Numbers 21:4-35
Moses Makes a Bronze Snake
The Israelites traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea. They wanted to go around Edom. But they grew tired on the way. So they spoke against God and against Moses. They said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? Do you want us to die here in the desert? We don’t have any bread! We don’t have any water! And we hate this awful food!”
Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites. The snakes bit them. Many of the people died. The others came to Moses. They said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who is bitten can look at it and remain alive.” So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.
The People Continue On to Moab
The Israelites moved on. They camped at Oboth. Then they started out from Oboth. They camped in Iye Abarim. It’s in the desert on the eastern border of Moab. From there they moved on. They camped in the Zered Valley. They started out from there and camped by the Arnon River. It’s in the desert that spreads out into the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the border of Moab. It’s between Moab and the Amorites. Here is what the Book of the Wars of the Lord says about it.
“Sing about Zahab in Suphah and the valleys.
Sing about the Arnon and the slopes of the valleys.
They lead to the settlement called Ar.
They lie along the border of Moab.”
From there the Israelites continued on to Beer. That was the well where the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Gather the people together. I will give them water to drink.”
Then Israel sang a song. They said,
“Spring up, you well!
Sing about it.
Sing about the well the princes dug.
Sing about the well the nobles of the people dug.
All their rulers were holding their scepters and walking sticks.”
Then the Israelites went from the desert to Mattanah. They went from Mattanah to Nahaliel. They went from Nahaliel to Bamoth. And they went from Bamoth to a valley in Moab. It’s the valley where the highest slopes of Pisgah look out over a dry and empty land.
Israel Wins the Battle Over Sihon and Og
The Israelites sent messengers to speak to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. The messengers said to him,
“Let us pass through your country. We won’t go off the road into any field or vineyard. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll travel along the King’s Highway. We’ll just go straight through your territory.”
But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel. But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn’t take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That’s because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border. The Israelites captured all the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all the settlements around it. Sihon, the king of the Amorites, ruled in Heshbon. He had fought against an earlier king of Moab. Sihon had taken from him all his land all the way to the Arnon River.
That’s why the poets say,
“Come to Heshbon. Let it be built again.
Let Sihon’s city be made as good as new.
“Fire went out from Heshbon.
A blaze went out from the city of Sihon.
It burned up Ar in Moab.
It burned up the citizens who lived on Arnon’s hills.
Moab, how terrible it is for you!
People of Chemosh, you are destroyed!
Chemosh has deserted his sons and daughters.
His sons have run away from the battle.
His daughters have become prisoners.
He has handed all of them over to Sihon,
the king of the Amorites.
“But we have taken them over.
Heshbon’s rule has been destroyed all the way to Dibon.
We have destroyed them as far as Nophah.
Nophah goes all the way to Medeba.”
So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.
Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer. The Israelites captured the settlements around it. They drove out the Amorites who were there. Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og was the king of Bashan. He and his whole army marched out. They went to fight against Israel at Edrei.
The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have given you his whole army. I have also given you his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon.”
So the Israelites struck down Og and his sons. And they wiped out his whole army. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They took over his land for themselves.
Numbers 22:1-20
Balak Sends For Balaam
Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab. They camped along the Jordan River across from Jericho.
Balak saw everything that Israel had done to the Amorites. Balak was the son of Zippor. The Moabites were terrified because there were so many Israelites. In fact, the Moabites were filled with panic because of the Israelites.
The Moabites spoke to the elders of Midian. They said, “This huge mob is going to destroy everything around us. They’ll lick it up as an ox licks up all the grass in the fields.”
Balak, the son of Zippor, was the king of Moab at that time. He sent messengers to get Balaam. Balaam was the son of Beor. Balaam was at the city of Pethor near the Euphrates River. Pethor was in the land where Balaam had been born. Balak told the messengers to say to Balaam,
“A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the face of the land. They’ve set up camp next to me. So come and put a curse on these people. They are too powerful for me. Maybe I’ll be able to win the battle over them. Maybe I’ll be able to drive them out of the land. I know that whoever you bless is blessed. And I know that whoever you cursed is cursed.”
The elders of Moab and Midian left. They took with them the money they knew Balaam would ask for. They wanted him to use evil magic to figure things out for them. They came to where Balaam was. And they told him what Balak had said.
“Spend the night here,” Balaam said to them. “I’ll report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.” So the Moabite officials stayed with him.
God came to Balaam. He asked, “Who are these men with you?”
Balaam said to God, “Balak king of Moab, the son of Zippor, sent me a message. He said, ‘A nation has come out of Egypt. They are covering the whole surface of the land. So come and put a curse on them for me. Maybe I’ll be able to fight them. Maybe I’ll be able to drive them away.’ ”
But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people. I have blessed them.”
The next morning Balaam got up. He said to Balak’s officials, “Go back to your own country. The Lord won’t let me go with you.”
So the Moabite officials returned to Balak. They said, “Balaam wouldn’t come with us.”
Then Balak sent other officials. They were more important than the first ones. And there were more of them. They came to Balaam. They said,
“Balak, the son of Zippor, says, ‘Don’t let anything keep you from coming to me. I’ll make you very rich. I’ll do anything you say. So come and put a curse on those people for me.’ ”
But Balaam gave them his answer. He said, “Balak could give me all the silver and gold in his palace. Even then, I still couldn’t do anything at all that goes beyond what the Lord my God commands. Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.”
That night God came to Balaam. He said, “These men have come to get you. So go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”
