Deuteronomy 2

Sihon is one of the baddie kings who lives on the east side of the Jordan River that Moses and the Israelites defeat on their way into conquered land of Israel.

And so too with Sihon who because of all of its bad crimes was basically not allowed to do tshuva as it says in Deuteronomy 2 ki hiksha Adonai Elohecha et rucho v'imetz et levavo so slightly different language but similar concept God God strengthened the spirit of Sihon and made courageous his mind So these things that God is doing to Sihon are obviously not good things, but the idea is that God is intervening in order to prevent Sihon from changing his mind.

So to the Canaanites, because of all of the awful abominations they did, they were stopped from doing teshuvah until they went to war against Israel.

Now we're looking at Joshua.

Arameans and Philistines, right? Yeah, it's wild.

And the counterpart is in Deuteronomy 2 with what Pat Miller called God's other stories where God basically claims to do land reallocation for other people as well.

God is in the settlement business and resettlement business.

God has got an Exodus moving crew and also a land distribution crew.

Remember, it was the children of Israel who were sentenced to die in the desert.

And Moses recounts this to the next generation before they cross into the promised land in Deuteronomy 2.

It says, and the days when we went out from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the brook of Zered numbered 38 years until all the generation of the men of war expired from the midst of the camp just as Hashem swore to them.

When did Hashem swear this? Remember the sin of the spies? They go out and scout the land and they say it's not good.

Exodus 23 verse 27 This day, says God, will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the holy heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee.

Deuteronomy 2 verse 25 Chapter 11 verse 25 Now this fear is also, as you see here, called anguish, and in another place an hornet, for it and the soul that falls upon it do greet each other as boys and bees do.

The hornet puts men in fear, not so as to bring the heart into a sweet compliance with his terror, but so as to stir up the spirit into acts of opposition and resistance, yet withal they flee before it.

i will send hornets before thee which shall drive out the hivite etc exodus twenty three verse twenty eight now this fear whether it be ruled by misapprehending of the judgments of god as in the israelites or otherwise as in the canaanites yet ungodliness is the effect thereof and therefore i call it an ungodly fear of god for it stirreth up murmurings discontents and heart risings against god while he with his dispensations is dealing with them second there is a fear of god that driveth a man away from god i speak not now of the atheist nor of the pleasurable sinner nor yet of these and that fear that i spoke of just now i speak now of such who through a sense of sin and of god's justice fly from him of a slavish ungodly fear this ungodly fear was that which possessed adam's heart in the day that he did eat of the tree concerning which the lord had said unto him in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die for then he was possessed with such a fear of god as made him to seek to hide himself from his presence

Considerations to Prevent Such Temptations Yet lest the devil, for some are not ignorant of his devices, should get an advantage against some of the sons, to draw them away from the filial fear of their father, let me here, to prevent such temptations, present such with these following considerations.

first though god cannot will not dissolve the relation which the spirit of adoption hath made betwixt the father and the son for any sins that such do commit yet he can and often doth take away from them the comfort of their adoption not suffering children while sinning to have the sweet and comfortable sense thereof on their hearts he can tell how to let snares be round about them and sudden fear trouble them he can tell how to send darkness that they may not see and to let abundance of waters cover them job twenty two verses ten and eleven second god can tell how to hide his face from them and so to afflict them with that dispensation that it shall not be in the power of all the world to comfort them when he hideth his face who then can behold him job twenty three verses eight and nine chapter thirty four verse twenty nine third god can tell how to make thee again to possess the sins that he long since hath pardoned and that in such wise that things shall be bitter to thy soul thou writest bitter things against me says job and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth by this also he once made david groan and pray against it as an insupportable affliction job thirteen verse twenty six psalm twenty five or seven fourth god can lay thee in the dungeon in chains and roll a stone upon thee he can make thy feet fast in the stocks and make thee a gazing-stock to men and angels lamentations three verses five fifty three fifty five job thirteen verse twenty seven name three six fifth god can tell how to cause to cease the sweet operations and blessed influences of his grace in thy soul and to make those gospel showers that formerly thou hast enjoyed to become now to thee nothing but powder and dust psalm fifty one de twenty eight verse twenty four six god can tell how to fight against thee with the sword of his mouth and to make thee a butt for his arrows and this is a dispensation most dreadful revelation two or sixteen six or four psalm thirty eight verses two to five seventh god can tell how so to bow thee down with guilt and distress that thou shalt in no wise be able to lift up thy head psalm forty twelve eight god can tell how to break thy bones and to make thee by reason of that to live in continual anguish of spirit yea he can send a fire into thy bones that shall burn and none shall quench it psalm fifty one verse eight lamentations three verse four chapter one verse thirteen psalm one hundred and two verse three job thirty verse thirty ninth god can tell how to lay thee aside and make no use of thee as to any work for him in thy generation he can throw thee aside as a broken vessel psalm thirty one verse twelve ezekiel forty four verses ten to thirteen Tenth, God can tell how to kill thee and to take thee away from the earth for thy sins, 1 Corinthians 11 verses 29-32.

Eleventh, God can tell how to plague thee in thy death with great plagues and of long continuance, Psalm 78 verse 45, Deuteronomy 28. twelve what can i say god can tell how to let satan loose upon thee when thou liest to dying he can license him then to assault thee with great temptations he can tell how to make thee possess the guilt of all thy unkindness towards him and that when thou as i said art going out of the world he can cause that thy life shall be in continual doubt before thee and not suffer thee to take any comfort day or night yea he can drive thee even to a madness with his chastisements for thy folly and yet all shall be done by him to thee as a father chastiseth his son de twenty eight verses sixty five to sixty seven thirteenth further god can tell how to tumble thee from off thy deathbed in a cloud he can let thee die in the dark when thou art dying thou shalt not know whither thou art going to it whether to heaven or to hell yea he can tell how to let thee seem to come short of life both in thine own eyes and also in the eyes of them that behold thee let us therefore fear says the apostle though not with slavish yet with filial fear lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest any of you should seem to come short of it hebrews four verse one now all this and much more can god do to his as a father by his rod and fatherly rebukes ah who know but those that are under them what terrors fears distresses and amazements god can bring his people into objection but i have sinned and am under this high and mighty hand of god answer then thou knowest what i say is true but yet take heed of hearkening unto such temptations as would make thee believe thou art out of christ under the law and in a state of damnation and take heed also that thou dost not conclude that the author of these fears is the spirit of god come to thee again as a spirit of bondage to put thee into such fears lest unawares to thyself thou dost defy the devil dishonour thy father overthrow good doctrine and bring thyself into a double temptation objection but if god deals thus with a man how can he otherwise think but that he is a reprobate a graceless christless and faithless one answer nay but why dost thou tempt the lord thy god why dost thou sin and provoke the eyes of his glory why doth a living man complain a man for the punishment of his sins lamentations three verse thirty nine he doth not willingly afflict nor grieve the children of men but if thou sinnest though god should save thy soul as he will if thou art an adopted son of god yet he will make thee known that sin is sin and his rod that will chastise thee with if need be shall be made of scorpions read the whole book of the lamentations read job's and david's complaints yea read what happened to his son his well-beloved and that when he did but stand in the room of sinners being in himself altogether innocent and then consider O thou sinning child of God, if there is any injustice in God, yea, if it be not necessary that thou shouldst be chastised for thy sin, but then, I say, when the hand of God is upon thee, how grievous soever it be, take heed, and beware, that thou give not way to thy first fears, lest, as I said before, thou addest to thine afflictions, and to help thee here, let me give you a few instances of the carriages of some of the saints under some of the most heavy afflictions that they have met with for sin.

Carriages of some of the saints under heavy afflictions for sin.

Now in Zechariah, it says, These seven of the eyes of Hashem, which roam throughout the entire earth.

In Deuteronomy 2, chapter 16, verse 9, it says, For Hashem's eyes roam throughout the entire earth.

We need to understand these expressions.

The idea of eyes roaming suggests that they go out to look and examine something.

It refers to the masculine level.

So it means that perhaps the attribute of chesed, some merit can be found on their behalf.

As explained in Deuteronomy 2.93b, Providence.

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Whatever the explanation may be, the Scriptures mention several tribes of giants that inhabited the land of Canaan and surrounding regions.

In Deuteronomy 2, we find references to the Emim, A great and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim, who previously lived in the land of Moab.

The same chapter mentions the Zamzumim, whom the Ammonites called a great and numerous people, as tall as the Anakim.

but who were destroyed by the Lord.

There were also the Rephaim, often associated with the dead or the underworld in the Scriptures, suggesting a possible connection to the spiritual realm.

Deuteronomy 2 states, This was also considered the land of the Rephaim.

The Rephaim formerly lived there, but the Ammonites called them the Zamzumim.

These various designations reflect different linguistic traditions describing peoples with similar characteristics, extraordinary height, superhuman strength, and in many cases, hostility toward neighboring nations.

And I will start over because nothing's going to stop us.

What I was saying twice when you couldn't hear me is that I was apologizing for I stopped reading the Geneva Bible at Deuteronomy 2. eight, nearly five weeks ago.

And I was sharing that I think unconsciously, I couldn't bear to keep reading because we know that Moshe, who is summing up the journey right now in these chapters for the children of Israel as they are on Mount Nebo in now Jordan, preparing to enter the promised land, cross the Jordan River and enter the promised land, We know he's going to die and he's going to die being fully able to visually see the Holy Land, but not able to cross with the children of Israel and take possession of it and settle in it.

And that just seems very heartbreaking.