Driven by the commands of Jehovah, we embarked on a long and arduous journey through the wilderness, just as God had spoken to me. Our path led us around Mount Seir for many long days. Then God spoke again, “You have long been circling this mountain. Now, proceed north.”

God commanded us to pass through the land of the children of Esau, who lived in Seir. He made it clear that they would fear us, and thus, we needed to be diligent and cautious. We were not to bring harm upon them for their land was not for us to possess. God explained that He would not give us even a footstep on their land because He had already granted Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. He taught us to purchase food and water from them in exchange for money so that we could sustain ourselves.

For forty years, Jehovah had blessed us with all we needed, showing His presence as He saw us through the severe wilderness. And so we followed His commands, moving away from the children of Esau who resided in Seir and journeyed our way into the wilderness of Moab.

Jehovah instructed us to leave Moab in peace, to abstain from any form of hostility or dispute, and not to possess their land. The land of Ar had already been granted to the children of Lot as a legacy.

We learned of the mighty races that had lived in these lands before us. The Emim, a people as tall and as countless as the Anakims, who dwelt in the land before the Moabites arrived, dislodging them and occupying their places. The Horites once dwelt in Seir, but the children of Esau overcame them and claimed their land, just like the Israelites did with the lands God had granted them.

The command of the Lord then led us to cross the brook Zered, marking the end of thirty-eight years since we had left Kadesh-barnea. Even then, all the men of war from the camp had perished, fulfilling God’s oath.

God’s will also guided us pass over Ar, to not provoke the children of Ammon, for He would not give us their land. It belonged to the children of Lot. The Rephaim, a people as great, many and tall as the Anakim, called Zamzummim by the Ammonites, used to occupy these lands, but Jehovah destroyed them, and the Ammonites lived in their stead. This repeated itself in the case of the children of Esau and the Horites, and the Avvites who once lived along the outskirts of Gaza, dispersed by the Caphtorim, who then settled there.

Our journey progressed with Jehovah’s command to cross the valley of the Arnon. He declared war upon Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon, and promised to fill the lands we passed through with fear of us so strong, it would cause anguish.

I dispatched messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to King Sihon, offering peace and requesting permission to pass through his land along the highway. We promised to neither divert to the right nor to the left, to pay for any food or water we used. But King Sihon refused. Jehovah then pledged to deliver Sihon and his land to us, and He stayed true to His word.

When Sihon amassed his armies to battle us in Jahaz, Jehovah granted us victory. We demolished him, all his sons, and all his people. We spared no one, from the women to the young.

Only the livestock was left for us to seize, along with the spoils from the cities we had captured. Every city, from Aroer, at the edge of the Arnon Valley, to Gilead was open to us. There was no city too fortified for us, Jehovah delivered them all to us. However, we didn’t approach the land of the Ammonites, as Jehovah had prohibited us.

Just as Jehovah had guided us, we followed each command, knowing that His guidance holds the key to our survival and prosperity.