God’s Word for You
Deuteronomy 2 Summary
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Saturday, October 10, 2026
The Defeat of Sihon, King of Heshbon
(Deuteronomy 2:36)
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.
In this chapter, following the command from the LORD not to disturb the Moabites or Ammonites, Israel’s relatives, there came a new command: Cross the deep gorge of the Arnon River. This was a place on the east side of the Dead Sea, at the midway point of the sea. There the Arnon Gorge plunges from the heights above (Numbers 21:27), 1500 feet down to where the Arnon River roars into the sea (“Arnon” means “rushing” or “roaring river”).
From there, Israel was to move northward toward Heshbon (a city nine miles east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea). This was the territory of Sihon, an Amorite king who ruled over villages and fortified cities all along the east bank of the Jordan to Gilead, where the Yarmuk River enters the Jordan just south of the Sea of Galilee. This 80-mile stretch of highland guarded the eastern border of Canaan. It would also be the place, 1400 years later, where John would preach and baptize to announce the coming of the Savior to the people of Israel (John 1:26, 3:26).
By occupying this land, God was effectively cutting off the Canaanites from any help they might have sought to the east, and of course the shoreline of the Mediterranean cut them off to the west. The process of hemming in Israel’s enemies was beginning.
The reason for this battle was first, to put fear into Israel’s enemies (2:25), and second, to defeat one of the most powerful enemies on Canaan’s border (2:31). God helped his people by hardening the heart of Sihon, so that he chose to fight rather than to allow Israel to march across his land, “in order to give him into your hands” (2:30). To “harden the heart” is to make men proud and reckless “so that they venture everything and fear neither wrath nor judgment” (Luther).
The battle happened at Jahaz (see also Numbers 21:23-26). While this location cannot be pointed out with perfect certainty, it was probably close to the later Levitical city of Jahaz (Joshua 21:36), now called Muhatel el Haj. There are the ruins of a fort there today, and also the ruins of an ancient bridge that crossed the deep gorge.
Sihon’s nation was smaller than Israel. Later in the time Joshua, this 80-mile strip of grassy highlands was occupied by two of Israel’s tribes, Reuben and Gad, so perhaps (as Luther suggests) Sihon’s people were about one sixth the size of Israel. But Israel had been chastised by God for forty years. All of the original fighting men were dead apart from three very old leaders, Joshua, Caleb, and Moses himself (who was now a hundred and twenty). And Israel had been defeated by the Amalekites and the Canaanites at various times. But the Amorites of Sihon were puffed up and over-confident, and they came at Israel who had the Lord on their side. Relying only on the help of their Lord, their victory was complete, and Israel took possession of all of the flocks and herds. This was the Lord’s judgment on unrepentant sin. It was severe, but it also proclaimed God’s will to the other nations all around.
So the Lord defeated Israel’s enemy, enriched his people’s physical wealth, and enhanced their reputation and struck fear into the hearts of the Canaanites. At the same time, he strengthened the faith and trust that his people had in him, the LORD, the God who delivers his people.
I cannot help but think of the later promise of a forerunner for the Messiah, “a voice of one calling in the wilderness” (Isaiah 40:3). The victories John made along the eastern side of the Jordan were real victories of faith and forgiveness, preparing the way for the coming of the Lord God himself to preach and perform his miracles so very soon after. Just as Israel defeated Sihon high above the Jordan, so also Jesus our Lord defeated the enemies of God, the devil, the world, and our sinful flesh, and defeated even the grave itself.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.