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Conquest of Bashan
271
upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report
of you, and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.”
[214]
How God Revealed His Love to Wicked Nations
These nations on the borders of Canaan would have been spared
if they had not stood to oppose Israel in defiance of God’s word.
The Lord gave Abraham the promise, “In the fourth generation
they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet
complete” (
Genesis 15:16
). God spared them for four hundred years
to give unmistakable evidence that He was the only true God. All
His miracles in bringing Israel from Egypt were familiar to them.
They could have known the truth, but they rejected the light and
clung to their idols.
When the Lord brought His people to the borders of Canaan a
second time, those heathen nations were given more evidence of His
power. They saw that God was with Israel in the victory over King
Arad and the Canaanites and in the miracle to save those dying from
the sting of the serpents. In all their journeys and encampments the
Israelites had done no harm to the people or their possessions. On
reaching the border of the Amorites, Israel had asked permission
only to travel directly through the country, promising to observe
the same rules that had governed their relations with other nations.
When the Amorite king refused and defiantly gathered his armies for
battle, their cup of iniquity was full, and God would now exercise
His power to overthrow them.
The Israelites crossed the river Arnon and went forward against
the enemy. A battle took place, and the armies of Israel won. Soon
they were in possession of the Amorite country. The Captain of the
Lord’s host defeated the enemies of His people. He would have done
the same thirty-eight years earlier if Israel had trusted in Him.
The army of Israel eagerly pressed forward and soon reached a
country that might well test their courage and faith in God. Before
them lay the powerful kingdom of Bashan, crowded with great stone
cities that to this day excite the wonder of the world—“sixty cities ...
with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns.”
The houses were made of huge black stones, so large as to make
the buildings unconquerable by any force brought against them. It