21:31-35
We now get a couple of brief descriptions of victories. First of all capturing villages in Jazer, and then defeating King Og of Bashan. Initially Og came out to challenge the Israelites, but God assured Moses that they would defeat Og, and so they did. So we have a steady stream of victories as the people simply follow the direction of the Lord.
22:1
We now come to what one might call the more interesting parts of Numbers, though actually all of it is of value. However, it is probably fair to say that alongside the spies going into the Promised Land, this is one of the better known parts of Numbers.
The Israelites are now at the plains of Moab, at the northern end of the Dead Sea, preparing to cross the Jordan. In this whole episode we will see two main things. The first is the impossibility of the enemy defeating Israel by its power. Balaam was utterly incapable of cursing Israel, even though he wanted to. The second is the tragic “defeat” of Israel due to her sin, which we see at the end of the episode. We can also see in Balaam the effects of increasing pride. It is also worth noting that Rev 2:14, the letter to Pergamum, refers to Balaam and Balak. 2 Pet 2:15 and Jude 11 refer to Balaam, warning against seeking after profit.
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