The Israelites have been traveling around the territory of Edom because they were not allowed by Edom's king to pass through it. They are heading toward Moab in our text today and their spirits rise as they find a well of fresh water and as they draw ever closer to the promised land.
"The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth." (Numbers 21:10) You'll recall that they moved when the Lord said to move and they camped when the Lord said to camp. (Exodus 40:36, Numbers 9:17)
"Then they set out from Oboth and camped in Iye Abiram, in the wilderness that faces Moab toward the sunrise. From there they moved on and camped in the Zered Valley. They set out from there and camped alongside Arnon, which is in the wilderness extending into Amorite territory. The Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites." (Numbers 21:11-13) The Arnon River lay between the settlements of the Moabites and the Amorites. The Moabites were descended from Abraham's nephew Lot and the Lord will command the Israelites not to disturb them. He is not giving any part of the Moabite territory in Canaan to the Israelites because these people are their kinsmen. The Lord will give very clear instructions about this in Deuteronomy 2 when He says to Moses, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession." (Deuteronomy 2:9)
Ar is believed to have been a Moabite city or large settlement located in the southern part of the Arnon River Valley. An ancient book, now lost to the mists of time, made mention of this city, for Moses quotes from the book here in Numbers 21. "That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says: '...Zahab in Suphah and the ravines, the Arnon and the slopes of the ravines that lead to the settlement of Ar and lie along the border of Moab.'" (Numbers 21:14-15)
By the time the book of Numbers was put together in its final form it appears that the Book of the Wars of the Lord already existed and was well known. The reader of Numbers was expected to understand the reference. Some scholars believe it was simply a record of land borders and an account of which territories the Israelites were given by the Lord and which territories they were told not to touch. Other scholars think it was a list of battles fought and a brief description of where each battle took place. Whatever this book was, we don't need to think of it as "missing" from the Bible. If the Book of the Wars of the Lord needed to be in the Bible, the Lord would have ensured that it ended up in the Bible. It may not have contained anything we would necessarily consider "inspired Scripture". On the other hand, the reason we don't have it today may be because it may have been a condensed version of information we already have in the other books which are in the Bible. The Bible is going to tell us all about the battles Israel fought for the promised land and the Bible is going to tell us which settlements the Lord told them to attack and which settlements He told them to leave untouched. If we possessed the Book of the Wars of the Lord, the information contained in it would likely be redundant because we already have the information in the form of these detailed Old Testament narratives we're studying.
"From there they continued on to Beer, the well where the Lord said to Moses, 'Gather the people together and I will give them water.'" (Numbers 21:16) Refreshed in body by this water, and refreshed in spirit by the Lord and by their nearness to the promised land, the Israelites break into song. "Then Israel sang this song: 'Spring up, O well! Sing about it, about the well that the princes dug, that the nobles of the people sank---the nobles with scepters and staffs.'" (Numbers 21:17-18a) We don't know for certain what they mean by the "princes" and "nobles". Scholars speculate that this is a reference to the elders of Israel and not to any other princes or nobles who lived in the land. In the original language the word translated as "dug" in English can also mean to "search out". It could be that the men, under the direction of the Lord, used their staffs as dowsing rods to find a source of water in the desert so they would know where to dig for water. Whatever happened here at Beer, the people give praise to the Lord for it and are filled with the Holy Spirit in an attitude of thankfulness.
One of the ways the Holy Spirit ministers to us is as a well of living water in our hearts. When overwhelmed by thankfulness and praise, we feel this living water springing up inside us like a fountain, overflowing from us in an attitude of thankfulness. We might respond to this feeling with praise or prayer or uplifted hands or song. The Lord Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as a well of living water, saying, "'Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.' By this He meant the Spirit." (John 7:38-39a)
The Lord knows we will go through times in this life that feel like desert places. When we must pass through dry and dusty days, He sends us the refreshment we so desperately need. If you feel in need of a drink of the living water, like I do today, call upon Him. He will give us the strength not only to continue on the journey, but to continue the journey in an attitude of praise.
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