Moab and Ammon

Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

This verse shows that the LORD Himself gave Moab its land, so Israel passed it by on the way to Canaan.

(The Emites used to live there, a people great and many, as tall as the Anakites. Like the Anakites, they were also regarded as Rephaim, though the Moabites called them Emites.

Moab's land had first belonged to the Emites, a people counted among the Rephaim.

But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

The same gift protected the Ammonites when Israel came near their border.

While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab, who also invited them to the sacrifices for their gods. And the people ate and bowed down to these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD burned against them.

The sin at Peor brought on the camp the anger of the LORD that Balak's hired curse never brought.

Once again the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD. So He gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.

The oppression that follows is the discipline of Israel's own God, given through a foreign king.

I have not sinned against you, but you have done me wrong by waging war against me. May the LORD, the Judge, decide today between the Israelites and the Ammonites.”

Jephthah rests his case against Ammon on the LORD as the Judge between the two peoples.

But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you on one condition, that I may put out everyone’s right eye and bring reproach upon all Israel.”

Nahash set terms meant to bring reproach on all Israel, and Saul answered them by raising the tribes.

David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.

This verse marks the turn from Moab's rule over Israel in Judges to Moab's tribute under David.

So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

Hanun's insult to the men David sent began the war with the Ammonites that runs to 2 Samuel 12.

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.

Solomon's wives from Moab and Ammon are the reason the high places of verse 7 were built for their gods.

Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

The war of this chapter began with Moab's refusal of the tribute it had paid to Israel.

So he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him, and offered him as a burnt offering on the city wall. And there was great fury against the Israelites, so they withdrew and returned to their own land.

This verse gives the reason the allied kings went home without taking the city.

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

The alliance named here is the army that destroyed itself in verse 23.

Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.

The king's first act was to seek the LORD, and he called the whole kingdom to do the same.

The moment they began their shouts and praises, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end to the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

The battle turned while Judah was still singing, and the allied armies fell on one another.

In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.

The bar of verse 1 had not kept these peoples out of the homes of Judah.

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin. Must we now hear that you too are doing all this terrible evil and acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?”

Nehemiah gives Solomon as the warning of where such marriages lead.