What is the meaning of Deuteronomy 2:35? We carried off for ourselves Moses recalls the moment when Israel took possession of what God had just delivered into their hands. • The action is personal: “for ourselves” signals that the people actually laid hold of God’s promise (Deuteronomy 2:31; Joshua 1:3). • It shows obedience to divine instruction rather than self-directed greed; they acted only once the Lord said, “Begin to possess” (Deuteronomy 2:31). • The capture validates the covenant—God’s word proves true in real time (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 105:42–44). only the livestock and the plunder The scope of what Israel took is deliberately limited. • Verse 34 notes that every human enemy in Sihon’s towns was “devoted to destruction,” yet verse 35 allows the animals and goods. This distinction follows the Lord’s wartime pattern outside Canaan proper (Deuteronomy 20:14; Joshua 8:2). • By sparing livestock, God supplies His people materially for the long journey ahead (Deuteronomy 8:4; Psalm 78:19). • The restraint—“only”—underscores that Israel did not act out of uncontrolled violence; they followed the boundary God set (1 Samuel 15:22; Proverbs 10:22). from the cities we captured The phrase roots the plunder in a specific, God-given victory. • These were Amorite cities east of the Jordan, taken after years of wilderness wandering (Deuteronomy 2:24; Joshua 24:8). • The conquest displays the Lord’s might, not Israel’s strength (Psalm 44:3; Deuteronomy 9:4). • Captured cities foreshadow settling the Promised Land—God’s plan is unrolling step by step (Exodus 23:30; Deuteronomy 3:20). summary Deuteronomy 2:35 records a moment when Israel, under God’s clear direction, appropriated livestock and goods from conquered Amorite cities. The verse highlights three truths: God keeps His promises by giving tangible spoil, places limits that curb human excess, and demonstrates His sovereign power through each victory. The plunder is not random loot; it is provision from a faithful God who leads His people into their inheritance. |
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