Deuteronomy 3:1-29
Moses Cannot Enter
1Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.
2But the LORD said to me, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, along with all his people and his land. Do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon.”
3So the LORD our God also delivered Og king of Bashan and his whole army into our hands. We struck them down until no survivor was left.
4At that time we captured all sixty of his cities. There was not a single city we failed to take—the entire region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
5All these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars, and there were many more unwalled villages.
6We devoted them to destruction, as we had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.
7But all the livestock and plunder of the cities we carried off for ourselves.
8At that time we took from the two kings of the Amorites the land across the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Hermon—
9which the Sidonians call Sirion but the Amorites call Senir—
10all the cities of the plateau, all of Gilead, and all of Bashan as far as the cities of Salecah and Edrei in the kingdom of Og.
11(For only Og king of Bashan had remained of the remnant of the Rephaim. His bed of iron, nine cubits long and four cubits wide, is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)
12So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.
13To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.)
14Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.
15To Machir I gave Gilead,
16and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites.
17The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
18At that time I commanded you: “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor are to cross over, armed for battle, ahead of your brothers, the Israelites.
19But your wives, your children, and your livestock—I know that you have much livestock—may remain in the cities I have given you,
20until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to the possession I have given you.”
21And at that time I commanded Joshua: “Your own eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter.
22Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
23At that time I also pleaded with the LORD:
24“O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your greatness and power to Your servant. For what god in heaven or on earth can perform such works and mighty acts as Yours?
25Please let me cross over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that pleasant hill country as well as Lebanon!”
26But the LORD was angry with me on account of you, and He would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the LORD said to me. “Do not speak to Me again about this matter.
27Go to the top of Pisgah and look to the west and north and south and east. See the land with your own eyes, for you will not cross this Jordan.
28But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”
29So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
Berean Standard Bible
Israel's next battle is against Og king of Bashan, whose territory and reputation make the victory memorable. The LORD tells Moses not to fear, and Israel takes the king's cities. The account is not vague about the result: the people receive the land east of the Jordan, and the size of the victory is recorded for those who will hear it later.
Moses gives the land to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, but their fighting men must cross with the other tribes. A settlement east of the Jordan does not release them from responsibility to their brothers. Their rest is connected to the rest of the whole people.
Joshua is then told not to fear the kings west of the Jordan. He has seen what the LORD did to Sihon and Og, and the same God will fight for Israel. Courage is built on remembered action, not on a command to feel brave by itself.
Moses also tells of his plea to enter the land. The LORD refuses, but allows him to climb the summit of Pisgah and see it from a distance. Joshua will lead the people. Moses' leadership ends without the fulfillment he wanted, yet he continues preparing the people for the work ahead.
Questions
1 What did the LORD say when Israel faced Og?
AnswerHe told Moses not to fear, because He had already given Og, his people, and his land into Israel's hand.
2 What responsibility did the eastern tribes retain?
AnswerTheir fighting men had to cross ahead of their brothers and help them receive rest in the land.
3 Why could Joshua be courageous?
AnswerHe had witnessed the LORD's victories over Sihon and Og and could trust that God would fight for Israel again.
4 What did Moses receive instead of entering Canaan?
AnswerHe was allowed to see the land from Pisgah, while Joshua was appointed to lead the people across the Jordan.
What This Means for Us
Moses' disappointment is not hidden, and neither is his continued faithfulness. A person may have to release a hope without becoming useless or bitter. Leadership can end before every desired outcome arrives.
Carry responsibility for the good of others even when your own part looks different from what you expected. God can keep His promise to the people while asking one servant to hand the work to another.
Prayer
God of every generation, help us receive both Your gifts and Your limits. Make us faithful when our plans change, generous toward those who follow us, and confident that Your work does not depend on one person. Amen.