Deuteronomy 3 – Moses Remembers the March to Canaan, and the Appointment of Joshua

A. Moses remembers the defeat of Bashan.

1. (1-2) God commands Israel to attack Bashan.

“Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and Og king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’

a. Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan: As Israel drew closer to the Promised Land, moving westward towards the Jordan River, they passed through the land of Og, king of Bashan.

i. “Bashan was the area to the north and north-east of Galilee, an area rich in forests and renowned for its pastures and its high hills, inhabited today by the Druze people.” (Thompson)

b. Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand: God specifically commanded Moses and all Israel to not fear King Og, despite his size (Deuteronomy 3:11). God would give Israel the same victory that He had given them against the Amorites (Numbers 21:31-32).

2. (3-11) Israel defeats Bashan.

“So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. And we took all his cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them: sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns. And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves.

“And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir), all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salcah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.

a. And we took all his cities at that time…sixty cities: The conquest of King Og of Bashan brought Israel even more territory to occupy on the eastern side of the Jordan River. This victory showed them that they could, through the power of God, overcome the Canaanites they would confront on the west side of the Jordan River.

i. Sixty cities: “The term ‘city,’ however, need not imply that these were places with large populations. While some cities had thousands of inhabitants, others had only a few hundred.” (Kalland)

b. Only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the giants: Apparently, Og was the last of the Rephaim in his area, on the east side of the Jordan River.

i. The repeated references to the Rephaim in these first three chapters show that Israel, when trusting in God, was able to defeat this race of fearsome warriors. It also shows that some 40 years before this, Israel’s fear of these men (recorded in Numbers 13:32-33) was unfounded. The reasons stated by Israel at Kadesh Barnea recorded in Numbers 13 were exposed as mere excuses considering the victories the next generation experienced by faith.

c. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead: Og’s bedstead was 14 feet by 6 feet in modern measurements (4 meters by 2 meters). Some commentators believe this describes his burial sarcophagus. Whether this was his bed or his coffin, this shows Og’s large size.

i. “Allowing the bedstead to have been one cubit longer than Og, which is certainly sufficient, and allowing the cubit to be about eighteen inches long, for this is perhaps the average of the cubit of a man, then Og was twelve feet high. This may be deemed extraordinary, and perhaps almost incredible, and therefore many commentators have, according to their fancy, lengthened the bedstead and shortened the man, making the former one-third longer than the person who lay on it, that they might reduce Og to six cubits; but even in this way they make him at least nine feet high.” (Clarke)

ii. Is it not in Rabbah: “Its unusual construction and size made it a museum piece, one, the historian said, that was still on exhibit in the Ammonite city Rabbah in his own time.” (Merrill)

B. Moses remembers the tribes that settled on the east side of the Jordan River.

1. (12-17) The division of the land conquered on the east side of the Jordan River among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

“And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites. The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of Argob, with all Bashan, was called the land of the giants. Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and called Bashan after his own name, Havoth Jair, to this day.)

“Also I gave Gilead to Machir. And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the border, as far as the River Jabbok, the border of the people of Ammon; the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the east side of the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

a. And this land, which we possessed at that time: Israel had conquered significant areas of land on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The tribes of Reuben and Gad asked for this territory (Numbers 32:1-5), and it was divided between them and half the tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32:33).

b. I gave: The repetition of these words emphasizes that the land belonged to God, and He distributed it as He willed.

2. (18-20) The command for the tribes living east of the Jordan to assist the rest of Israel in the conquest of Canaan.

“Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All you men of valor shall cross over armed before your brethren, the children of Israel. But your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your cities which I have given you, until the LORD has given rest to your brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’

a. Then I commanded you at that time: Moses remembered the agreement of the two and one-half tribes recorded in Numbers 32:17-33. God agreed to give Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh this land only on the condition that they would send their men of valor over the Jordan as part of the army of the united tribes of Israel.

b. Then each of you may return to his possession: Joshua 22:1-9 describes the honorable fulfillment of the promise made by the tribes living east of the Jordan. They fought with the other tribes for at least seven years, conquering the main centers of Canaanite power.

C. Moses remembers the appointment of Joshua.

1. (21-22) Moses encourages Joshua.

“And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’

a. And I commanded Joshua at that time: Joshua had a gigantic job to do – to bring a whole nation into a land where they would not be welcome, and where they must fight to possess what God had rightfully given to them.

b. You must not fear them: This command was based on a promise – the LORD your God Himself fights for you. With God fighting for Israel, as He had done before against these two kings (Sihon of the Amorites and Og of Bashan), Israel could trust Him completely. Remembering God’s past faithfulness would be one key to Joshua’s trust in God for the needs of the present and the future. The same principle is helpful for believers today.

i. “Once more in the language of holy war he said, ‘Do not be afraid,’ for he is the ‘fighting one’ who wages war on their behalf.” (Kalland)

ii. “We must be careful to recognize that it does not so much mean that God was on their side, as that they were on the side of God. God would not have fought for them, if their cause had been unrighteous. It was because in their warfare they were carrying out His will, that He fought for them…. In no conflict have we any right to ask or expect that God will fight for us, save as we know we are with Him.” (Morgan)

2. (23-29) Moses remembers his plea for permission to enter the Promised Land.

“Then I pleaded with the LORD at that time, saying: ‘O LORD God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? I pray, let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’

“But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not cross over this Jordan. But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see.’

“So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.

a. Then I pleaded with the LORD…. let me cross over and see: Moses sinned in the wilderness at Meribah, where he so seriously misrepresented God that the LORD said Moses would be denied entry into the Promised Land (Numbers 20:10-13). Yet, Moses knew God was rich in mercy and forgiveness. He knew there was no harm in asking God to relent from His previous judgment and allow him to set his foot in Canaan, the fulfillment of his long labor in leading Israel.

i. “The verb besought [pleaded] is a strong one, meaning ‘entreat’, ‘implore favour’, ‘make supplication’.” (Thompson)

ii. Moses lived the first 40 years of his life confident in his own ability to deliver Israel. He spent the next 40 years of his life having that confidence demolished as he tended his father-in-law’s sheep. He spent the last 40 years of his life as God’s instrument to lead and deliver Israel. Yet, because of his sin of misrepresenting God at Meribah (Numbers 20:10-13), he would never see Israel come into Canaan. No wonder Moses pleaded with the LORD.

b. Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter: God did not want to hear the appeal of Moses on this matter. God would not change His response to the sin of Moses (Numbers 20:10-13). The sin of Moses was judged more severely because of his position as a leader, and as a man who had received and taught God’s word (James 3:1).

i. According to James 3:1, it is right for teachers and leaders to be judged by a stricter standard, though it is unrighteous to hold teachers and leaders to a perfect standard. It was true the people’s conduct was worse than the conduct of Moses, but this was irrelevant.

ii. In his sin at Meribah (Numbers 20:10-13), Moses marred a beautiful picture of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, displayed through the rock which provided water in the wilderness. The New Testament makes it clear this water-providing and life-giving Rock was a picture of Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus, being struck once, provided life for all who would drink of Him (John 7:37). But it was unnecessary – and unrighteous – that Jesus would be struck again, much less again twice, because the Son of God needed only to suffer once (Hebrews 10:10-12). Jesus can now be approached with words of faith (Romans 10:8-10), as Moses should have spoken faith-filled words to bring life-giving water to the nation of Israel. In some sense, Moses spoiled this picture of the work of Jesus Christ.

iii. Ginzberg relates a rabbinic legend that blood and water flowed from the rock that Moses struck instead of speaking to it. “The sign He gave him was to make known to him that, before the water came, blood would flow from the rock at Meribah, when Moses should strike it after uttering the hasty, impatient words that were destined to bring death down upon him.”

c. Speak no more to Me of this matter: Moses was a great man of intercession – perhaps one of the greatest in the Bible. Yet, God would say “no” even to Moses in prayer. God will sometimes say no even to His mightiest intercessors (Jeremiah 15:1).

d. Go up to the top of Pisgah: This was the place where Moses could see Canaan from a distance, and then die – and where the book of Deuteronomy will end.

i. “This eminence, whose modern name, most likely, is Ras es-Siyaghah, lies just north of Mount Nebo and about ten miles east of the Jordan River where it flows into the Dead Sea. From this elevation and vantage point it is possible to take in all of Canaan from Hermon in the north to Beersheba in the south and all the way west to the Mediterranean. Moses waited to ascend the mountain until the time came for him to die (Deuteronomy 34:1–5), thus making this view of the land of promise the last act of his long life.” (Kalland)

e. But command Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him: Even though he would not enter Canaan, Moses was responsible for doing all he could to help his successor, Joshua, to excel. This is a godly example for leaders among God’s people today, who should always encourage and strengthen the leaders of the next generation.

i. Moses had the heart of a true shepherd. He knew that his ministry was not centered on himself and his own satisfaction, but on God and His people.

ii. “In fact, Moses’ death is not recorded until chapter 34, so that the whole book of Deuteronomy is framed between the announcement of Moses’ impending death and the announcement of his actual death. The book is thus, in a sense, the spiritual testament of Moses, Israel’s great Lawgiver.” (Thompson)

f. He shall cause them to inherit the land which you will see: Joshua would lead Israel into the land, not Moses. Yet Moses, at Pisgah, will see the Promised Land, with the assurance of God’s promise that Israel would possess the land.

i. “We are to pray without ceasing; always praying, never fainting; asking, seeking, knocking. But there are some subjects concerning which God says, ‘Speak no more unto Me of this.’ In some cases these topics have to do with others, but more often with ourselves, as in the case of the apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 12:9)…. If He does not give the exact thing you ask, He will give the Pisgah view and more grace.” (Meyer)

ii. “He surely has no reason to complain who is taken from earthly felicity to heavenly glory. In this act God showed to Moses both his goodness and severity.” (Clarke)

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