace and government. When we look at God in government, we see Him displaying His power in righteousness. He punishes evildoers and pours out vengeance on His enemies. He overthrows empires, upturns thrones, destroys cities, and sweeps away nations, tribes and peoples. We find Him commanding His people to kill men, women and little children with the edge of the sword.
Two things stand behind the command: the land these nations held, and the evil they practised.
The races of Canaan occupied the land that the Lord intended for Israel. Nor was that all. They were notoriously vile, most of all the cities of the plain, whose wickedness was not to be named... But the cup of the Amorites became full. The land had become so unclean that the Lord had to visit its iniquity. Then He was pleased to make Israel the executioner of His vengeance. What could be more righteous in itself? What wiser for His people, the destined heirs of it? All unnatural evils as well as idolatries had become their "customs," and Israel had to be kept from them. It was no question of cruelty. Israel was at fault for not wiping them out as completely as the Lord commanded. The ones Israel spared went on to trap and corrupt the chosen people into the same shameful evil.
The killing of children is the hardest part. One writer answers it with questions of his own.
Now the question is: are we competent to understand these ways of God in government? Is it any part of our business to sit in judgment on them? Are we able to unravel the deep and awful mysteries of divine providence? Can we — are we even called to — account for the tremendous fact of helpless babies being caught up in the judgment of their guilty parents? Unbelief may sneer at these things. Unhealthy sentiment may stumble over them. But the true believer, the pious Christian, the reverent student of Holy Scripture will meet them all with one simple, safe and solid question: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
Moses is not just reporting history. The shape of chapters 1 to 3 carries a lesson.
Deuteronomy 1 lets us see the end of disobedience. Deuteronomy 2 and 3 show us just as clearly the result of obedience. Nothing could be plainer than the moral groundwork Moses is laying for the rest of the book.
The thoroughness of the defeat was itself the encouragement. Israel had once refused the land because of its giants; Og was a giant, and he fell.
Moses gave these addresses only after two special enemies had been killed: Sihon and Og. The victory over these two enemies held the prediction of further victory in the land. Israel had been afraid of entering the land before because of such enemies — Og was a giant. Now God had given them an object lesson in experience that should encourage them.
- Devoted. "Devoted to destruction" translates cherem. It means a thing handed over to God for good, which no one can buy back.
- Government. This command belongs to God's government of the earth, not His grace. In government He punishes evildoers and overturns nations.
- Ripened. The judgment fell only when the sin of these nations was full. Israel carried out a sentence God had passed. This was not a land grab.
- Limits. Commentators answer objections to the killing of women and children with a question, not an explanation. Will the Judge of all the earth not do right?
- Pledge. Chapters 2 and 3 show the result of obedience. The fall of a giant king proved to Israel that the land ahead could be taken.
But all the cattle and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.
Moses is retelling Israel's war with Og king of Bashan. Every city fell and no one in them survived, yet Israel kept the animals and goods — why the sharp line, and what does a believer learn from it?
The law had a name for what happened to Og's cities. It explains why no life there could be bought back.
A vow that gave something over to God for ever is here called cherem (Lev. 27:28-29). People, animals and fields could be devoted in this way, and nothing devoted like this could be bought back. As for people, this vow was probably meant only for the enemies of God and of Israel, since their death was the only way to fulfil it. The Canaanites are an example of this, and so are the Amorites under Sihon and Og, east of the Jordan. To devote anything to God was a solemn act that could never be undone.
Many readers find the orders about Og hard to accept. One writer says they belong to a side of God's dealings that is often missed.
God's instructions about Og king of Bashan were exactly like those given in the previous chapter about Sihon the Amorite. To understand both, we must look at them only in the light of the government of God. That subject is little understood, though it is of very deep interest and practical importance. We must clearly distinguish between grace and government. When we look at God in government, we see Him showing His power in the way of righteousness, punishing evildoers.
Israel could not help itself to land or goods wherever it pleased.
From the very first the Lord was teaching them that they were not sent out on a mission of conquest without limits. It was not in His mind to offer men His law or the sword. They could take possession of no lands whatever of their own will. The Lord gave them no such licence as the right to slay, burn, or plunder others as they liked. It was simply a question of subjection to God and obeying Him.
One writer reads the spoil as a picture of what the believer gains in his own battles.
The victory is not just a beating back of the enemy. It is an actual gaining of fresh supplies. Faith always gathers fresh riches from every conflict. The spoil of the enemy does not rightly belong to them, but to those who overcome them. This spoil, again, may well remind us of those fresh views of Christ which we gain from the very conflict in which we have engaged for Him.
That land later became home for Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh. Notice what Moses leaves out when he retells the story.
In this passage Moses says nothing about whether the two and a half tribes were wrong to stop short of the land of promise. His aim is to set before the whole congregation the great goodness, loving-kindness and faithfulness of God. God had brought them through all the difficulties and dangers of the wilderness. He had also already given them such striking victories over the Amorites, and put them in possession of regions so attractive and so suited to them.
after_note: DELETE nothing In all this he is laying down the solid basis of the Lord's claim on their hearty obedience to His commandments.
The cattle gathered in these victories had an effect no one expected.
Two tribes, Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh asked Moses to let them settle on the conquered lands east of the Jordan. They did not want their portion in the land that was truly God's promise. What moved them to want this was the large number of cattle they had gained. The good things that God had granted took away their desire for Canaan.
- Devoted. Og's people fell under a vow that allowed no ransom. The animals and goods stood outside that vow, so Israel kept them.
- Governed. God was governing here, punishing evildoers. This was no army helping itself.
- Granted. Israel could seize no land at will and had no licence to plunder. What it gained here was given, not grabbed.
- Gained. Spoil belongs to the one who overcomes. Every battle fought for Christ gives the believer fresh views of Him.
- Guarded. The gift can replace the Giver. This same abundance of cattle later took away two and a half tribes' desire for Canaan.