Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 20:14 - 20:21

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 20:14 - 20:21


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

The Refusal of the Edomites to Grant Israel Passage. —

v. 14. And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom,
since the plan of entering into Canaan from the east made it necessary for the people to pass through the country inhabited by the descendants of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, for the two nations were descended from brothers, Thou knowest all the travel (trouble) that hath befallen us, the long and arduous desert journey which had fallen to the lot of the children of Israel after all the vicissitudes of the land of Egypt;

v. 15. how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us and our fathers;


v. 16. and when we cried unto the Lord, He heard our voice and sent an Angel,
the Angel of the Lord in a special sense, the Son of God Himself, who was the Leader of the host of Israel, Exo_14:19; Exo_23:20; Exo_33:2, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt; and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border;

v. 17. let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country; we will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards,
in an irregular, careless, and straggling manner of marching, or in a way which permitted individual foraging, neither will we drink of the water of the wells, that is, take the water without paying for it; we will go by the king's highway, the great public and military road, built and maintained at the expense of the nation; we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed through thy borders.

v. 18. And Edom,
that is, the king of the Edomites, in the name of his people, said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. To the very ungracious refusal is added the menacing threat, which emphasized the denial of the petition.

v. 19. And the children of Israel,
through their representatives, said unto him, We will go by the highway; and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it, the people of the country were not to suffer any inconvenience or loss by reason of this journey through their land; I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet; literally, "It isn't anything, it isn't really a serious matter for which I am asking, just a small favor, I merely want to pass through afoot. "

v. 20. And he said, Thou shalt not go through.
The refusal of the king of Edom was definite and final. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand; the king mobilized his army and made ready to attack Israel, as soon as the latter would cross his border.

v. 21. Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; wherefore Israel turned away from him.
The Lord had them change their proposed itinerary, probably because He did not want to have the people become discouraged by war. The children of Edom are often represented in Scriptures as the enemies of the Lord's people and as a type of the unbelievers of all times. The children of this world, in spite of their apparent attitude of friendliness so frequently shown, will do everything in their power to hinder the children of God from obtaining eternal salvation.