to it Jehovah was angry with him and
told him he should not enter the land of promise. (3) Moses asked
permission of the King of Edom to pass peaceably through his land and
was refused. They were, therefore, compelled to take a long journey
around Edom to reach there own land.

From Kadesh to the Jordan. When they were refused passage through the
land of the Edomites, their kinsmen, (Num. 20:14-21), the Hebrews made
a long journey around. On this journey occurred three important
events. (1) The death of Aaron in Mount Hor (Num. 20:22-29). (2) The
defeat of the King of South Canaan and the laying waste of his country
to Hormah where they had been routed nearly forty years ago. (3) The
sending of the fiery serpents and the brazen serpent as a remedy. They
also passed the country of Moab and came finally to the river Arnan
(Num. 21:13), which is the boundary between Moab and the Amorites.
Here they came into conflict with Sihon the King of the Amorites, whom
they defeated, and possessed his land. (Num. 21:23-24). The overcoming
of this strong and ancient people brought Israel into contact with Og,
king of Bashan, who was himself a giant and whose country was far more
formidable than that of the Amorites. By defeating him and possessing
his cities Israel was enabled to pass on and come to the plains of
Moab beyond Jordan at Jericho. In Psalms 135 and 136, written hundreds
of years later, the victory over Sihon and Og and the overthrow of
Pharaoh are dwelt on together in such a way as to show that their
conquest was regarded as an achievement worthy to rank along side of
that of their deliverance from the power of Egypt.

The Prophecies of Balaam. (Num. Chaps. 22-24). The Moabites were
greatly distressed about the settlement of the victorious Hebrews in
the region just north of them and feared lest they should suffer the
same fate as Shihon and Og. Balak, the King of Moab, had beard of
Balaam, a famous soothsayer or wise prophet of Chaldea, whose curses
and blessings were reported to carry with them extraordinary effects.
He sought at any cost to have him cripple Israel by placing a curse
upon them. But instead of cursing Israel and blessing the Moabites, he
revealed how wonderfully Israel was blessed Of God and how a scepter
would rise out of Israel and smite and destroy Moab.

This strange man Balaam seems to have had the gift of prophecy without
its grace. He had the knowledge of future events but sought to use it
for