#5. Last Words of - Deut. 3

While avoiding mention of the prophet of Moab (Numbers 22-24), Moses does reiterate the victory over Og the King of Bashan. Traditionally Og is the brother of , they are descendants of the fallen Angel Shemhazai. They remained close to the foot of Mt Hermon, the traditional place where the fallen Angels descended from Heaven. Og is a , and his large bed was kept on display as a trophy in Rabbah, present day . Although some commentators think this is actually his sarcophagus. The repeated references to the Refaim shows that God can assist Israel to defeat this race of fearsome warriors. And perhaps this is the motivation for Moses to recall this history to Israel.

This part of sacred history is not pleasant for the modern reader. It records the slaughter and extinction (no prisoners) of a race of peoples, men, women and children. Atheists like Richard Dawkins describe this event as genocide. Modern morality needs tempering through theological interpretation. A secular world can admit the existence of suffering but find no meaning for it, only faith and religion provide meaning to such events. A large territory is captured with many fortified cities (60) along with unwalled villages. Several interpolations have also been inserted into the text by a later editor. This does not detract from the status of sacred history or God-breathed Scripture.

Following the capture of the lands of Sihon and Og, Moses announces the division of the lands to the tribe of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. In this rendition it appears as the idea of Moses, however in the Numbers account (Chapter 32) we find the idea actually originates from the Israelites. They notice that the land is good for stock farming, and they notice that they have a large amount of cattle. Put two and two together. Wouldn’t it be nice if this was ours! Moses agrees with the condition that the Reubenites, Gadites and Manassah act as the Vanguard in the invasion of . We know that during the conquest of Canaan the tribe of Dan could not secure their allotted territory, and the blame must rest on the whole nation of Israel as they were meant to coordinate together on this invasion and assist each other. We now find that Israel has secured land east of the Jordan and been farming this land, breeding stock, all the while collecting Mana. Which is an interesting thought, although we do not know for how long!

Moses then narrates a section of how he encourages Joshua to remember God’s past faithfulness as a key to present and future victories. Moses also recalls his personal plea to enter the Promised Land (although technically he has been in the territory of Reuben). God is rich in mercy and forgiveness, so no harm in asking. However, we also learn that God can and does say no, convincingly! In this case commanding Moses to not speak of this again. Moses is allowed to go up to Pisgah (usually referring to Mt Nebo), this is where the Book of will end. Despite the negative result of his prayer and intercession, Moses proceeds to encourage and uplift his successor Joshua. Demonstrating the right positive attitude in the face of not getting his desire, Moses teaches all shepherds that personal satisfaction is never higher than the calling and plans of the Almighty God. Blessed be He!