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Numbers 21:21 The end of wandering is in sight.

Good evening,

Hope you had a blessed Sabbath.  Just some thoughts as Israel approaches the Promised Land.  Just think, they were waiting for the rest of the unfaithful who refused to enter the Land 40 years before to perish.

Blessings,

Jeff

The final years of wandering in the wilderness are spent conquering land on the east side of the Jordan from the Dead Sea to north of Sea of Galilee.  This is the land that the two and a half tribes will take as their inheritance.  Provides some context for the fear exhibited by people of Jericho.  It is not just the Exodus from Egypt, but the conquest of their next door neighbors.

How little is mentioned about the 40 years of wandering.  Just 8 chapters since the failure to enter the Promised Land.

The seemingly polite requests to "pass through your land" is met with armed confrontation.  I have wondered if Sihon knew what he was getting into.  Since people in Jericho knew of God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt, it seems that Sihon should have known as well.  But the threat to his land was very real.  Even if he let them go through, it would just be a matter of time before there was conflict.


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