40 years of wandering in the desert wilderness come and go and…
…once again a second chance to enter the Promised Land arrives.
However, this time it will be the 2nd generation of Israelites who will take hold of the Lord’s promises.
And unlike their parents, there will be no hesitancy or reluctance.
The younger generation will hold fast to the promises of the Lord and move forward.
However, it wouldn’t always be a linear journey.
They had to circle around a bit to avoid conflict with the Moabites and the Edomites.
Recall that Moab was named after one of Lot’s sons and Edom was just another name for Esau.
Later on the Israelites even took on a less stronger enemy located in the northern part of Moab in an area called Heshbon.
This would be the final battle the Israelites would wage before they launched their attack on the Canaanites to take the Promised Land.
The stage has now been set.
However, after this battle at Heshbon, two tribes and a half (Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh) decided to settle right there on the east side of the Jordan River, OUTSIDE of Promised Land territory.
Although this raises all kinds of difficult theological questions, apparently the Lord was okay with this decision…for the time being.
When it came time to take the Promised Land, the 2.5 tribes who settled outside of the Promised Land were faithful and did join their brothers in fighting the Canaanites.
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