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Why the Long Journey Around Edom?
263
When God tells His children to go forward, Satan tempts them
to displease the Lord by hesitating and delaying. He tries to stir up
disagreements, complaining, or unbelief, and so cheat them out of
the blessings God wants to give. God’s servants should be ready to
follow God immediately. Any delay on their part gives Satan time
to work to defeat them.
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The Edomites were descendants of Abraham and Isaac. For the
sake of these two servants of His, God had given them Mount Seir
for a possession. They were not to be disturbed unless by their sins
they placed themselves beyond His mercy. The Hebrews were to
utterly destroy the people of Canaan, who had become so evil that
nothing more could be done for them; but the Edomites could still
repent and were to be dealt with mercifully. God shows compassion
before He inflicts judgments.
The Israelites were forbidden to ever take revenge for the insult
given them in refusing to let them pass through the land. They
must not expect to possess any part of the land of Edom. God had
promised them a large inheritance, but they were not to feel that
they were the only ones on Earth to have rights—they were not
to try to crowd out all others. They were to be careful not to do
anything unfair or cruel to the Edomites. They were to trade with
them, promptly paying for all they received. As an encouragement to
trust in God and obey His word, they were reminded, “The Lord your
God has blessed you ...; you have lacked nothing” (
Deuteronomy
2:7
). Their God was rich in resources, and they should demonstrate
the principle, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
If they had passed through Edom as God had intended, their
journey would have been a blessing to the Edomites. They would
have become acquainted with God’s people and His worship and
would have seen how the God of Jacob blessed those who loved
and respected Him. But the unbelief of Israel had prevented all this.
They must cross the desert again and quench their thirst from the
miraculous spring that they would no longer have needed if they had
only trusted in Him.