Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

power. They saw that God was with Israel in the victory over King
Arad and the Canaanites and in the miracle to save those dying from
the sting of the serpents. In all their journeys and encampments the
Israelites had done no harm to the people or their possessions. On
reaching the border of the Amorites, Israel had asked permission
only to travel directly through the country, promising to observe the
same rules that had governed their relations with other nations.
When the Amorite king refused and defiantly gathered his armies
for battle, their cup of iniquity was full, and God would now
exercise His power to overthrow them.
The Israelites crossed the river Arnon and went forward against
the enemy. A battle took place, and the armies of Israel won. Soon
they were in possession of the Amorite country. The Captain of the
Lord's host defeated the enemies of His people. He would have done
the same thirty-eight years earlier if Israel had trusted in Him.
The army of Israel eagerly pressed forward and soon reached a
country that might well test their courage and faith in God. Before
them lay the powerful kingdom of Bashan, crowded with great stone
cities that to this day excite the wonder of the world--"sixty cities ...
with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns."
The houses were made of huge black stones, so large as to make the
buildings unconquerable by any force brought against them. It was a
country filled with wild caverns and rocky hide-outs. The
inhabitants, descendants from a giant race, were of impressive size
and strength, and known for such violence and cruelty as to be the
terror of all surrounding nations. Og, the king, was remarkable for
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