We’ve been studying about Israel’s military confrontation with the Amorites and how Israel’s victory in this battle resulted in them taking control of the Transjordan.
However, what’s interesting is that Israel NEVER intended to occupy this piece of land located east of the Jordan River!
Why?
The answer is simple.
This land was NOT Canaan.
It was NOT the Promised Land.
What God had promised to Abraham was Canaan and this parcel of real estate was NOT part of Canaan.
It was only the land on the west side or the West Bank of the Jordan River that was identified as Canaan.
Hence, Israel being able to gain control of this land was like a surprise bonus.
Under normal circumstances, Israel would not have gained control of this territory, but because King Sihon of the Amorites forced the issue by attacking Israel, in one fell swoop, Israel found themselves in control of a bunch of land on the east side of the Jordan River.
What’s even more interesting is that later on in the Book of Numbers, we’ll come to the story where God orders the land of Canaan to be divided up tribe by tribe.
We’ll find that the tribes of Reuben and Gad and one half the Tribe of Manasseh were given territory right here in the Transjordan, the land they had just conquered.
Read verse 25.
“Israel took all these cities
— Israel lived in all the cities of the Emori,
in Heshbon and all its surrounding towns.”
-Numbers 21:25
Notice it says Israel “lived” in all the cities of Amorites (Emori is the Hebrew way of saying Amorites).
In other words, Israel didn’t just conquer this territory east of the Jordan River, they got downright comfortable and settled themselves in this area.
It became their new home.
I can understand why they would want to settle there.
The Israelites were road-weary and battle-torn.
The now abandoned Amorites villages must have seemed to them like a tall cool glass of lemonade would to a marathoner immediately after finishing the race.
So I can’t blame them for wanting to remain in the land on the east of the Jordan instead of continuing on to the Promised Land.
They must have appreciated the relatively easy victory God granted to them as the Amorites were not so big in numbers and their villages were not protected by tall defensive walls.
You know what this scuttle between the Israelites and the Amorites reminds me of?
It reminds me of how Israel all of a sudden recaptured Jerusalem during the 6-day war.
At the time, it was not Israel’s intention to regain control of Jerusalem.
Israel was only in a conflict with Egypt but the Jordanians jumped into the mix.
To make a long story short, this resulted in Israel gaining control of not only East Jerusalem but the West Bank from the Jordanians as well as an area known as the Golan Heights.
Hence, just as Israel unexpectedly took control of the territory east of the Jordan River in their scuttle with the Amorites here in Numbers 21, so too did Israel take back full control of Jerusalem in their scuttle with the Jordanians in the 1967 6-Day War.
However, that’s where the similarities end.
While the land east of the Jordan River is not part of Canaan, we all know that Jerusalem absolutely is part of the Promised Land that HASHEM has given to Israel, FOREVER.
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