A Foretaste of Conquest; and Reversal of 14:45 (Numbers 21:1-3)
As Israel takes the long road around Edom, they end up in a place they were back in Chapter 14 (as well as some 40 years previous). Hormah is where they were thoroughly defeated and beaten back when they decided to try to invade the promised land on their own after the disastrous spy reports.
This time around, the King of Arad—no doubt remembering this group from the last time they came around—attacks them and wins some level of victory. Instead of panicking, complaining, or rebelling, Israel turns to YHWH. They ask for His help and promise to wipe out the enemy. (i.e. The promise not to keep any spoil or to adopt those cities and their idols and ways.) God approves and they win. This sets up a pattern of victories in the region of Moab going forward in the rest of the Book of Numbers. It is a sort of pre-conquest, foretelling the events of the actual conquest of Canaan later in Joshua.
This time around, the King of Arad—no doubt remembering this group from the last time they came around—attacks them and wins some level of victory. Instead of panicking, complaining, or rebelling, Israel turns to YHWH. They ask for His help and promise to wipe out the enemy. (i.e. The promise not to keep any spoil or to adopt those cities and their idols and ways.) God approves and they win. This sets up a pattern of victories in the region of Moab going forward in the rest of the Book of Numbers. It is a sort of pre-conquest, foretelling the events of the actual conquest of Canaan later in Joshua.
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