Deuteronomy 2:24-25
When the Lord gives the command to begin, faith must rise and move under His promise rather than remain in wilderness hesitation.
24 “Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
25 Today I will begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.”
When the LORD gives the command to begin, faith must rise and move under His promise rather than remain in wilderness hesitation.
Moses recalls the decisive moment when the LORD ended Israel's season of protected restraint around Edom, Moab, and Ammon and commanded the new generation to cross the Arnon, confront Sihon king of Heshbon, and begin taking possession of territory the LORD had given into their hand.
Moses speaks on the plains of Moab to the second generation of Israel after the wilderness generation has fallen under judgment. Deuteronomy 2 has recounted how Israel was commanded to avoid conflict with Edom, Moab, and Ammon because the LORD had assigned those lands to other peoples. In verses 24-25 the tone changes: Israel is now commanded to cross the Arnon and engage Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, because this territory is now placed under the LORD's gift and judgment.
The Wilderness Years End and the March Begins
The LORD sovereignly governs the nations — giving Edom, Moab, and Ammon their lands just as he gives Israel theirs — and now brings the wilderness years to a close by commanding Israel to pass through, then to conquer, as a demonstration that the God who restrained them at Kadesh is the same God who now fights for them against Sihon.