In Numbers 20 we found the Edomites opposing the Israelites by not allowing them to peacefully pass through their territory on the King's Highway. Considering that the King's Highway was a heavily traveled roadway and therefore likely a major trade route, refusing entry to the Israelites was done out of petty spite due to longstanding resentment and jealousy harbored toward the descendants of Jacob by the descendants of Jacob's twin, Esau. To show the Israelites that he meant business, the unnamed king of Edom amassed troops at the border to deter Israel from attempting to cross over. The Lord did not order Israel's army to attack the Edomite soldiers and go straight through Edom; instead He bid them go around Edom. Later in the Bible we'll find Him commanding Israel to treat the descendants of Esau as kinsmen, "For he is your brother." (Deuteronomy 23:7) The Israelites aren't to sink to the Edomites' level and do unto the Edomites as the Edomites have done unto them. Instead they are to "turn the other cheek" because the Edomites are from the same family tree as the Israelites.
The Israelites didn't retaliate against the Edomites in Chapter 20. In due time and in the right way, the Lord will accomplish justice, for He will say through the prophet Obadiah: "Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever." (Obadiah 1:10) We discussed yesterday that the Lord made good on this prophecy. There is no nation of Edom in the world today but there is a nation of Israel in the world today. The Edomites, who later became known as the Idumeans, have disappeared from history as a people. Their descendants, I am sure, still exist scattered all over the world but as a people or a race, and as a kingdom or a nation, they can't be found.
As we begin Numbers 21 we find another group trying to block Israel's progression to the promised land. The Lord will not be lenient with this group like He was with the Edomites. The people who oppose Israel in today's study are not kinsmen. They are idolatrous Canaanites who long ago rejected the one true God and who want nothing to do with the Lord or with His people.
"When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them." (Numbers 21:1) It is believed by a number of scholars that the word "Atharim" is derived from the Arabic "athar" which means "a track or footprint", leading these scholars to conclude that the "road to Atharim" of Numbers 21:1 was a caravan route. It wasn't a large state highway like the King's Highway of Edom probably was, but rather a route shaped by many years of caravan travel, foot travel, and wagon travel by tradesmen.
Why did the king attack the Israelites and take some of them captive? The Bible doesn't tell us why. Perhaps the king thought the approaching group numbering 2,000,000 or more was an army. Or maybe he harbored prejudice against the Israelites, for to him they were foreigners who worshiped a foreign God. Prejudice is often borne of distrust and distrust is often borne of not knowing or understanding the customs of others, leading to unwarranted fear and suspicion. Some scholars believe the word "Atharim" should be translated as "the way of the spies", perhaps indicating this was the route the twelve Israelite spies took in Numbers 13 when they were sent into Canaan on a reconnaissance mission to see whether Canaan contained large fortified cities and to see whether it was truly a land flowing with milk and honey as they'd been told. If indeed calling this route "Atharim" is derived from its use as a spy route for the Israelites, the king of Arad may be well aware that spies have been in his territory and he may think the entire group is now approaching to attack his kingdom and take it over.
We aren't provided with an explanation of the king's motives but I feel that the remainder of our text indicates that his motives were wicked in the eyes of God. Otherwise the Lord would not have judged him as He did. If the king wasn't certain why the Israelites were approaching, he could have taken steps to find out instead of automatically assuming they were coming to make war. Or he could simply have amassed troops at his border the way the Edomite king did. But instead he deliberately, and without provocation, sent soldiers to attack the Israelites and to take some of them captive as if they were prisoners of war. The Lord is displeased. This behavior on the part of the king and his people is unnecessary and uncalled for. The Lord will allow the Israelites to fight back and He will give the Israelites victory over their enemy.
In their distress the Israelites call out to God for help and in their prayer they ask His permission to avenge themselves. "Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: 'If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.'" (Numbers 21:2) The word translated as "destroy" would be more correctly translated as "to devote, to make an irrevocable offering". This is the same word that would be used for a burnt offering. A burnt offering was an offering in which no part of the offering could be retained by its bringer; it was an offering wholly given up and devoted to the Lord. The Israelites do intend to destroy (ruin, lay waste) Arad if the Lord gives them the go-ahead but they will be doing it in His name. Like an offering wholly given up to the Lord, they will be making Arad unfit for further use. They will be making it uninhabitable, retaining nothing from it for themselves, in the same way they would retain nothing from a whole burnt offering. A whole burnt offering was rendered to ash, so in that sense they are saying they will burn Arad to the ground or raze it to the ground. Nothing of value will be left of it. They will be destroying it in the name of the Lord and making an offering of it to the Lord.
"The Lord listened to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah." (Numbers 21:3) The word "Hormah" means "destruction". If the Lord had not given Israel permission to avenge herself, she would not have won the battle. In Numbers 14 we found Israel's soldiers going up to attack the Amalekites and Canaanites against the Lord's word and we found them being defeated. There will be other occasions in the Old Testament when Israel's army engages others in battle without obtaining permission from the Lord first and they will be unsuccessful in battle. But here in Numbers 21, when Arad attacks Israel for no reason, the Lord gives Israel permission to fight back. The king of Arad did wrong and the Lord punishes him for his sin by giving Israel victory over him and his army.
There will be times in this life when people do us wrong without any provocation whatsoever. They will make themselves our enemies through no fault of our own. We can rest assured that the Lord sees their behavior and is unhappy with it. We can also rest assured that in the right time and in the right way He will avenge us. He will judge those who, in the words of King David, "have become my enemies without cause" and who "hate me without reason" and who "repay my good with evil". (Psalm 38:19-20) When we are treated unjustly, as the children of God we have the right to go to God our Father and lay out our troubles before Him and ask Him to act on our behalf. We find the Israelites doing this time and time again in the Bible. We find King David praying this type of prayer time and time again in the psalms. We can pray for God to help us and we can pray for Him to judge the wrongdoers who made themselves our enemies through no fault of our own. We can pray the words of David who cried out to God for help: "Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight with me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, 'I am your salvation.'" (Psalm 35:1-3) God is our salvation. God is our helper. We can entrust our troubles to Him.
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