Deuteronomy chapter 2

vs 19

The same message again. Don't be greedy for other people's land (that would be covetous), but instead look forward to the land God has specifically promised! That, though, requires faith that God has promised something good for you, that it will be at least as good as that he's given to others, and that it will be specifically what you need.

vs 20

Again, obviously a superior force had to be conquered to take this land. Also, they were called Zamzummites, which is an awesome name. It sounds made up :P

vs 21

These verses never really meant anything to me before. But God is obviously saying (without saying, merely by doing, and the doing is enough that Israel knew it had been done), "Look! I supplied a land for Esau. I supplied a land for Lot. Both of them had giant people in them that were scary and nasty. But I still gave the land to them. Yes, they probably had to fight for it, like you will for yours, but look now - they've got it!" So it was God working in the history of nations to show an example to Israel, who were about to go through the exact same process, and who had the exact same fears. I mean, exactly the same!

vs 22-23

Same thing again, and then the Caphtorites are mentioned - whoever they are. I won't even go into the irony of the mentioning of Gaza here.

vs 24

The first battle lines are being drawn (well, actually, all this has happened - but in Moses' quick recap of the Exodus and such, this is where we're up to). Sihon, king of Heshbon, is the first to fall to Israel. The battle will be fought and won before real possession can take place - and true possession of the land can't really be afforded until battles are being fought on the other side of the Jordan, because those who settle here are going to need to go and fight over there too.

vs 25

God does something that people just can't do. I mean, sure, we can try and cause fear, we can use shock and awe tactics and all the rest of it. But people's hearts are not ours to control (perhaps we could create a fear drug and use it in chemical warfare? I don't know). The point is that God can bring a whole nation to its knees just because he wants to. In fact, it's not just a whim - no doubt these people are getting what they deserve. But God just reaches out, and they're now toast. Note that Israel still needs to get the blood on their hands. God doesn't just make the people disappear in wisps of smoke. I think that's important.

vs 26

Now, this might seem like Moses isn't listening to God. God said, "go to war with them and wipe the suckers out." Moses sends them a greeting card. Is he disobeying God? I don't think so. It's like Moses' dealings with Pharoah. God told him at the start what was going to happen, but Moses still had to go through the motions of asking Pharoah to let his people go. God achieves as much in the acts leading up as in the final acts themsevles.

vs 27

And so Moses starts his letter - a very reasonable one, overall. They'll stay on the roads (that is, not in fields where production is taking place). You might wonder why they don't just go around the nation. Well, it's just not that simple. Humans spread out to take control of as much land as they can. Just imagine you arrived on the shore of Africa, and you needed to get to a landlocked country like CAR. You can't go around all the countries - you're going to have to walk through one of them. There's not big gaps between country borders that are free areas where people can do what they like.

So Moses offers the next best thing - he tries to allay fears, but in a way that still allows him to do God's will - get to the promised land.