In the last section of chapter 1, we looked at God’s loving discipline in our lives and applied that to not only how we should respond as adults, but also to how we should discipline our children.

But in this chapter we are going to be looking at a number of practical issues related to people movements, national borders, immigration, and other issues. Because this has been such a hot topic of controversy, we are going to go through this chapter slowly. Originally I was thinking of taking all of verses 1-25 together, but there is just way too much material.

And this morning, in addition to applying these verses to our own border control, I think there are some principles that also apply to the growing number of Christians who have had to flee from one state within a nation to another state, or from one country to another country. For example, there are approximately 3 million Christians have been displaced in Nigeria alone because of intense persecution from Boko Haram and the Fulani herdsmen. That’s huge. It is almost the size of Israel in this chapter. Christians have also been fleeing from Sudan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Algeria, Syria, and other countries. So the issue of a homeless mass of Christians who need to travel to a safe place is a very, very relevant topic that we need to be praying about.

The timing of their homelessness: "many days" (1:46), "then" (2:1a) and the later "many days" (v. 1)

But before we get to my main applications, I want to deal with two controversies by way of introduction: 1) the timing of the phrases in verse 1 and 2) some misapplications that some people have made from this passage to our own border control.

Let me start with the issue of timing. There are some people who treat the "many days" of chapter 1:46 as being the same time period as the "many days" of chapter 2:1. But that makes nonsense of the word "Then" at the beginning of this chapter. And it also makes nonsense of numerous other passages in the book of Numbers. It spoils the detailed chronology God has provided in Numbers and Deuteronomy. And I've put a chart on page 4 of your outlines of some of the most important events in the chronology, with Scripture proofs. But I only want to summarize the timing clues this morning.

What does the word "then" in verse 1 refer to? While there is debate, I believe that the "then" refers to the end of the eight months that they spent in Kadesh Barnea in the last verse of chapter 1. Chapter 1:46 says, "So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there." We saw last week that they spent eight months there. God was training them during that eight months to be prepared for further tests that He would be giving them over the next 38 years once they left Kadesh. So the first word, "Then," refers to the end of the eight months of concentrated training that they received in Kadesh.

Verse 1 goes on to say, "we turned and journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red Sea, as the Lord spoke to me..." Verse 14 of our chapter makes clear that from the time they left Kadesh until they entered the land was 38 years. Look at verse 14 - it is very clear. "And the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them." The only way you can reconcile that verse with several others is if the "Then" refers to the beginning of the 38 years - in other words, to the end of the eight month period referred to as "many days" in chapter 1:46. And that reads naturally, doesn't it? Chapter 2 comes after chapter 1. So I don't know why in the world some commentaries are confused on that.

Their journey took them from Kadesh to the Wilderness of Zin at spot #14 on the black and white map that you have in your hands. The book of Numbers (chapter 33 )lists seventeen additional stops that they made between points #14 and #15. All of that was just West of Mount Seir and Edom. They skirted that mountain (back and forth) because they did not want to interfere with or make Edom nervous during that 38 year period. So verse 1 ends, "we skirted Mount Seir for many days."

It was at spot #15 on the map (in other words, at Ezion-Geber - at the tip of the Gulf of Aqaba) that verses 2-3 occur. Let me read those two verses:

Deut. 2:2 “And the LORD spoke to me, saying: 3 “You have skirted this mountain long enough; turn northward.

So they go northward from Ezion-Geber (in other words from spot #15 on your map) back to spot #16, which is the second stay at Kadesh Barnea. It was from there that Numbers 20 says that they sent messengers to Edom to ask if it would be OK to travel through Edom to Canaan rather than making the treacherous journey that they ended up making through spots #17, 18, and 19 on that map (though the color map gives some alternative routes that conservatives have claimed that they may have taken). Hopefully that black and white map helps all of this stick clearly in your head.

So the best commentators point out that verses 1-3 cover 38 years of wandering in that region. And we aren't going to get into everything that happened in those 38 years because I dealt with it last week - and it really is not the point of this chapter. He is going to move quickly into some other lessons that they needed to learn of what they could conquer and what they could not conquer. He was only going to let them conquer those nations whose cup of iniquity was full and who would declare a war to the death against them. They didn't meddle with other nations.

Don't missapply this passage

But before we dig into the passage in detail, I want to deal with the second controversy - and that is the gross misapplications of this chapter that have been made by some in the past few years to justify opening our borders without any vetting of who came into the USA under the Biden administration. We will look at that more when we get to later verses, but I will just show four hints that help us to not misapply this passage. And these hints should be pretty obvious.

Note that they were to "pass through," not occupy (v. 4a,5). These are not instructions for immigration.

First, I want you to notice that verse 4 gives God's command for them to "pass through" Edom, not to occupy Edom. He says, "You are about to pass through the territory of your brethren." That was God's ideal, and that was the intention of Moses. In fact, God specifically prohibits them from claiming one square foot of Edom in verse 5. So this is not a passage related to immigration. Passing through is not immigration. The subject of immigration will have to wait till much later in the book, where there are verses that show us how to handle the sojourner and the stranger in the land. But this is a passage that more appropriately instructs mass groups of Christians on how to navigate the perils of traveling out of their hostile circumstances, perhaps through one or more other nations, to a destiny that is willing to receive them. This has been happening in Nigeria. There are also very cool stories of Christians who have fled from Myanmar through the jungles to reach safety in Mizoram, India, an area that has very strong Christian populations and sympathies to the Christians of Myanmar. If you were one of those displaced Christians, you would take great comfort from this passage.

Note that this was a massive migration of an army, not instructions for a "stranger" or "sojourner." This led God to give them extra cautions.

Second, I want you to notice that this was a mass migration of people, not just a few individuals trickling over the border from time to time. Later in the book of Deuteronomy we will see that Israel was to treat individual sojourners with kindness, and even had gleaning laws to assist those of them who were poor. We will look at how God vetted those who came over the border and absolutely prohibited criminals and idol worshipers from coming into the country. But if you are looking for a one-to-one correspondence to things that are happening today, this applies very nicely to the mass migrations of Christians who are leaving Nigeria, Syria, Myanmar, and other countries.

Note that this was a migration of a righteous people, not criminals

I also want to point out that this was a migration of a righteous people, not criminals. There were criminal gangs coming over our borders during the Biden administration that should have been kept out. There were Chinese spies that should be kept out. But sadly, some people use this passage to justify anybody and everybody coming across our borders. That is nonsense.

Now, one thought that might come into your heads is that it could indeed be a scary thing to have such a large group of people traveling through your country. And that is true. Verse 4 will say that it is very natural for a country to be cautious and fearful when that happens. But if you look at the history of the Reformation and the Christian West, this kind of thing happened quite a bit, and with very few problems. And those formerly Christians nations even allowed armies to travel through, and even had join exercises against Roman Catholic regimes. But mass migrations of hostile people should definitely be kept out. (I'm just trying to set the context.) In this passage, Israel posed no threat of hostility to Edom.

Note that this was a group of well-to-do people, not people seeking welfare

The last thing that I want you to notice by way of introduction is that this was a group of super wealthy people. We already saw in a past sermon that God had richly endowed every single family when they left Egypt, and their wealth had only increased during the last forty years - with others inheriting the wealth of those who were struck down in various plagues. Verses 6-7 shows this second generation could easily pay their own way through Edom. This was not a group of people seeking welfare. There are other rules elsewhere in the book that addresses how to handle impoverished people coming into a nation, and they are wonderfully gracious laws - including the gleaning laws. OK? But this passage cannot be misused to justify massive immigration of people seeking to immediately sign up on Social Security, Medicare, or Welfare (all of which are unbiblical anyway).

Instructions for Christians fleeing persecution or other dangers (vv. 4-8; Numb. 20:14-21)

I know that has been a super long introduction, but now lets make some applications from this text to Christians who are without a nation for some reason. Israel was after all a largely believing nation by this time since the older generation had all died off. This generation had (for the most part) successfully learned their lessons through God's boot camp training.

Evaluate your risks (vv. 2-3)

And the first thing that is hinted at in this passage is that such Christians should evaluate their risks before they flee. That should be obvious, but too many Christians have blindly fled from one persecuting nation into a worse one, and ended up in a far worse situation. They have jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Why do I say that this passage illustrates evaluating your risks? Well, the two choices Israel faced for making it into Canaan constituted the two risks. Israel was taking a risk in traveling through a nation that did not know them very well, and was suspicious of them. We will see in a moment that they tried very hard to allay Edom's suspicions.

The other risk they faced was going around Edom. And I didn't have space in your notes to share all of the pictures and details of how treacherous it was to go around Edom, but that part is not controversial at all. Everyone agrees that going around Edom was an undesirable alternative. There is debate on which route they took to navigate around Edom. The black and white map shows my view. But the color map gives three possible routes that conservatives have hypothesized. But really, any of the three routes would have involved them in at least some very treacherous terrain. Thankfully, God thought of that too, and had them go through at a season where there was at least a tiny bit of water. Any other season would have been a death march. So even the timing was thought through.

So, in evaluating the risks, they sought to at least try to go through the least risky route, which was directly through Edom. That would have been the ideal. And if Edom had been following God's law, it would have let them go through - with caveats of course, but it would have let them go through. It was after all, God's command in verse 4, and therefore it was a righteous thing to do. In our debates, we need to take that command seriously. But potential risks needed to be thought through.

Be convinced that your request for travel is a righteous request (v. 4a)

The second instruction is "Be convinced that your request for travel is a righteous request." As I've already mentioned, the first phrase in verse 4 constitutes a command from God, and therefore they could do it in faith. This was not breaking God's law.

So the question might come up, "What would be an unrighteous request?" And I believe it would be any request that ignored some of the instructions you see in your outline. I don't think I need to say more on that point.

Pick a country that is culturally & religiously similar ("your brethren" v. 4b with Gen. 27ff; Numb. 20; both were descendants of Isaac and Abraham)

The next phrase in verse 4 shows that there was huge potential for Edom to be a friendly, welcoming country. After all, God says that Edom is "the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau." What does it mean that they were their "brethren"? Some believe that this only refers to the fact that Edom and Israel descended from the twin children of Isaac (Jacob and Esau), and so both descended from Abraham, to whom God had promised he would be the father of many nations. So those scholars emphasize the fact that there would be similarities of language and of culture, and that would have made it much easier to navigate through their country. And it would be a huge plus for modern migrations of Christians to pick nations that have the same language and customs - if that is possible. Others (like me) point to the book of Job (which clearly shows that the true faith existed in Edom)¹ and to a few other verses (Deut. 33:2; Judges 5:4-5; Hab. 3:3), and they point to a few archaeological finds that seem to indicate that the Edomites still worshiped the same God that Israel did, and that Edom even used the name Yahweh.²

In any case, I don't think I need to settle that debate. Whatever "brethren" means in full, it at least means that there was enough closeness between these two people-groups that Edom should have been willing to trust them. Long after this event, Deuteronomy 23:7 flips the coin and says of Israel, that they should be trusting of Edom. It says, "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother." There was enough closeness there, that Israel was commanded to respect Edom. So even on the surface, Edom should not have rejected Israel. It should have been a friendly country.

And God may well have been setting this up to be a model to other displaced Christians to try to travel through countries that are potentially friendly - if possible. Too many Christian refugees have fled straight into prison camps and even massacres. And there are Christian Aid groups that are instructing churches in countries that have intense persecution of Christians on what their best options for travel might be - assuming that they absolutely need to flee - with fleeing being only a last resort. Those Christians should want to Christianize countries, not flee from them. But Christians in some countries have been forced to start thinking about these things ahead of time.

Try to find the most realistic route (v. 4b)

The next instruction is obvious - try to find the most realistic route. Verse 4 goes on to say, "who live in Seir." That was close by. Going way around Edom would have been very time consuming and extremely dangerous. The book of Numbers shows the numerous dangers that they faced when they ended up taking the less realistic route. When I have read some of the stories of Christian migrations, some of them have been able to go through one country and into another because they picked a realistic route. They were coached on this. And the Bible gives instructions to even such situations as these modern Christians refugees face.

Recognize and respect the natural presence of suspicion & fear (v. 4c with Numb. 20:14-21)

The next instruction was to recognize and respect the natural presence of suspicion & fear when large groups ask permission to go through a nation. God says, "And they will be afraid of you." That is a very, very natural response to masses of people who want to enter your borders - unless of course you really trust the leadership of the group coming through. And in a couple of minutes I will show how they wisely sought to alleviate those fears.

Here's the point as it relates to our borders. To not be nervous about mass migrations and mass immigration is the height of foolishness. Biden's policies have created havoc in many states - with not only human trafficking, spies, drug dealers, terrorists, and other dangerous people coming in, but with many of the people going on Welfare. God was taking seriously the potential dangers of such mass migration. That phrase alone should give caution to arm-chair theologians who have been giving simplistic answers to the problems at our border. It is not simple.

Be on your best behavior (v. 4d)

The next clause says, "Therefore watch yourselves carefully." He was basically telling them that when they went through Edom (if given permission) they should be on their best behavior. Christians who want completely open borders with absolutely no vetting have perhaps not witnessed the criminal behavior of many of the people who have sought entrance into America.

In contrast, there have been mass migrations of Christians in the past couple of years, where the Christians have been fantastic testimonies to the countries they have gone through. They were on their best behavior. That good behavior helped to alleviate some of the fears of those nations.

Respect a nation's right to borders (vv. 5ff; Numb. 20; etc.)

Another principle that I see in verses 5 and following is that God mandates that travelers respect a nation's right to control who comes across its borders. I'll read verse 5, and then I want to spend a bit of time on a theology of borders by looking at the background to verse 5. I didn't have room in my notes to write down the theology of borders, but I did at least write down some of my favorite verses. But let's start with verse 5.

Verse 5 says, "Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession." I want to deal with that phrase, "not so much as a footstep." Every square foot of Edom belonged to Edom by divine right, and thus every square foot of Edom was objectively known and was marked out by borders. Without borders they would not have known which square foot belonged to Edom and which did not. And though the word “border” is not used here, the idea of a border is clear. So I want to talk about a theology of borders.

The word “border” occurs 134 times in the English Bible and 474 times in the original languages. In my notes here I have nine Hebrew words for border in the Old Testament (גָּבוֹל; גְּבוּלָה; קֵץ; תּוֹצָאוֹת; קָצוּ; מוּל; קָצָה; יְרֵכָה; תַּכְלִית) and one Greek word in the New Testament (ὁροθεσία). These words all indicate a formally defined and recognizable line that separates groups from each other. In some passages, the word just shows the limits of personal property ownership. That's one kind of border in Deuteronomy 19:14; 27:17. In other passages the words are used to indicate a line that separates the territorial limits of the rule of one civic entity (such as a district, state, or kingdom) from another civic entity (and there are several Scriptures I have in my notes on that usage of those terms: Ex. 23:31; Numb. 34:1-2; Deut. 32:8). I won't take time to get into all of those Scriptures. When my book on Biblical Civics comes out, I will give those details.

But for now I just want to emphasize that according to the Bible, a border clearly represents the limits of some sphere of jurisdiction or authority. God Himself set borders for both Israel (Ex. 23:31) and for Gentile nations (as we will see in this chapter in verses 4-5,9,19 and so many other Scriptures). Those borders did not hinder cross-border free trade (as verse 6 will indicate), but it did hinder those who were outside the borders from “meddling” (which is the word that is used in verse 5) with a foreign country’s affairs or taking any land from them (and Acts 7:5 repeats that thought). Likewise, Acts 17:26 says, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord…,” showing that borders even had a Gospel purpose. OK? Psalm 74:17 says of God, “You have set all the borders of the earth.” And God intended nations to not cross borders without the permission of the neighboring nation. And we are definitely going to be seeing that in this chapter in verses 4, 5, 9, and 17. Thus, that God expected tribes and nations to have borders is an indisputable fact. But some contend that God intended borders to be so porous that they were only designed to keep out hostile armies.

But let’s start at the beginning. In Genesis 10:32 God divided the nations throughout the earth. He divided the nations. That word for division shows that God intended to keep people apart , and to keep them from crossing borders without a good reason. Some interpret that scattering and division of nations in Genesis 10 as only a judgment for sin (in other words, God’s decretal will), and therefore not representing God’s ideal (or God’s moral will). But I think that a thorough study of Genesis 9-11 shows that God’s command was for mankind to scatter over the earth even before Babel (Genesis 9:1), and it was mankind’s refusal to do so and his attempt to establish a one-world government without any borders that led to this scattering via languages and establishing of borders (and that is described in Genesis 11:1-9). God hates the idea of a one-world-government without borders. Thus, when God sought to “scatter [them] abroad over the face of all the earth” in Genesis 11:9, it was to fulfill His original intention for mankind in Genesis 10:32 - that they should have voluntarily stayed divided as nations. For example, Deuteronomy 32:8 interprets this event, saying, “When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples.” Notice that one of God’s purposes was to separate people groups and to put boundaries around them. And in my book I will go into much more details on God's purposes for borders.

But to what degree were these borders to be controlled and monitored by nations? Though this is a much-debated subject, it is my contention that an unprotected border is merely a theoretical border; it’s meaningless. After all, it is not just hostile armies that pose a danger to a nation’s integrity. If God intends a country to have one religion and a mono-cultural commitment to God (which He most definitely does), then anyone that might threaten that Christian culture could potentially be kept out – or at a minimum, be denied citizenship. But for purposes of this sermon, I will only give five of the reasons God established borders.

1. First, God allowed banishment (נדח) of criminals outside the borders of the land as an alternative to execution for at least certain capital crimes - not for murder, but for some capital crimes. Exodus 23:32 says of those criminals, “They shall not dwell in your land.” And execution was not the only way that they could be kept out of the land. For example, King Asa was praised by the Lord for doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord by banishing the perverted persons from the land (1 Kings 15:11-12; 22:46). He was praised by God for doing that. The perverted persons would be the LGBTQ people in America. They should be banished. God Himself says “The wicked is banished in his wickedness” (Proverbs 14:32). And I have a long string of verses in my notes that show that banishment outside the borders of a country can at least sometimes be a God-pleasing punishment for a crime (Ex. 23:33; Deut 18:10-11; Lev. 18:29; Ezra 10:11; Neh. 9:2-3; see also Prov. 14:32; 1 Kings 15:11-12; 22:46; Ezra 7:26-27; Is. 56:3-8). And later in this book of Deuteronomy we will see that participants in the LGBTQ activities are treated as criminals by God. But here's the point: if banishment is allowed in order the preserve the integrity of God’s Christian culture within a nation, then borders need to be protected, controlled, and vetted for the banishment to even work. Otherwise the criminal comes right back in. Without border control, the banishment is meaningless; utterly meaningless. This requires at least some degree of monitoring and controlling of border crossings. That’s my first proof. This Biblical law of banishment needs to inform our current debates on this subject.

2. Second, in order to maintain the integrity of the nation’s borders, good kings were authorized by God to set up watchtowers along the borders in order to monitor who comes and who goes. And I have a whole bunch of Scriptures in my notes on God's authorization of that (2 Kings 9:17; 18:8; 1 Chron. 27:25; 2 Chron. 17:12; 27:4; Is. 21:5-9; 62:6; Jer. 6:17). God also authorized the establishment of fortified cities at strategic choke points to guard the borders with soldiers (Josh 10:31-33; 2 Sam. 18:24-27; 1 Kings 9:15-28; 2 Kings 18:13). God Himself said, “I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they shall never hold their peace day or night” (Is. 62:6). That means that even the borders of a city had watchmen (2 Sam. 8:24-25; 18:26-27; Ps. 127:1; Song 3:3; 5:7) who were required to guard the integrity of the walls (Neh. 4:22-23; 7:3; 13:22). Why would God authorize watchtowers and guards at the borders of cities and nations if He did not expect some kind of border control? It's clear from those Scriptures that He did expect it. So that’s my second proof.

3. Third, so important was this role of guarding the integrity of borders that Ezekiel says, “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand” (Ezek. 36:6). The demand to protect the integrity of borders was a divine imperative, and the failure to watch borders had negative consequences from God Himself. God is going to hold many government officials accountable for having let criminals over the border to rape, murder, steal, and kidnap.

4. Fourth, God approved of such border control even during a time of peace. Let me give you one example. 2 Chronicles 14:6-7 says of good King Asa, “And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest. Therefore he said to Judah, ‘Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.’ So they built and prospered.” (2 Chron. 14:6-7) According to God's commentary on what Asa did, strong borders are blessed by God and make for peace.

5. And fifth, interestingly, God prophesied that border control would continue to be approved by Him even during the future millennial time of peace when there will be no more threat of war. And you can see that in passages like Isaiah 52:8, Isaiah 62:6-7, and Jeremiah 31:6, etc. Thus, guarding borders was not simply restricted to repelling invading armies during a time of war. It also had peace-time functions.

The point is that none of the God-ordained borders was so porous that anyone could cross the border without permission. Borders were designed in part (but not exclusively) to maintain the integrity of countries and cities from criminal types, and God made provision for keeping criminals and other enemies outside those borders. And again, in my notes I will have a whole bunch of Scriptures to prove that (Ex. 23:33; Deut 18:10-11; Lev. 18:29; 1 Kings 15:11-12; 22:46; Ezra 7:26-27; Ezra 10:11; Neh. 9:2-3; Prov. 14:32; Is. 56:3-8).

If possible, send messengers to respectfully negotiate passage (Numb. 20:14ff)

In any case, this theology of borders helps to explain why Moses sent messengers to Edom to try to respectfully allay their fears and to negotiate safe passage through the country. (This is the next point in your outlines.) Let me read the section of Numbers 20 that occurs during these verses. It's Numbers 20:14-21. In this passage, Israel was very careful to not presume upon Edom's hospitality or in any way to try to force passage through Edom. That passage shows great respect for borders. The fear that Edom had of Israel (while understandable) was not a necessary fear according to God. And it was not necessary for four reasons that are highlighted in Numbers 20. And I'm going to go ahead and read that to you now. It's Numbers 20:14-21.

Num. 20:14 Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. 16 When we cried out to the Yehowah, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’ ”

Num. 20:18   Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

Num. 20:19   So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

Num. 20:20   Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

Let me explain why Israel's request was a very reasonable request. And I’ll just make four points.

Note that the messengers explained why they were not a threat

First, Israel identified itself with Edom as "your brother Israel" to show that they were closely related. They both descended from Isaac, the son of Abraham, and both at least outwardly worshiped the same God, had the same language, and had many of the same customs. These were not two wildly different cultures or peoples. It should have been possible to have a Bilateral Treaty Alliance like America has had with a few countries, or a NATO kind of relationship. But they weren't even asking for that. They were simply asking to travel through. This was more akin to the kind of negotiations that various Western nations made with each other during the time of the Reformation to allow Protestants to travel through as they fled from Romanist persecution.

Note that they clearly explained their neediness

Second, Israel explained why they needed to travel through. This was not a weird or arbitrary request. Anyone who knew the region would know that requiring Israel to go around Edom would have required that they go through incredibly treacherous territory. So there was definitely a need for this request. (And I should have added a point that they already had a stated destination that they were going to.)

Note that they did not treat passage as a right that could be demanded, but very politely requested permission before entering the land

The next thing to note is that God did not want Israel to treat this as a right that could be demanded. They politely requested permission while still a fair distance from the border. They weren't like some migrants who illegally enter our country and then later try to get permission to stay.

Note their guarantee that they would not be a burden, but that this arrangement would be mutually beneficial

Fourth, they guaranteed Edom that they would not be a burden to the country, and demonstrated that this arrangement would be mutually beneficial. Edom could have made a bunch of money from their use of the toll road - and they did promise to stick to the King's Highway, which was a toll road. International merchants used this toll road all the time to deliver goods not only to Edom, but to nations north and south of Edom, and Edom made money off of those merchants. I think it is perfectly legitimate for toll roads to charge tolls to only those who use the roads. That's by far the best way of managing a road - only charge the people who actually use the road. And to have that many people coming through could have been a huge economic boost to the country. Obviously some of the money would have needed to be diverted to repairing that road after that many people traveled through. But there would have been plenty extra.

And it wasn't just the nation that could have made money from the use of the road; citizens would have benefited financially by being able to sell water, food, and other articles to the Israelites as they passed through. They presented this as a win-win situation. And verses 6-7 hint at their being able to pay their way.

Note that they put their best foot forward when seeking to negotiate, and made it clear that they were not a threat

Fifth, they put their best foot forward when seeking to negotiate, and made it crystal clear that they were not a threat. Their goal was not to stay in Edom or cause trouble in Edom or be a burden to Edom. Their goal was to get to Canaan - pure and simple. And they wanted to do so as friends and allies, not as enemies. The Canaanites were, after all, their mutual enemies. And there is plenty of evidence that this was the case.

But, when permission was denied for their first request, they sought to give guarantees and further assurances that they were not a threat. When Edom denied that second request, they moved on. So Numbers 20 fills in the background to this passage in a very helpful way. But let's get back to Deuteronomy 2, verses 5-8 to look at five more instructions.

Don't meddle in internal affairs (v. 5a)

In verse 5 God commanded Israel, "Do not meddle with them." They were not to meddle in internal affairs.

Sadly, this command has been violated by many of the people crossing our borders. In fact, our foolish border policies have allowed spies from other countries to definitely meddle in America's internal affairs - including influencing election results. There are at least 224 known cases of Chinese spies who have been seeking to steal intelligence and in other ways meddle. In fact, they discovered 40 Chinese officials running covert Chinese police stations in the US. Even this past week they have discovered more Chinese sabatoge and intentional meddling in internal affairs. But it's not just the Chinese. There are 382 individuals who were already known to be on the terrorist watchlist that the Biden administration let in. DHS has identified numerous human traffickers and smugglers. Biden's border policies were absolutely insane. And I think Christians who agree with Biden are ignoring this Scripture. The point is, God's mandate was that those who cross borders must not do so to meddle in internal affairs.

Don't demand citizenship rights, land rights, or other Edomite rights (v. 5b)

Next, Israel was not to demand citizenship rights, land, or in any way try to assume rights that only Edomites had within the land. Verse 5 goes on to say, "I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession." This passage definitely applies to our own border control, but it also applies to the attitudes Christians should have when they flee from their country through other countries. They cannot demand citizenship rights, land rights, or other national rights. They should come as polite supplicants asking for the favor of traveling through, visiting, or staying. And it is a favor, not a right. By the way, later in Deuteronomy there is provision for immigration if a person converts and takes an oath of allegiance to follow God's law. That oath of allegiance to God’s laws is an important protective mechanism. We have immigrants who despise America’s foundations. They should not be allowed in.

Don't be a burden on the land (v. 6 with Numb. 20)

Next, God did not want Israel to be the slightest burden to the land. Verse 6 says, "You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink." Purchasing everything they needed (including water) was a command. Free trade, yes. But expectations of handouts? No.

This of course does not hinder Christians groups from feeding, and clothing them. And later passages in Deuteronomy will talk about that. But that should generally not be the expectation of those coming across the border. For the most part they should be seeking to carry their own weight, have a good work ethic, and be willing to pay their own way. For sure they should not be going on Welfare like so many immigrants have recently done. The mass migrations into America have put a major strain on some states. Of course, if states weren't socialistic, the strain would not be quite as bad - but that's a question that will be addressed later in the book of Deuteronomy - no socialism. Socialism always complicates things. But verse 6 is basically saying, "Don't have a socialistic attitude when you come in. Don't be burden."

Trust God to provide - whether through this nation or not (v. 7)

Next, trust God to provide - whether though this nation or not. God knew ahead of time that Edom would refuse them their request, but God wanted Edom to have the opportunity to do the right thing. In any case, Verse 7 says,

"For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing."

God wanted them to look back on the faithful ways He had richly provided for them during the past forty years and to trust Him to provide for them in the future. As we saw in the last chapter, everything we do needs to flow from trust in Christ. Nothing happens by chance, and Christians who are fleeing persecution can trust that God will provide for them in His perfect timing. And there are many cool stories in the last couple of years of how God has done just that for thousands of Christians fleeing persecution. And often it has been other Christians who have done this providing. What a testimony to the unity within the body of Christ when Christians uphold other Christians who are going through tough times! Our church has been blessed to be able to share with other organizations in helping the persecuted church.

If entrance is denied, move on to another possible solution and don't illegally enter (v. 8)

But I will end by just briefly commenting on verse 8, even though it starts the next section. When Edom denied them access (as we read about in Numbers 20), verse 8 says,

"And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from Elath and Ezion Geber, we turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab."

This shows that Israel honored Edom's right to vet their borders and they stayed far from the border, going the more difficult route through the desert. You’ve got to know your geography to know what verse 8 is talking about, but they stayed far away from the border. They did not force their way into the country.

Hopefully this brief survey of Israel's interaction with Edom has given you enough information to help to inform your debates on border control to some degree, while at the same time helping you to have compassion on displaced Christians who need guidance on where they can go. There are many persecuted Christians who need our prayers and your support. This book will later show that God has a heart of compassion for displaced foreigners. May we share that heart. And may God bless the preaching of His Word. Amen.