28 For there went forth fire from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; It consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the high places of the Arnon.
And the stream of the brooks which turneth to the dwelling of Ar, And inclineth toward the border of Moab.
They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon powerless; for a fire hath come forth from Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and hath consumed the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the sons of tumult. Woe to thee, Moab! The people of Chemosh is undone; for thy sons are taken away in captivity, and thy daughters are captives.
And Jehovah said to me, Distress not the Moabites, neither engage with them in battle; for I will not give thee of their land a possession; for unto the children of Lot have I given Ar as a possession.
Thou art to pass this day over the border of Moab, [which is] Ar,
Therefore shall the Lord, Jehovah of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness, and under his glory he shall kindle a burning, like the burning of a fire:
The burden of Moab: For in the night of being laid waste, Ar of Moab is destroyed; for in the night of being laid waste, Kir of Moab is destroyed! He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep; Moab howleth over Nebo, and over Medeba; on all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off.
And I will send a fire on the wall of Gazah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
And I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
And I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerijoth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, [and] with the sound of the trumpet.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 21
Commentary on Numbers 21 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 21
The armies of Israel now begin to emerge out of the wilderness, and to come into a land inhabited, to enter upon action, and take possession of the frontiers of the land of promise. A glorious campaign this chapter gives us the history of, especially in the latter part of it. Here is,
Num 21:1-3
Here is,
Num 21:4-9
Here is,
Num 21:10-20
We have here an account of the several stages and removals of the children of Israel, till they came into the plains of Moab, out of which they at length passed over Jordan into Canaan, as we read in the beginning of Joshua. Natural motions are quicker the nearer they are to their centre. The Israelites were now drawing near to the promised rest, and now they set forward, as the expression is, v. 10. It were well if we would do thus in our way to heaven, rid ground in the latter end of our journey, and the nearer we come to heaven be so much the more active and abundant in the work of the Lord. Two things especially are observable in the brief account here given of these removals:-
Num 21:21-35
We have here an account of the victories obtained by Israel over Sihon and Og, which must be distinctly considered, not only because they are here distinctly related, but because long afterwards the memorial of them is distinctly celebrated, and they are severally assigned as instances of everlasting mercy. He slew Sihon king of the Amorites, for his mercy endureth for ever, and Og the king of Bashan, for his mercy endureth for ever, Ps. 136:19, 20.