"10 And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. 11 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
“Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon,
15 and the slope of the valleys
that extends to the seat of Ar,
and leans to the border of Moab.”
16 And from there they continued to Beer;[d] that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:
“Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!—
18 the well that the princes made,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter and with their staffs.”
And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert."
Numbers 21:10-20
The account, almost in summary form, of the continuing journeyings of the people of God is punctuated here by a beautiful incident (16ff). It is the record of the Lord's further pro- vision for their needs, and well illustrates Isaiah's famous words, 'Before they call, I will answer' (65:24), for on this occasion they do not even voice the need of water to the Lord. It is He (16) who takes the initiative and tells Moses to gather them together so that He may pro- vide them with water. More importantly, perhaps, the divine initiative forestalled any possible plaint from the people, so that, instead of murmuring, songs of praise rang out from them (17ff). In our comment on 13 we spoke of a new spirit among the people, and certainly these verses exemplify this to a marked degree. The overriding impression is that of movement, from one place to another, and this is surely a parable of deeper spiritual realities, for they give the impression that Israel was now 'getting somewhere'. And it is always this that makes our hearts sing for joy. And it is not without significance, that Israel got to Pisgah (20) from where they could see the Promised Land!