Kingdom Annointing
Deuteronomy 2:2-3, 14, 16-18
Then the Lord said to me, "You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.
Wandering around the hill country for far too long causes several things to happen here. Because of the length of time involved, God sent his kingdom anointing for future blessings; secondly, during this time all the fighting men led under Moses died. The text makes it clear that fighting and faithlessness go hand in hand. God had to clean out those who could not follow directions. There were those like Moses who smote the rock twice in Numbers 20:11. Still others thought they could keep the law of Moses without Christ. We see the command of God preceded the victory of obtaining the land promised. The Israelites spent forty years wandering through a geographic area which should have taken them a week or two to cross. What happened between the first hill encountered after crossing the Red Sea and seeing the power of God at Mount Sinai when the law was given in Exodus 19 and Exodus 24:12? It is interesting to note that Hebrews 11, the great chapter of faith, follows the children of Israel to the crossing of the Red Sea. Then it skips the rest of that generation only to pick back up in verse thirty-two with Gideon; from there it follows the rest of Israel's anointed leadership by God.
Saul is not mentioned who had been deposed of his duties by the Lord. Of note, the battle of Jericho and a few other notable events are mentioned briefly indicating the Israelites at this experienced an episodic faith. They only believed God when they were told to do something. Moses was followed up to the point of faith by keeping the Passover and forsaking his earthly birthright for the sake of God's people. No further mention is made of his faith for the ways of the law was not based upon the way of Christ. Jesus did not come to keep it; he came to fulfill the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17. Bearing these points out is important to see the length and breadth of this wandering in the hill country. The reason why God could not bring them out around some different people is because he knew they could not handle it. They passed by their relatives in Mt Seir and the enemy on the other side after the fighting men had died out. Verse fifteen makes it clear that "the Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp."
Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, the Lord said to me," When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war,
The Israelites lived near their relatives in Mt Seir for nearly thirty-eight years. When this was finished, their next instructions not to harass or provoke the Ammonites to war is based on a history and a pattern of behavior. They had done it before when passing by their relatives in Mt Seir; otherwise, God would not have had to wait until the fighting men among them died before he could lead them into their promised land. According to the text, the children of Esau had already obtained their promised land. They had fought to drive out the people as God had commanded them. So, it can be inferred that a certain spirit entered the people. This spirit of jealousy and disorder caused strife between them and their relatives. This was why God could not bring the fighting men into this situation. Their fighting was akin to faithlessness. Great peace have they which love my law and nothing will offend them as in Psalm 119:165. Before this came the wandering in the hill country; the text makes it clear it was for a long time. We all have things in our lives which feel like mountains and valleys we cannot get over. Some of us have been wandering around these for quite some time. We just call them by slightly different names.
Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.
Let us see just where they had been. Kadesh Barnea meant the holy place of the desert of wandering. The waters of Marah were circumstances much too bitter to support life. From there, they moved to the Zered Valley which was a wadi, literally a lush stream in the desert. There are patterns of addiction, courtroom disorder, idolatry, and other destructive habits that keep a person trapped in cycles of wandering around the hill country. The hill country is just a geography or a zip code; the people's faith or lack thereof kept them trapped in their situation. Their actions in the supernatural realm determined the circumstances of the natural. The unseen determined what was seen. God said you will not pass around this mountain again. When you praise him for making streams in the desert and rivers in dry land, you are praising him for working out in the natural what he has already done in the supernatural as in Isaiah 43:19. Psalm 84:5-7 says that those "whose hearts are set on pilgrimage" "pass through the Valley of Baka;" In the valley they make it through God's strength "a place of springs" and pools. The timing and the deliverance from the wandering are God's. However, when your heart is right with him, and your "ways please the Lord, he makes even your enemies to be at peace" with you according to Proverbs 16:7.