Commentary - Deuteronomy 2:24-37

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, Israel's long period of wilderness discipline comes to an end, and the conquest of the land begins in earnest. This is the new generation's first test of faith in battle. The Lord commands them to move against Sihon, king of the Amorites, declaring that He has already given Sihon and his land into their hand. The central theological anchor of the text is the interplay between divine sovereignty and human action. God commands Israel to provoke the battle, yet He is the one who hardens Sihon's heart to ensure the battle happens. Moses makes a genuine offer of peace, which is genuinely refused. The result is a swift and total victory for Israel, not because of their military prowess, but because Yahweh their God gave the enemy over to them. This event serves as the first fruits of the conquest, a powerful object lesson for Israel that their success depends entirely on the sovereign decree and mighty hand of God. It also establishes the pattern for holy war: it is a divine judgment, executed by Israel according to God's specific commands, including both what to take and what to leave alone.

This is not merely a historical account of a tribal skirmish; it is a revelation of how God works in the world. He ordains the ends and the means. He uses the righteous actions of His people (offering peace, fighting obediently) and the wicked actions of His enemies (prideful refusal, obstinate rebellion) to accomplish His unassailable purpose. The hardening of Sihon's heart is a key element, showing that God is sovereign even over the sinful defiance of men, turning their rebellion into the very instrument of their own destruction and His people's salvation.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

This section marks a major turning point in the book of Deuteronomy. Up to this point, Moses has been recounting Israel's history of failure, culminating in the 38 years of wandering that wiped out the generation that came out of Egypt. That period of judgment is now over. In the preceding verses, God commanded Israel to bypass the lands of their relatives, Esau (Edom) and Lot (Moab and Ammon), because He had given those lands to them as their possession. Israel's obedience in this demonstrates that they are not on a mindless rampage of imperial conquest. They are acting as God's specific agents, with a specific commission. The encounter with Sihon is therefore the first divinely mandated conquest for this new generation. It is their initiation into the reality of holy war and serves as the paradigm for the larger conquest of Canaan that will follow under Joshua. This victory on the east side of the Jordan is the down payment on the full inheritance God has promised them.

Key Issues

The Hardened Heart of Heshbon

When we come to a text like this, our modern sensibilities are often troubled by two things: the violence of the holy war and the doctrine of divine hardening. We must not try to explain them away. The text presents them as two sides of the same coin, and both are essential for understanding the character of God. God is not a cosmic teddy bear; He is the sovereign Judge of all the earth, and He will do right. The Amorites were not innocent bystanders. Their cup of iniquity, which had been filling for centuries, was now full (Gen 15:16). The command to "devote them to destruction" was an act of corporate capital punishment, a righteous judgment against a terminally corrupt and wicked culture. God, who has the right to give and take life, was using Israel as His scalpel to cut out a cancerous tumor from the world.

But how does Sihon's hardened heart fit in? The text says plainly that God "stiffened his spirit and made his heart obstinate." This is the same language used of Pharaoh. It does not mean that Sihon was an innocent puppet, wanting to do good but being forced by God to do evil. Not at all. God's hardening is a divine judgment upon existing sin. God gives proud and rebellious men over to their own pride and rebellion. He removes His restraining grace and allows their own wicked hearts to become as hard as they have always wanted to be. Sihon's refusal was his own sinful choice, for which he was fully responsible. At the same time, God was sovereignly working in and through that choice to accomplish His own righteous purpose, which was to bring Sihon to judgment and to give His land to Israel. These two truths, divine sovereignty and human responsibility, are not contradictory; they are partners in the biblical worldview.

Verse by Verse Commentary

24-25 ‘Arise, set out, and pass through the valley of Arnon. Look! I have given Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land into your hand; begin to take possession and provoke him to battle. This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the peoples everywhere under the heavens, who, when they hear the report of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

The action begins with a direct command from God. The time for wandering is over; the time for conquest has come. Notice the certainty of the language. God does not say, "I will give," but rather, "I have given." The victory is spoken of in the past tense because from God's perspective, it is already an accomplished fact. Israel's job is to "begin to take possession," to walk into the victory that God has already secured for them. The command to "provoke him to battle" is striking. This is not a tentative exploration; it is a divinely initiated conflict. And God provides the first weapon: fear. Before Israel throws a single spear, God will be at work, demoralizing the enemy. This "dread and fear" is a supernatural assault on the morale of the Canaanites, a promise that is later fulfilled in the story of Rahab (Josh 2:9-11).

26-29 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, ‘Let me pass through your land, I will go only on the highway; I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money so that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot, just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I cross over the Jordan into the land which Yahweh our God is giving to us.’

Even though God commanded them to provoke a battle, Moses first sends a diplomatic mission with "words of peace." Was this disingenuous? No. This is the principle of establishing a casus belli, a just cause for war. The offer is entirely reasonable. Israel promises to stick to the main road, to cause no trouble, and to pay for all provisions. This offer serves to demonstrate the righteousness of Israel's position and the unreasonableness of Sihon's. By refusing this generous offer, Sihon will declare himself to be the aggressor and will make his condemnation manifestly just. The reference to Esau and Moab is a bit of diplomatic gloss, as their assistance had been minimal, but it served to show that Israel's request was a standard and reasonable one.

30 But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land, for Yahweh your God stiffened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to give him over into your hand, as he is today.

Here is the heart of the matter. Sihon's refusal is stated as his own decision: he "was not willing." He is responsible. But the ultimate reason for his unwillingness is given immediately after: "for Yahweh your God stiffened his spirit." God did not infuse evil into a good man. Rather, He judicially handed Sihon over to his own arrogant and foolish pride. The purpose is stated plainly: "in order to give him over into your hand." God intended to judge Sihon, and He used Sihon's own sinfulness as the means to bring about that judgment. The phrase "as he is today" reminds the Israelites listening to Moses that this is not an abstract story; the defeated and dispossessed Amorites are a present reality, a testament to God's sovereign power.

31 And Yahweh said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess, so that you may fully possess his land.’

After Sihon's refusal, God speaks to Moses again, reinforcing the initial command. The refusal was the trigger. "I have begun to give" indicates that the process is now in motion in history. God's eternal decree is now breaking into time and space. The command is repeated: "Begin to possess." Faith is not passive; it acts on the promises of God. Israel had to rise up, draw their swords, and take what God had already given them.

32-33 “Then Sihon with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz. But Yahweh our God gave him over to us, and we struck him down with his sons and all his people.

Sihon, full of his God-hardened, obstinate pride, marches out for battle. The outcome is never in doubt. The text gives the credit exactly where it is due: "Yahweh our God gave him over to us." Israel did the fighting, but God gave the victory. They "struck him down," but only because he had first been "given over." This is the consistent testimony of Scripture. The salvation of the Lord includes the deliverance of His people and the destruction of His enemies.

34-35 So we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction the men, women, and little ones of every city. We left no survivor remaining. We took only the animals as our plunder and the spoil of the cities which we had captured.

This is the law of herem, or the ban. It means to devote something entirely to God, usually through destruction. This was God's righteous judgment on a culture saturated with idolatry, child sacrifice, and sexual perversion. It was a one-time command for a specific historical purpose: to cleanse the land and to protect Israel from spiritual contamination. The inclusion of "women, and little ones" is jarring to us, but it reflects the biblical principle of corporate solidarity. The family and the city stood or fell together. This was not an act of racial hatred; it was an act of divine judgment against a corporate entity that was spiritually and morally terminal.

36 From Aroer which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was not a town that was too high for us; Yahweh our God gave all over to us.

The victory was total and complete. The phrase "not a town that was too high for us" is a direct reversal of the faithless report of the spies forty years earlier, who were terrified of the fortified cities (Num 13:28). This new generation, trusting in God, found that no earthly defense could stand against the Lord's anointed army. The reason is stated again, lest they forget: "Yahweh our God gave all over to us." Their victory was a gift of grace from start to finish.

37 Only you did not go near to the land of the sons of Ammon, all along the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, and wherever Yahweh our God had commanded us.

The account ends with a crucial detail. In the midst of this total victory, Israel showed restraint. They did not get swept up in a lust for conquest. They meticulously obeyed God's command to leave the land of the Ammonites alone. This obedience in what not to do is just as important as the obedience in what to do. It proves that they understood their role. They were not a marauding horde; they were a covenant army, moving only at the command of their King.

Application

This chapter is a profound lesson in the sovereignty of God over all things, including salvation and judgment. We are not called to engage in physical holy war today; the sword of the church is the Word of God. But the principles remain. First, we must recognize that God is sovereign over the hearts of all men. When we preach the gospel, some will believe and some will have their hearts hardened. In both cases, God is at work, drawing His elect to salvation and giving the rebellious over to their own sin. This should give us great confidence. The success of our mission does not depend on our cleverness, but on the power of God who opens hearts and overthrows strongholds.

Second, we see that God's sovereign plan does not negate our responsibility to act. God had already given Sihon to Israel, but they still had to "arise" and "provoke him to battle." We are commanded to preach the gospel to all nations, to make disciples, and to teach them to obey all that Christ has commanded. We do this with "words of peace," offering the free grace of God to all. But we know that this message is also a declaration of war against the kingdom of darkness. It will be rejected by many, but that rejection will serve only to vindicate God's righteousness and accomplish His purposes.

Finally, we must learn the lesson of obedient boundaries. Israel conquered Sihon but left Ammon alone. The church is called to conquer the world for Christ, but we must do it God's way. We are not to take up carnal weapons or seek worldly political power. Our conquest is spiritual, achieved through faithful preaching, godly living, and joyful worship. We must be zealous to take every inch of the ground God has given us, and just as zealous to refrain from trespassing on that which He has forbidden.