Deuteronomy 2

I don't play that many video games--maybe partly because I have poor hand-eye coordination--but in my youth, I did spend time watching my brothers play. The Metal Gear Solid series (known for having convoluted, batty story lines that only the Japanese would allow in a major, high-budget video game) are ostensibly shooters, but they eschew the blunt "shoot everything you see" format, instead allowing you to sneak by enemies or use non-lethal force to neutralize them. (You can shoot everything you see if you want, but that usually causes the game to throw more enemies at you. Amusingly, if you do kill a lot of enemies, your character will start to periodically have "guilt visions" and vomit.) Needless to say, this sneaking requires patience that I'm guessing your average adolescent boy gamer doesn't necessarily have.

Moses and the Israelites didn't necessarily have to "sneak" past the Moabites (verse 9) and Ammonites (verse 18)--you try leading two million-odd people past a country without attracting notice. However, God does say not to "harass them of provoke them to war" (verse 18) because the Moabites are the descendants of Esau and the Ammonites are the descendants of Lot--making them blood relations to the Israelites.

However, when the Israelites pass by Sihon, king of Heshbon, God basically says, "Have at it," allowing them to completely destroy the denizens of Heshbon--except for the livestock. Bessie and Billy get off scot-free, though that's probably small solace to them. Because it probably won't be long until their throats are slit so they can serve as either a sacrificial offering or delicious provender.

The "Moses nugget" that stands out to me in this chapter is in verse 7--midway through his story about the Moabites, Moses interrupts himself to remind the Israelites that through the past 40+ years, God has provided for them--they "have not lacked anything." Yes, He punished them for their truculence by making them wander about until the original generation died off, but God still kept the Israelite race alive, allowing them to reach the land He had promised to their forebears. Similarly, I have to remember all the ways that God has provided for me. After I graduated from college, looking for a job, everyone told me, "It's who you know"--and I didn't know anybody who was in a position to give me a job. But right when I needed it, God gave me jobs out of nowhere and in roles I would have never anticipated for myself. And just like the Israelites, I don't always listen to God--but His grace flows over me just the same.