Tue, 30 May, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Deuteronomy 3:1-11

¹ “Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ² But the LORD said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ ³ So the LORD our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. ⁴ And we took all his cities at that time–there was not a city that we did not take from them–sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵ All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. ⁶ And we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city, men, women, and children. ⁷ But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. ⁸ So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon ⁹ (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, while the Amorites call it Senir), ¹⁰ all the cities of the tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹ (For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.)

Before he dies, Moses reviews to the Israelites all that God had done for them. In today’s chapter, Moses reviews Israel’s victory over Og, king of Bashan. Og was of the remnant of the Rephaim and his bed is nine cubits long (about thirteen feet). Apparently, Og and the people of Bashan were a race of giants.

When Og came out to do battle against Israel, the people must have been terrified, for God had to tell Moses not to fear. God had to comfort Moses and the Israelites with the statement, Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand.

Israel is about to enter into the promised land and face enemies more numerous and as fierce as those from Bashan. Recall that they had been on the border forty years earlier and had turned back because they were afraid of the inhabitants of the land. Now, the next generation is facing the same situation. They are on the border again, preparing to begin fighting the people of Canaan.

Moses realizes the people need to be encouraged to boldly step out and do what God has commanded them to do. And so he reminds them of their battle against Og, and how God gave these fierce enemies into their hand.

What do we learn from this?

We often are afraid of the circumstances we face, for there are things we cannot handle. How do we continue to fight the battles God presents for us? Moses here shows us that to encourage ourselves to continue in obedience to God’s commands, we need to look back on God’s faithfulness in the past.

Review what God has done for His people in scripture, and in history. Think about what God has done for you and your family. As you see that God has faithfully brought you through all that has gone in the past, it is an encouragement for you to continue to serve Him in the present.

God promised Moses and Israel that they would win the battle against Og. We usually don’t get that kind of promise of victory over our enemies in battle. We might lose the battle we are fighting. But God still will be true to His promise to be with us through our trials and tribulations, and we can claim those promises, even in times of personal loss.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ, as the head of His church, is protecting her. He has promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against His church. This is a promise He can make, for He himself is fighting for us. We might lose some battles along the way, but the war is won, because Jesus Christ has promised to defeat all the enemies of the church. And He will do so just as surely as He defeated Og, king of Bashan.