And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, for battle to Edrei.
Israel's years in the wilderness are nearly over. Turning north into Bashan, they meet a giant king with walled cities, and two questions come with him: why does God tell Moses not to fear before the fight starts, and why is a whole kingdom wiped out?
God's word to Moses was not a promise of help. It reported something already done.
Then they went to Bashan, another Amorite city, and King Og came out with his people to fight them. The Lord had told them not to fear Og, because God had already given him into their hand. So Israel defeated him easily and took his land. In Deuteronomy 3:11 we read that Og was a giant. His bed was nine cubits long and four cubits wide, which is over thirteen feet by six feet. Some of the spies had once been afraid of the giants in the land. Now Israel attacked without fear and fully subdued the Amorites.
Og had every advantage a king of his day could have. The fight still cost Israel nothing.
It had been a war of extermination. Every man, woman and child was killed, and as far as we read, not one Israelite was wounded (Deuteronomy 2:33-34; 3:6). And Og, one of the Rephaim, an ancient and very powerful race, found that his walled cities, with their high walls, gates and bars, could give him no protection against the invading army. Israel swept over his land like a flood that carries everything before it. They took all his cities.
Why such severity? One writer answers by separating two ways God acts, and warns that the difference is easy to miss.
God's instructions about Og king of Bashan were exactly like those He gave in the previous chapter about Sihon the Amorite. To understand either one, we must look at them only in the light of the government of God. Few people understand this subject, though it is deeply interesting and very practical. We must carefully distinguish between grace and government. When we look at God in government, we see Him using His power in the way of righteousness, punishing evildoers.
Commentators differ over how far to read the details as a picture. One takes the names in the verse — Bashan and Edrei — and finds in Og a danger that is not brute force.
He is king of Bashan, or the Bashan, which means "the fertile." His strong city is Edrei, "plenty of pasture," and he lives in Ashtaroth, a city named after the Phoenician goddess Venus, whose worship involved shameful acts. Add to this that the only thing left of him is a monstrous bed, and that is perhaps all that can be said of him. It may be enough to identify him with the spirit of luxury and soft living, the second enemy of the church at Corinth. That this Og is a giant we know only too well: he has brought down many a strong man.
Another writer reads the two defeated kings as a pattern for Christian experience.
Sihon had struck Moab, but now he falls before Israel. So does Og the king of Bashan, though he was a giant, as we learn in Deuteronomy 3:11. The events that picture victory over the flesh within come first, and then comes the record of victory over the enemies outside. And this is indeed the way things work in our spiritual experience.
One writer draws the practical lesson: what God has already done settles what is still to come.
He had given His people such a victory over the Amorites. He had destroyed a fearsome enemy like Og king of Bashan, and handed them the whole land of the giants. What could He not do for them? In all the land of Canaan they were unlikely to meet any enemy stronger than Og, whose bed was so huge that Moses gave it special mention. But what was he in the presence of his Almighty Creator? Dwarfs and giants are all alike to Him. The great thing is to keep God Himself always before our eyes. Then difficulties vanish.
- Given — God handed Og and his land over before a sword was drawn. Israel fought a battle God had already settled.
- Given past walls — High walls, gates and bars gave an ancient and powerful race no protection at all.
- Given in government — God's severity toward Og is God acting as ruler and judge of evildoers. That is not the same as His grace.
- Given against giants — One writer reads Og as the pull of luxury and soft living, a giant that has brought down many strong men.
- Given as a pledge — What God has already done answers the fear of what comes next. Dwarfs and giants are alike to Him.
And Jehovah said to Moses, Fear him not! for into thy hand have I given him, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.
Israel has reached the last stretch of the desert road, and the giant king of Bashan comes out to block it. God tells Moses not to fear before a single blow is struck. The reason is in the past tense: the victory is already given.
The order not to fear is not a call to summon up courage. It rests on a fact God has already settled. Israel acts on that fact.
Israel had the Lord's word not to fear Og, because God had already given him into their hand. So Israel defeated him without difficulty and took possession of his land. In Deuteronomy 3:11 we read that Og was a giant. His bed was nine cubits long and four cubits wide, which would be over thirteen feet by six feet. Some of the spies had been afraid of the giants in the land before. Now Israel attacked without fear, and fully subdued the Amorites.
Og's bed was so large that Moses thought it worth recording. One writer sets that size beside the God who made him.
In all the land of Canaan they could hardly expect to meet an enemy more powerful than Og. His bed was so huge that Moses gave it special notice. But what was he in the presence of his Almighty Creator? Dwarfs and giants are all alike to Him. The great point is to keep God Himself always before our eyes. Then difficulties vanish.
God measures the coming victory by the one just won. Sihon had already fallen; Og would fall the same way. One writer sees a lesson in it for the campaign still ahead.
The victory over these two enemies held the prediction of further victory in the land. Israel had been afraid to enter the land before because of enemies like these. Now God had given them an object lesson in experience that should encourage them.
This war came to Israel; Israel did not go looking for it. One writer draws a rule of conduct from that.
We meet people we do not want war with, but they will not let us pass in peace. Our warfare is with those who hold our inheritance beyond the Jordan. If someone attacks us, we must defend ourselves; but we are not to be the aggressors.
Some compare Israel's wars here with the Spanish conquest of South America. One writer names the difference.
There is one grand and all-important difference. Israel had the direct authority of God for what they did to Sihon and Og. The Spaniards could show no such authority for what they did to the poor ignorant native peoples of South America. That changes the case completely. Bringing in God and His authority is the one perfect answer to every question.
One writer reads the order of these events as a pattern of Christian experience.
The events that picture victory over the flesh within come first. Then comes the record of victory over the foes outside. This is indeed the way things work in our spiritual experience.
One writer traces the details around Og — his land, his city, his one surviving relic — to a particular enemy.
He is king of Bashan, which means "the fertile." His strong city is Edrei, "plenty of pasture." He lives in Ashtaroth, a city named after the Phoenician Venus, whose worship involved shameful rites. Add to that the one relic left of him, a monstrous bed. That says all that can be said of him, and perhaps enough to mark him out as the spirit of luxury and self-indulgence… This Og is a giant, and sadly we know it too well. He has cast down many a strong man.
The two fallen kings were a promise of everything still to come. A warning comes with it.
The victories over Sihon and Og should have been the pledge to Israel that every power of man would be swept away — every power Satan used as his instrument to stop them reaching and possessing their inheritance… Fighting enemies outside is not renouncing self. The sense of deliverance from outward foes is not always matched by a sense of deliverance from self. In fact, the rest and ease that follow a victory over the enemy may lead to self-indulgence.
- Given, then fought. God handed the land over before the battle. Israel's courage was obedience to a fact, not a guess about the odds.
- Given, so size is irrelevant. Before the Creator, "dwarfs and giants are all alike" — keep God in view, and difficulties vanish.
- Given, so the pattern repeats. Og falls as Sihon fell, an object lesson to steady Israel for the land ahead.
- Given, so the war is lawful. Israel asked to pass in peace, and God Himself gave the authority. This was not human conquest.
- Given, but not finished. Victory over the foe outside is a pledge of more, yet the ease that follows it can feed the self within.
And they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, so that they left him none remaining, and took possession of his land.
Og was a giant king east of the Jordan, and Israel left none of his people alive. Two questions follow. Why did God order destruction this complete? And how could a people still outside Canaan already be taking land?
Israel went into this fight with God's word about Og already given.
Then they went to Bashan, another Amorite city, and King Og came out with his people to fight them. The Lord had told them not to fear Og, because God had already delivered him into their hand. So Israel defeated him without difficulty and took possession of his land. In Deuteronomy 3:11 we read that Og was a giant. His bed was nine cubits long and four cubits wide — over thirteen feet by six feet. Some of the spies had been afraid before because of giants in the land. Now Israel attacked without fear and fully subdued the Amorites.
The chapter begins and ends in conflict. One writer reads the order of events as a picture of our own spiritual experience.
As at the beginning of our chapter, so at the end, we hear the din of conflict. The events that picture victory over the flesh within come first, and the record of victory over the foes without follows. And this is indeed the way things work in our spiritual experience.
Og and Sihon were not the last enemies Israel would meet.
Satan uses the power of man to keep Israel from reaching and possessing their inheritance. The victories over Sihon and Og should have been the pledge that every such power would be swept away.
Leaving no survivor is the hardest line in the verse. One writer says only one thing explains it: the government of God.
The divine 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. Few understand that subject, 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 displaying His power in the way of 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.
Some compare Israel's wars with the conquests of later empires. One difference answers that.
There is this great and all-important difference. Israel had the direct authority of God for what they did to Sihon and Og. The Spaniards could show no such authority for what they did to the poor ignorant natives of South America. This changes the case completely.
Israel took Og's land while still outside Canaan. They had not gone looking for these wars.
We meet people we do not want to fight, but they will not let us pass in peace. Our warfare is with those who hold our inheritance beyond Jordan. If we are attacked, we must defend ourselves; but we are not to be aggressors. Israel wishes to pass through the land of the Amorites without fighting. The Amorites will not allow it. They suffer the consequences of the war they had sought against the people of God. Israel takes their cities. Already on this side of Jordan they begin to enjoy, in advance, the possession of the promise.
God had fixed the borders of this inheritance long before the battle.
On both sides of the Jordan lay the land of Israel's inheritance, as God had determined beforehand. Yet it does not appear that He intended any of them to live on the east of that river.
The names around Og carry a meaning of their own.
He is king of Bashan, which means "the fertile." His strong city is Edrei, "plenty of pasture." He lives in Ashtaroth, a city named after the Phoenician goddess Venus, whose worship involved shameful rites. The only relic of him is a monstrous bed. That may be all that can be said of him — and enough to identify him with the spirit of luxury and self-indulgence. That this Og is a giant we know too well: many a strong man has been cast down by him.
The same writer will not let the misuse of good things spoil the things themselves.
Do not give up reason because Satan is using it against the truth of God. Do not refuse natural blessings because men turn them into indulgence and disorder. Whatever God has given, we may take from His hand without suspicion, if it really is from His hand.
- Given first. God had already handed Og over. The fighting only carried out a decision He had made.
- Fear gone. Giants had frightened the spies before. This time Israel attacked one without hesitation.
- Government, not cruelty. Leaving no survivor belongs to God's righteous government. Israel acted on His direct authority, and no human conqueror can claim that.
- Pledge of more. Every power standing between Israel and their inheritance would fall the same way.
- Possession begun. Israel took the cities of the kings they beat, and tasted the promise before crossing the Jordan.