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| 1 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. |
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| 2 And Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. |
Vowed a vow – Because of a pre-emptory attack by the Canaanites. R3101:2
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| 3 And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called Hormah. |
The Canaanites – Representing sin, its enticements and blandishments in the weaknesses of the flesh. R3101: 3
Utterly destroyed – Not then, but a parenthesis showing that they later kept their vow. R3101:2
Hormah – So called, meaning "utter destruction," because of their vow. R3101:2
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| 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. |
Compass the land – To take a shortcut through Edom, typical of taking in the pleasures of this life and the fellowship of the world as part of the Christian life. R5267:5 *
Of Edom – Type of Christendom. D15
Much discouraged – Type of how in the nominal churches there is an opposition to the narrow way of self-sacrifice. R5267:6
Because of the detour around Edom. R5316:1
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| 5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. |
Spake against God – Against the voice of the Lord through the Scriptures and against all those who walk in the wilderness way. R5267:6*
Loatheth this light bread – Representing a tendency of spiritual Israelites to lose their appreciation for spiritual food and go hungering after the pleasures of the world. Such a yielding to worldly appetites will surely expose them to the bite of the serpent of sin. R2300:2
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| 6 And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. |
Fiery – Supposed to have been thus called because of red streaks upon the head. Their bite so inflames the nervous system as to cause the feeling of fire throughout the entire body, often resulting in death in a few hours. R4048:2
In India several thousand people die annually from the bite of the cobra. R3101:4
Serpents – Representing sin. "The sting of death is sin." (1 Cor. 15:56) R5239:1, R4037:5, R4048:4, R5316:4; PD34/45
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| 7 And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. |
Pray unto the LORD – On such occasions they understood that it was a punishment and made no effort to use medicines. R2029:2
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| 8 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live. |
When he looketh – Our mission has been during the reign of sin and death to point the sin-bitten to the Savior. R5316:4; SM767:1
Not when Jesus was made flesh, nor when exalted, but only when looked upon does he give life; looking by the eyes of understanding is expressed by the word believing. R1328:5*
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| 9 And Moses made a serpent of copper, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived. |
Made a serpent – Primarily representing sin, Satan's agent in alluring our first parents into condemnation hence our Lord Jesus, who took the sinner's place. "He made him who knew no sin to be a sin-offering for us." (2 Cor. 5:21 Diaglott) R4049:4, R4970:1, R5847:1; Q498:T
Of brass – Copper, symbolizing the perfect humanity of our Lord. T18; R3101:6
Upon a pole – Type of the cross. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." (John 3:14) R5239:1, R4037:5, R4049:1
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| 10 And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in Oboth. |
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| 11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and encamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab (toward the sunrising). |
Moab – The Moabites were children of Lot, Abraham's nephew. R5316:1
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| 12 From thence they journeyed, and encamped in the valley of Zered. |
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| 13 From thence they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon River, which is in the wilderness, that cometh out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. |
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14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars of Jehovah, Vaheb in Suphah,
And the valleys of the Arnon,
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15 And the slope of the valleys
That inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar,
And leaneth upon the border of Moab. |
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| 16 And from thence they journeyed to Beer: that is the well whereof Jehovah said unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. |
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17 Then sang Israel this song:Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
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18 The well, which the princes digged,
Which the nobles of the people delved,
With the sceptre, and with their staves.And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah; |
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| 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; |
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| 20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert. |
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| 21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, |
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| 22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed thy border. |
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| 23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel. |
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| 24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. |
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| 25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof. |
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| 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto the Arnon. |
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27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say,Come ye to Heshbon;
Let the city of Sihon be built and established:
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28 For a fire is gone out of Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon:
It hath devoured Ar of Moab,
The lords of the high places of the Arnon.
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29 Woe to thee, Moab!
Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh:
He hath given his sons as fugitives,
And his daughters into captivity,
Unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
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30 We have shot them down;
Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,
The women also even unto Nophah,
And the men even unto Medeba. |
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| 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. |
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| 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took the towns thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there. |
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| 33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. |
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| 34 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. |
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| 35 So they smote him, and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land. |
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