Having been told of several nations they were not allowed to do battle with, they are now given a battle to fight. We need discernment in learning what God does and does not want us to do, and the battles He does and does not want us to fight. Two equally wrong approaches are (i) to avoid all conflict; and (ii) to fight everyone and anyone. If we look at Jesus there were several occasions when He avoided conflict, but at others He almost sought it out deliberately.
If we fight battles that God has not chosen we will struggle at best, and probably lose. If we fight the battles that God has chosen we will find that He has prepared the ground. here He says that He will put terror into the the hearts of the enemy. When God tells us to do something it is usually the case that He is either going to do something as well, or has already done something.
Now Moses at first seeks peace with Sihon. He gives him the chance to let the Israelites pass. So even if God has chosen the battle, we do not just go blundering in.
Sihon refused to see reason and so battle was enjoined. The Lord gave Sihon into their hands. We also see one of several cases indicating complete destruction and killing of the enemy. There are many cases where later reading of Scripture shows that not everyone was literally destroyed, and it may well be that this is just a colloquial term, not indicating literal killing of everyone. This form of statement was common in literature of the time.
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