The Bible Story Vol 2_w.pdf - Herbert W. Armstrong

hidden Israelite soldiers waited until the oncoming enemy was well up on
the ridges behind which the Israelites waited. Then they leaped out and
fell on the Amorites in wave after wave of men with such sudden and
surprising force that all the attackers, including king Sihon, were either
slaughtered or put to flight.
After this encounter, Moses was certain that the best of Sihon's army
had been wiped out. Nevertheless, he directed the Israelites to quickly
break camp and move swiftly toward the cities of the Amorites before
their occupants could group themselves for defense. The Israelite soldiers
reached the main Amorite city of Heshbon, only a few miles distant, to
find that it was almost defenseless. They moved quickly in to slaughter
all the people, including the family of king Sihon.
God Renders Justice
From then on the Israelites moved swiftly over the land to take over
every city and town, slay the people and seize the animals and any other
valuable things that could be taken with them. Within only a few days
they became the conquerors and destroyers of this small nation. (Numbers
21:24-26; Deuteronomy 2:33-36.)
Many wonder why God had Israel to wipe out certain nations. The
reason is that they were so miserably sinful that they would be better off
dead. In Abraham's time, their iniquity had not reached such a peak.
(Genesis 15:16.) By the time the Israelites arrived, however, God said the
Amorites should no longer live. This does not mean they are eternally
lost. They, like the people of Nineveh, Sodom, Gomorrha, and all the
world, will come up in a judgment period, at the second resurrection,
after the 1,000 years, and will have an opportunity for salvation. (Matthew
12:41-42; Mark 6:11; Revelation 20:11-13.)
For a while, after conquering the Amorites, the Israelites rested in
the conquered land, then continued to move northward.
In spite of the fact that they had gained a quick reputation for
tremendous strength in battle, a king of the region northeast of the Dead
Sea came out with his army to attack them. His name was Og, and he was
a man of gigantic stature-probably nearly twelve feet in height. The
Bible mentions that the bed in his palace was about eighteen feet long
and eight feet wide. (Deuteronomy 3:11.)
Og was one of the last of the strain of giants of eastern Canaan. Some
of his soldiers were also very large, and they presented a frightening sight
as they charged against Israel.
"Tell your soldiers not to be afraid of these fierce-looking men," God
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