Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah. Then the AmoritesThe term "Amorites" refers to one of the prominent Canaanite tribes inhabiting the land before the Israelites. In Hebrew, "Amorites" is "אֱמֹרִי" (Emori), which is often used to represent the inhabitants of the hill country. Historically, the Amorites were known for their fortified cities and warrior culture. This context highlights the formidable nature of the opposition faced by the Israelites, emphasizing the consequences of disobedience to God's command. who lived in the hills
The phrase "who lived in the hills" indicates the geographical advantage held by the Amorites. The hill country provided natural fortifications and strategic military positions. This setting underscores the Israelites' vulnerability when they acted outside of God's guidance, as they were not prepared to face such a well-positioned enemy. came out against you
The action "came out against you" signifies a proactive and aggressive move by the Amorites. In the Hebrew context, this phrase suggests a deliberate and hostile confrontation. It serves as a reminder of the spiritual battles believers face when they step outside of God's will, encountering opposition that is both fierce and determined. and chased you like a swarm of bees
The simile "like a swarm of bees" vividly describes the relentless and overwhelming nature of the Amorite attack. Bees, in their swarming behavior, are known for their aggressive defense and ability to pursue intruders persistently. This imagery conveys the panic and chaos experienced by the Israelites, illustrating the futility of their efforts without divine support. beating you down
The phrase "beating you down" reflects the physical and moral defeat suffered by the Israelites. In Hebrew, the verb used here can imply a thorough and humiliating defeat. This serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of disobedience and the importance of relying on God's strength rather than human effort. from Seir
"Seir" refers to a mountainous region associated with the Edomites, located southeast of the Dead Sea. The mention of Seir provides a geographical marker, indicating the extent of the Israelites' retreat. It highlights the distance and desperation of their flight, symbolizing the spiritual distance that results from straying from God's path. as far as Hormah
"Hormah" means "destruction" in Hebrew, and it was a city in the Negev region. The name itself is a testament to the outcome of the battle. The Israelites' retreat to Hormah signifies a complete and utter defeat, reinforcing the theme of destruction that follows disobedience. This serves as a cautionary tale for believers to heed God's commands and trust in His timing and provision. Persons / Places / Events 1. AmoritesA group of ancient people living in the land of Canaan, known for their strength and opposition to the Israelites. 2. IsraelitesThe descendants of Jacob, chosen by God to inherit the Promised Land, but who often struggled with obedience and faith. 3. SeirA mountainous region associated with the Edomites, located southeast of the Dead Sea. 4. HormahA place in the Negev desert, significant for its repeated mention in Israel's battles and wanderings. 5. The BattleAn event where the Israelites, acting against God's command, attempted to take the land by their own strength and were defeated by the Amorites. Teaching Points Obedience to God’s CommandsThe Israelites' defeat serves as a stark reminder of the importance of obeying God's instructions. Acting in our own strength, without His guidance, leads to failure. Consequences of DisobedienceThe passage highlights the real and immediate consequences of disobedience. It serves as a warning to heed God's word and trust in His timing. God’s Sovereignty and TimingThe Israelites' presumption to enter battle without God's blessing underscores the importance of aligning our actions with God's will and timing. Learning from Past MistakesReflecting on past failures can guide us to make better choices in the future, emphasizing the need for repentance and reliance on God. Spiritual WarfareJust as the Israelites faced physical enemies, believers today face spiritual battles. Victory comes through faith and obedience to God. Bible Study Questions 1. What can we learn from the Israelites' decision to go into battle without God's blessing, and how can this apply to decisions we face today? 2. How does the imagery of being chased "like a swarm of bees" help us understand the nature of spiritual attacks we might face? 3. In what ways can we ensure that our actions align with God's will and timing, especially when facing challenges? 4. How do the consequences faced by the Israelites in this passage compare to the consequences of disobedience mentioned in other parts of the Bible? 5. Reflect on a time when you acted in your own strength rather than relying on God. What did you learn from that experience, and how can it guide your future actions? Connections to Other Scriptures Numbers 14:39-45This passage provides a parallel account of the Israelites' defeat by the Amalekites and Canaanites, emphasizing their disobedience to God's command. Psalm 118:12This verse uses the imagery of bees to describe being surrounded by enemies, similar to the Amorites' pursuit of the Israelites. Hebrews 3:7-19This New Testament passage reflects on the Israelites' disobedience and lack of faith, urging believers to remain faithful and obedient to God. People Amorites, Anakites, Caleb, Canaanites, Eshcol, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephunneh, Joshua, Laban, Moses, Nun, Og, Seir, SihonPlaces Arabah, Ashtaroth, Bashan, Dizahab, Edrei, Egypt, Euphrates River, Hazeroth, Heshbon, Horeb, Hormah, Jordan River, Kadesh-barnea, Laban, Lebanon, Moab, Mount Seir, Negeb, Paran, Seir, Suph, Tophel, Valley of EshcolTopics Amorite, Amorites, Beat, Bees, Chased, Crushed, Cut, Destroyed, Driving, Dwell, Dwelling, Dwelt, Flight, Hill, Hill-country, Hills, Hormah, Meet, Mountain, Overcame, Pieces, Pursue, Rushing, Seir, Se'ir, Smite, SwarmDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 1:44 4660 insects Deuteronomy 1:41-44 5612 weapons Deuteronomy 1:43-45 8617 prayer, effective Library Foretastes of the Heavenly Life
Early in the year 1857. NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1857 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 45, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 45: 1899Preventive against Backsliding.
It is most instructive to note how exceedingly anxious the early Christians were, that, as soon as a man was converted, he should be "filled with the Holy Ghost." They knew no reason why weary wastes of disappointing years should stretch between Bethel and Peniel, between the Cross and Pentecost. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. i. 2). When Peter and John came to the Samaritans, and found that they were …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life Afraid of Giants
'And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; 18. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Deuteronomy 1:44 NIVDeuteronomy 1:44 NLTDeuteronomy 1:44 ESVDeuteronomy 1:44 NASBDeuteronomy 1:44 KJV
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