384
Patriarchs and Prophets
But Moses kept his gaze fixed upon the cloudy pillar, and encour-
aged the people with the thought that the token of God’s presence was
still with them. At the same time he directed them to do all that human
power could do in preparing for war. Their enemies were eager for
battle, and confident that they would blot out the unprepared Israelites
from the land. But from the Possessor of all lands the mandate had
gone forth to the leader of Israel: “Rise ye up, take your journey, and
pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon
the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and
contend with him in battle. This day will I begin to put the dread of
thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole
heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in
anguish because of thee.”
These nations on the borders of Canaan would have been spared,
had they not stood, in defiance of God’s word, to oppose the progress
of Israel. The Lord had shown Himself to be long-suffering, of great
kindness and tender pity, even to these heathen peoples. When Abra-
ham was shown in vision that his seed, the children of Israel, should
be strangers in a strange land four hundred years, the Lord gave him
the promise, “In the fourth generation they shall come hither again:
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”
Genesis 15:16
. Al-
though the Amorites were idolaters, whose life was justly forfeited by
their great wickedness, God spared them four hundred years to give
them unmistakable evidence that He was the only true God, the Maker
of heaven and earth. All His wonders in bringing Israel from Egypt
were known to them. Sufficient evidence was given; they might have
known the truth, had they been willing to turn from their idolatry and
licentiousness. But they rejected the light and clung to their idols.
When the Lord brought His people a second time to the borders of
Canaan, additional evidence of His power was granted to those heathen
nations. They saw that God was with Israel in the victory gained over
King Arad and the Canaanites, and in the miracle wrought to save
those who were perishing from the sting of the serpents. Although the
Israelites had been refused a passage through the land of Edom, thus
being compelled to take the long and difficult route by the Red Sea,
[435]
yet in all their journeyings and encampments, past the land of Edom,
of Moab and Ammon, they had shown no hostility, and had done no
injury to the people or their possessions. On reaching the border of the