And the Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelt in the south, heard that Israel came by the way of Atharim, and he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.
Israel is nearing Canaan when the king of Arad hears they are coming, attacks first, and wins the opening round. Why does the people God promised this land lose the first fight for it, and what turns that loss around?
Up to this point Israel has been travelling, not fighting for Canaan. One writer marks this verse as the hinge, and notes that the attack was not Israel's choice:
At this point the long war to conquer the land of Canaan began. Moses had avoided fighting with Edom, since God had put off judging that people to a later day. King Arad in the south of Canaan made the first move. He attacked Israel and had some small success at first. But in the end he brought complete destruction on himself and his people.
Some say this account does not belong here. One commentator answers them from Scripture, and also corrects the opening word. The "when" at the start is not in the Hebrew:
Numbers 21 appears to begin a new section. Dr. Perowne says that King Arad's attack on the Israelites is "clearly out of place." But compare Numbers 33:40, and you can be sure it stands in its true place. Only the supplied "when" of the Authorised Version is a mistake; it is not written there. But now the Canaanite made a stand, until Israel vowed to Jehovah to deal with that accursed people as He decided.
The Canaanite treats Israel as Edom did. One writer traces the defeat to Israel's own method. They sent scouts ahead instead of depending on God:
Whether it be Edom or the Canaanite, Israel meets with the same treatment. The called of God and the world have always been opposed, and will continue so until Christ reigns in power... God will surely give the land and put down all enemies; but it must be in God's own time. Any departure from His way brings loss, not victory. How had they departed, so that the enemy struck them and took some prisoners, as in this case? As before, when God first brought them to the land, they put human foresight in the place of dependence on God. They had sent out spies... Not going in faith, Israel has no advantage against Arad, and suffers a repulse.
The captives are the last word of verse 1, but not the last word of the story. The setback stirred the people to act, and it ended with a new name for the place:
This seems to have stirred the people to strike back. They vowed to the Lord that if He would support their attack, they would completely destroy the cities of these Canaanites. The Lord fully opened the way for them and they destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. The place got the name Hormah, meaning "destruction."
Their vow began with an "if." One writer weighs what that word shows:
It is a sharp lesson, but it brings them to their right position. They cry to Jehovah, "If you will indeed give this people into my hand." To say "if," after God had so often said He would drive out the Canaanite before them, is not faith... Jehovah listened to their voice.
This battlefield has a history, and the enemy on it stands for something we still face:
It seems the generation before had been beaten on this same ground, and by these same people... So Israel's victory now was not only a sign of recovery from their former state. It was a pledge that they would conquer the land as well. These Canaanites stand for those "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). They now seek to keep us from possessing in faith what is ours in heaven. As the "cosmic powers over this present darkness," they use the world and its things to rob the soul of heavenly light.
Victory and defeat both carry a lesson. One writer weighs the two against each other:
This is a common case. Watch a time of victory, in case danger follows close behind. A time of defeat, on the other hand, again and again prepares one for fresh and greater blessing from God — so rich is His grace. He knows how to lift up the fallen. But He makes those who take their victory too lightly feel their total weakness and their constant need of Himself.
- Attacked. Arad struck first. The long war for Canaan begins here, with the enemy's move, not Israel's plan.
- Departed. Israel used human foresight where dependence on God belonged. The prisoners were the cost.
- Cried. The loss drove Israel to vow to the Lord. Their vow held an "if," yet He opened the way, and the place became Hormah, "destruction."
- Reversed. Where the fathers had lost, the new generation won. That win was a pledge that the whole land would follow.
- Watched. Defeat can prepare a greater blessing. Victory can come just before danger. Both send you back to needing Him.
Then Israel vowed a vow to Jehovah, and said, If thou give this people wholly into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
Israel is camped near the southern edge of Canaan. The Canaanite king of Arad attacks and carries off prisoners. Israel answers with a vow instead of a counter-attack. Why did Israel need to bargain with God at all? And what did it mean to devote whole cities to destruction?
The vow was not planned in calm. It came out of a raid that stung.
The king of Arad, a Canaanite, heard that Israel was in the same area from which they had sent the spies into the south of Canaan. So he made the first move and attacked Israel, and he managed to take some Israelites captive (v.1). This seems to have stirred up an energy in the people to strike back. They vowed to the Lord that if He would back their attack, they would completely destroy the cities of these Canaanites (v.2).
The king knew Israel was coming, because they had sent scouts ahead. One writer traces the attack back to that choice.
The Israelites fight with the Canaanites in the south, though they have not yet entered the land. But the presence of the spies has told the Canaanite king that they were coming. This was another result of the lack of bold faith that had sent the spies out. How little we gain by the caution of unbelief! It opens the way for the power and attacks of the enemy.
Commentators differ on how much faith this vow shows. One writer weighs the word "if" and finds it thin.
Israel did not go in faith, so they had no advantage over Arad, and they were driven back. This is the usual result when God's people use human means where the way of faith is clearly marked out. The means they use turn out to be the very opposite of what they hoped. Had they gone in simple faith, they would not have been so disgraced. It is a sharp lesson, but it brings them back to their right position. They cry to the Lord, "If you will indeed give this people into my hand." There is not much faith in the promise yet.
Even so, the cry was answered — and the answer is what the next chapter of their story turns on.
They had cried unto Jehovah Who had answered, but it did not produce confidence. In compassing the land of Edom they are much discouraged because of the way. A wilderness path is always beset with difficulties, not necessarily with discouragements. Was not the victory over Arad sufficient ground, beside their own history, to assure them that God would not let them die in the wilderness?
The promise to destroy the cities uses a specific legal term.
Living things could be vowed to Him in two ways. They might be set apart to Him in life, or, under certain conditions, they might be given over to Him for ever. This second kind of vow is called cherem here. People, animals and fields could be devoted in this way, and nothing so devoted could be bought back. Where people were concerned, such a vow was probably meant to touch only the enemies of God and of Israel, since their death was the only way it could be fulfilled... To devote anything to God was a solemn act that could not be taken back.
The order of events in the passage is worth watching: the enemy prevails first, and God delivers them only once Israel intends nothing less than complete destruction.
These enemies seem to win at first, when Israel let themselves be attacked. But once the Israelites are ready to destroy them completely, God hands them over. Take notice of this... They were fighting the Canaanites without yet owning the land. The point was only to destroy the enemy's power, and to gain nothing by it. It was the power of evil and nothing else, and it was resisted and put down as such. It was for God's sake and His glory alone.
This was not new ground. Israel had lost here before.
The generation before had been beaten on this very battlefield, and by these very people... So Israel's victory now was not only a sign that they had recovered from their former state. It was also a pledge that they would conquer the land. These Canaanites stand for those "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12), who now try to keep us from taking hold in faith of what is ours in heaven... The book of Joshua opens this conflict up fully, and in God's eyes it is a conflict without compromise.
The wholesale destruction begun here is often called cruel. One writer answers the charge directly.
When people say this, though, they are really challenging God, for He authorised Israel's action and gave them the power to carry it out. God has the right to judge people and take their lives when they carry their sin to intolerable heights. He did it by the flood of waters... In Abraham's day the sin of the Amorites was not yet full, but now it was full. So God chose to destroy them, not by flood or fire, but by the armies of Israel, who were to act as His "hammer and weapon of war" (Jer. 51:20).
- Provocation — Arad struck first and took captives. The loss stirred Israel to act.
- Prudence — Israel sent scouts ahead, and the king learned they were coming. Caution that replaces faith gives the enemy his opening.
- Prayer — Israel's vow starts with "if." One writer finds little faith in that word, yet the victory came once Israel meant total destruction.
- Pledge — to devote a city was solemn and final, and nothing devoted could be bought back. God Himself authorised the destruction, and Israel gained nothing by it but His glory.
- Proof — the win came on ground where the last generation had been beaten. It was both a sign of recovery and a pledge of the land to come.
And Jehovah listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them, and their cities. And they called the name of the place Hormah.
Israel's years in the wilderness end with a fight they did not start: a Canaanite king attacks and takes captives. Israel answers with a vow, and this verse gives the Lord's reply.
Israel was back near the land their fathers had scouted a generation earlier. One writer traces what happened, and gives the meaning of the name that closes the verse:
The king of Arad was a Canaanite. He heard that Israel was in the same area from which they had sent the spies into the south of Canaan. He therefore took the initiative to attack Israel, and was able to take some Israelites captive (v.1). This seems to have stirred the people to strike back. They vowed to the Lord that if He would support their attack, they would utterly destroy the cities of these Canaanites (v.2). The Lord fully opened the way for them and they destroyed the Canaanites and their cities (v.3). The place was called Hormah, meaning "destruction."
Israel's vow began with an "if." One writer traces where that weakness came from, and what God did anyway:
As before, when they were first brought to the land, they put human foresight in the place of dependence on God... It is a sharp lesson, but it brings them back to their right position. They cry to Jehovah, "If You will deliver this people into my hand." Not much faith in the promise yet. To say "if," after God had so repeatedly said that He would drive out the Canaanite before them, is not faith. Even with no faith, or only a little — the Calebs and the Joshuas were very few — they cast aside caution and say, "If You will deliver." Jehovah listened to their voice, and the cities of Arad are utterly destroyed.
The name Hormah is not new. Earlier, the people who had refused to go up changed their minds and went without God:
If the later part of the chapter shows a burst of courage, it was only of the flesh, and Jehovah rebuked it. The people, up to now so unwilling to go, are now too eager. But they went without Jehovah, and the Amalekites and Canaanites turned on them and beat them badly. They were driven back as far as Hormah.
The same ground and the same enemy gave this victory a larger meaning:
An earlier generation had lost on this very battleground, and it seems to this very people — at any rate, to Canaanites. The final battles for the land would be fought against them, and Arad lay inside that land. So Israel's victory now was more than a sign of recovery from their former state. It was also a pledge that they would conquer the land. These Canaanites stand for those "spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Eph. 6:12) who now try to keep us from taking hold by faith of what is ours in heaven... The book of Joshua opens up this conflict in full. According to God, it is a conflict without compromise.
Many object to the wiping out of a whole people. One writer answers:
In saying this, men are really challenging God, for He authorised Israel's action and gave them the power to carry it out. God has the right to judge men and take their lives when they carry their sin to unbearable heights. He did it by the flood of waters, when the people before the flood had filled the earth with violence and corruption. When the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah had become very grievous, He did it by an eruption of some kind. In the days of Abraham the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. Now it was full. God chose to destroy them, not by flood or fire, but by the armies of Israel.
The same writer draws out what this enemy pictures, and what that asks of us:
The meaning of Canaanites is "traffickers." They were holding the land of promise. But they picture unbelievers who use the things of God to make material gain. They are like the men the Lord threw out of the temple, who were selling oxen, sheep and doves and changing money for profit. He told them, "Do not make my Father's house a house of trade" (John 2:16)... Believers are called on to refuse this Canaanite habit completely.
- Attacked — Arad struck first and took captives. Israel's fight began as a defence.
- Vowed — Their "if You will deliver" was weak faith, but they cried out anyway, and the Lord listened to their voice.
- Delivered — The Lord opened the way fully; the win was His gift, not Israel's improved strength.
- Reversed — At this same Hormah the earlier generation went up without the Lord and lost. This time Israel asked first, and won.
- Devoted — The total destruction was God's own judgment on sin grown full, and a pledge of the whole land to come.