The sermon titled 'Land Given by the Lord East of the Jordan' discusses Joshua 12:1-6, focusing on the conquests of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og by the Israelites under Moses' leadership before crossing the Jordan River. These conquests are part of God's fulfillment of His promise to give Israel the land, demonstrating His faithfulness. The sermon emphasizes the importance of understanding God's role in these victories and His promise-keeping nature, which is relevant for believers today in trusting God's promises. The speaker also reflects on the dangers of legalism and the 'inner Pharisee,' advocating for a focus on Christ's work. Moses and Joshua are honored as servants of the Lord, but the ultimate reliance should be on God Himself. The sermon concludes by reinforcing the significance of God's promises and the believers' responsibility to remain faithful.

Good morning church family. Our sermon text for today is Joshua 12, 1 through 6. We'll be backing up to the last verse of Joshua 11 and starting there. Joshua 11 verse 23, so Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had said to Moses and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.

Now Joshua chapter 12, these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the Sun from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon and all the eastern Jordan plain. One king was Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead from Aror, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, from the middle of that river even as far as the river Jabak, which is the border of the Ammonites, and the eastern Jordan plain from the Sea of Chynarath as far as the Sea of Ereba, the salt sea, the road to Beth-Jeshamoth and southward below the slopes of Pisgah. The other king was Og, king of Bashan, and his territory, who was of the remnant of the giants, who dwelt at Asheroth and at Edry, and reigned over Mount Hermon, over Salchah, over all Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Makathites, and over half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. These Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel had conquered, and Moses the servant of the Lord had given it as a possession to the Rubinites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh." So every believer has an inner Pharisee pulling us away from the Gospel and pulling us towards legalism.

And I know that's true of me. And every once in a while I get a glimpse of Him and it disgusts me. It's a blessing to have a stable of songs to sing that pulls us back towards the Gospel. It's very sweet to sing those songs this morning. It just re-centers us that Christ and His work is everything.

We're nothing. We have no standing except for Jesus. We just need to keep singing these songs and make our inner Pharisees be quiet. The title of the sermon this morning is Land Given by the Lord east of the Jordan. Last week we tackled all of chapter 11.

So we're going pretty fast now. In chapter 11, God gave Israel the northern portion of the promised land west of the Jordan River. So the people of Israel had crossed the Jordan. They conquered central Israel west of the Jordan, then southern Israel west of the Jordan, and then chapter 11. They went north.

An army gathered from quite a number of kings in that northern region. The text says that the military force was like sand on the seashore in number, with very many chariots. It didn't matter. God had promised to give them that land. He gave them that land.

The chapter ended with a geographical summary of everything west of the Jordan. So the map, the territory, the land that God had given them. And I said that this week we would start chapter 12, which is a geopolitical summary. So leaving the map to start to talk about the kings, the earthly powers that God had given over into their hands, the rulers. And chapter 12 will actually cover both sides of the Jordan.

So, as we come to this geopolitical summary of God giving them the land, let's ask for God's help. God in heaven. You are the Lord of sabioth, the Lord of hosts. You are the almighty head of an Army before which no powers in the universe can stand. You are a great conquering king and that means so much for us today.

That none of our enemies will be able to stand against you, that our one part to play will be just to follow you, to walk with you, to love you and obey you. And all will be well because you're greater than the greatest of our enemies. Just teach us this truth and help us to walk in it. I pray in Jesus name, amen. Well, there's only six verses, but we're going to subdivide it into three subsections, 1-3, 4, and 5, and then verse 6.

So let me reread verses 1-3, Joshua chapter 12, verses 1-3, and then we'll talk about this little subsection. These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possess on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain. One king was Sion, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead from Aror, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, from the middle of that river, even as far as the river Jabak, which is the border of the Ammonites. And the eastern Jordan plain from the Sea of Chinaroth, as far as the sea from the Arabah, the salt sea, the road to Beth-Jeshamoth, and southward toward the slopes of Pisgah." It's hard to read because there are names we don't say about places that we don't really know. But this first three verses speaks of the first Amorite king, Sihon.

So we're going to have two Amorite kings set before us. If you're taking notes on the handout, Amorite fills in the blank. The first Amorite king, Sihon. Verse 1 frames the chapter. Israel conquered lands by defeating kings.

So that's essentially what verse 1 says. Israel got this land by conquering this king. Then there's going to be another king. Then we're going to hit verse 7 next week and it's going to say the same thing. Israel got the lands west of the Jordan by conquering these kings.

There will be a list of 31 kings. And why won't we have a hard time with pronunciations next week when we get to the 31 kings, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Israel conquered lands by defeating kings and God did that. God conquered those kings and gave these victories to Israel. And the chapter will cover everything east of the Jordan in verses 1-6 and then next week west of the Jordan in verses 7 through 24.

So two kings were conquered before Moses died, when Moses was still leading the people. Before the people reached the Jordan River and crossed the Jordan River. Moses was leading. He was still alive and God conquered these kings through Israel. When Moses was leading them, all of that before the book of Joshua.

So we haven't really talked about the conquest east of the Jordan in the book of Joshua, though it's been sort of mentioned indirectly a couple of times. And begs the question, why is it even here? In this summary of what's happened in Joshua, why is it here? Well, it's because this is the promised land. And Joshua is about the giving of the promised land.

And the East of the Jordan is rightly part of that record. It's part of God's promise keeping. And so it's in the summary of the land and the kings that were promised to be given to Israel, that were given to Israel. The first of those two kings, east of the Jordan, was an Amorite king named Sihon. He reigned from a city named Heshbon, and the boundaries of his territory were formed by a bunch of places that we're utterly unfamiliar with.

So, I just acknowledge that. I'm not any more familiar with them probably than you are even though I've studied the passage. So, once we finish chapter 12 next week, we're going to race through chapters 13 through 19, because it's the allocation of the land to the 12 tribes. We're going to go through those seven chapters in two weeks. Can you believe that?

I think it's true. We'll find out if it's true or not. But I'm saying on the record, on audio, that we're going to go through chapters 13 through 19, those seven chapters in two weeks. And in those two weeks you'll have a map in your lap. I'm going to put a map in your lap for those next two weeks to help us orient of what's what.

So we're starting map time. This is our first map. Okay, do you like it? So, it's Israel. Israel's not exactly a rectangle, but it does have a length and width, and north to south is longer than east to west.

So I mean it's oriented generally. Right, okay, so now we're going to give our map its first feature. Okay, That's the River Jordan. The River Jordan divides east from west in Israel from north to south. It's pretty much that way.

It is a pretty north-south line. Over here is what we're talking about today. East of the Jordan. And Sihon was in the southern portion. And he reigned from Heshbon.

And Og was in the northern portion, all on the east side. Over here is the desert. So there's not much east of Israel. And over here is the Mediterranean. And it's all of over here because the Mediterranean is really big.

So there you go. Israel with its first geological feature, the Jordan River. More next week. Week after next where I'll put a map on your lab. Now, Saigon.

We can go to two places to learn about Sihon. You can go to Numbers 21, or you can go to Deuteronomy 2, or you can go to both. I've chosen for today to go to Deuteronomy 2, so please turn to Deuteronomy 2. So it will be the end of 2, we'll cover Sihon, and then you'll want to keep a finger there, because the very next section starting in chapter 3 will be Og, king of Bashan the giant. I'm going to read Deuteronomy chapter 2 verses 24 through 37.

This is God speaking to Moses because again, in Deuteronomy chapter 2, Moses is still alive, and we're recounting the conquest when Moses is still leading. Deuteronomy chapter 2, starting in 24, reading through the end of the chapter. This is God speaking to Moses. Rise, take your journey and cross over the river Arnon. Look, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon and his land.

Begin to possess it and engage him in battle. This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the nations under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you. And I sent messengers from the wilderness of Ketimoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, Let me pass through your land. I will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to the left. You shall sell me food for money that I may eat, and give me water for money that I may drink.

Only let me pass through on foot, just as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar did for me, until I crossed the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God is giving us. But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through. For The Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate that he might deliver him into your hand as it is this day. And the Lord said to me, See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to possess it that you may inherit his land." Then Sihon and all his people came out against us to fight at Jehaz.

And the Lord our God delivered him over to us. So we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city. We left none remaining. We took only the livestock as plunder for ourselves with the spoil of the cities which we took.

From Aror, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and from the city that is in the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us. The Lord our God delivered all to us. Only you did not go near the land of the people of Ammon, anywhere along the river Jabak, or to the cities of the mountains, or wherever the Lord our God had forbidden us." In verse 24 here, God tells Moses and Israel that He is going to give them Sihon's land and to begin to cause nations to hear and fear. Of course, we've seen this fulfilled practically on a weekly basis in the book of Joshua. People have heard of what God did to these Amorite kings on the east side of the Jordan and it is affecting them.

But Moses begins by simply making a respectful request to Sihon just to pass through. He says, we'll stay on the highway and whatever food we consume, we'll pay you for. Whatever water we need, we'll pay you for. The Edomites have let us pass through like this, and the Moabites have let us pass through like this, do as they have done. But look at verse 30, let me reread verse 30, but Siam king of Heshbon would not let us pass through for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate that he might deliver him into your hand as it is this day.

This is just like last week. Flip back to Joshua chapter 11. Let me read Joshua chapter 11 verses 19 and 20. This is just last week's text. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon, all the others they took in battle.

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them and that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them as the Lord had commanded Moses." So there are different leaders, Moses east of the Jordan, Joshua west of the Jordan after they cross over. But there is the same God and He's doing the same thing for the same reason. He's hardening kings to make them obstinate so that they won't make peace with Israel because his intent is to judge these nations for their rebellion against him. By the way, one thing we get from Numbers 21 that we don't see in Deuteronomy 2 is that Sihon himself had conquered and taken this land from the Moabites. So Sihon wasn't originally the king of this land, but he conquered the Moabites and became the king of this land and now Israel is conquering him.

The point is, Sihon himself was a conquering king. This was a mighty king that had conquered others to take possession of this land. God is giving Israel victory over a conquering king. He's conquering a conquering king. So this was the beginning of God's intent to bring judgment on these people in fulfillment of Genesis 15 verse 16.

I know we keep coming back to Genesis 15 and 16. But that's where Abraham, God said to Abraham, but in the fourth generation they, your descendants, shall return here. For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. Sihon is an Amorite. He is an Amorite king.

And now the iniquity of the Amorites is full and God is bringing Israel upon them in judgment. It will result in the utter destruction of men, women, and children because God has commanded them to do that. Moses led Israel to destroy Sihon and these Amorites, but they left the neighboring Ammonites alone because God had not promised to give Israel their land and he told them leave them alone. And they did. They respected the borders of Ammon simply because God told them to.

Joshua chapter 12, moving to the next section, verses 4 and 5. So follow along, we're back in Joshua 12, follow along as I reread verses 4 and 5. The other king was Og, king of Bashan, and his territory, who was of the remnant of the giants, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edre, and reigned over Mount Hermon, over Salchah, over all Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Meachathites, and over half of Gilead to the border of Sihon, king of Heshbon. So this is north of Sihon and the territory that they had just conquered. This is the second Ammonite king, Og.

So, O-G, Og, fills in the blank if you're taking notes that way. Og and his people dwelt north of Sion and his people, and were still east of the Jordan River. Og had two royal cities, Ashtaroth and Edre. And we find out from our text, and it's confirmed in Deuteronomy chapter 3, that he was a giant. He was a remnant of the Giants.

So back to Deuteronomy, this time chapter 3. We're continuing right where we left off, but there's just a chapter break there. Follow along as I read Deuteronomy chapter 3 verses 1 through 11 to get an extended version of the conquering of Og, king of Bashan. Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan. And Og, king of Bashan, came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edre.

And the Lord said to me, Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand. You shall do to him as you did to Sion king of the Amorites who dwelt at Heshbon." So the Lord our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan with all his people. And we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. And We took all his cities at that time. There was not a city which we did not take from them.

60 cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars besides a great many rural towns. And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon, king of Heshbon, and utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city, but all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves. And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the river Arnon to Mount Hermon. The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Seneer.

All the cities of the plain, all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salka and Edre, cities of the kingdom of Og and Bashan. For only Og, king of Bashan, remained of the remnant of the giants. Indeed, his bedstead was an iron bedstead. Is it not in Rabah of the people of Ammon? Nine cubits is its length, and four cubits its width, according to the standard cubit.

This reads just like the book of Joshua. This could actually, It fits right in with the book of Joshua. God tells Moses, do not fear him. That's what God has been saying over and over again to Joshua as he leads the people of Israel. God says, for I have delivered him and all his people into your hands.

Just like what God has said to Joshua over and over again. These were mighty fortified cities with high walls. It didn't matter. God gave them the victory over these people and gave them this land, as he had promised. Their king, Og, had an iron bed frame, 13 feet long, 6 feet wide.

So that's the conversion from cubits to feet. It's about a foot and a half per cubit. So 13 feet long. How do you like that for a bed frame? Six feet wide.

Talk about that. Okay, I know this is a pun. King size bed. Okay. 13 feet long, six foot wide.

And a bedstead is an iron bed frame, probably a canopied bed frame. So imagine a canopied bed, an iron bed frame, 13 feet long, 6 feet wide. And At the time when Deuteronomy was written, you could go see it in the city of Rabba in Ammonite territory. It reads like it's a sort of tourist attraction. He tells you where you can find this best bet.

Is it not in Rabba in the territory of the Ammonites? He tells you where you can go find this amazing sight to see, a 13 foot by 6 foot canopied bed frame that this giant king slept in. Last week in Joshua chapter 11 we saw that God gave Israel the territory of the Anakim. The Anakim is the bloodline that Goliath the Giant will eventually come from generations later. But here in Joshua 12, we are reminded that God began giving over the giants with Og, King of Bashan, even before they got to the River Jordan.

And it should be noted that in the book of Joshua as we've seen multiple times in chapter 2 and chapter 9 that the kings and the people on the west side of the Jordan have heard what Israel had done to these two Amorite kings on the east side of the Jordan and it made them afraid and it affected how they thought and what they did. That's just what God had said to Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 2, I'm giving Sihon into your hand and I'm going to begin to make the nations afraid when they hear what they've done. And wow have we seen that fulfilled multiple times in the book of Joshua. Finally, back to Joshua chapter 12 verse 6. Follow along as I reread Joshua 12 verse 6.

These, meaning Sihon and Og, These Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel had conquered. Moses the servant of the Lord had given it as a possession to the Rubinites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. This verse we have the possession of two and a half tribes. First let me remind you about the term, Moses the servant of the Lord. It's many places in the book of Joshua.

If I'm remembering right, it's nine times in the book of Joshua. Might be wrong about the number, but it's a big number. It's a significant number. Moses, the servant of the Lord. Who cares?

He's Moses, the servant of the Lord. It's a significant term, and here's why. It's a badge of honor for finishing his course faithfully serving God by leading Israel. It's a badge of honor. It's a title of honor for finishing his course faithfully serving God by leading Israel.

It was first applied to Moses at the announcement of his death in Deuteronomy 34 verse 5. Do you get what I'm saying? In all of the Pentateuch, Moses is never called Moses the servant of the Lord until the announcement of his death, until he's finished his course faithfully serving God by leading Israel, then he is given this title of honor. Joshua has not been called Joshua the servant of the Lord, and he will not be called Joshua the servant of the Lord until the announcement of his death in Joshua 24 verse 9. And Then it will be used again of Joshua in the book of Judges after his death.

But he doesn't get the title of honor until he has finished his course faithfully serving God, leading Israel. Israel. So east of the Jordan, east of the Creece on the map, was always part of the promised land. It was in the descriptions of the promised land, in the promises, in the Pentateuch, east of the Jordan was always included in that territory. And that's why it's included here in Joshua chapter 12, even though Sihon and Og were conquered before the events of Joshua.

In Numbers 32, the two and a half tribes of Ruben, Gad, and certain family lines of Manasseh. Other family lines of Manasseh will actually settle on the other side of the Jordan. But the Rubenites, the Gadites, and some of the family lines of Manasseh ask Moses for this land as a possession because it is so excellently suited for livestock and they specialize in livestock. So they asked for this land. And Moses makes an agreement with them that if they will send their men to fight with their brethren when they cross over the Jordan, that they can have this land, and then their men, after they've all fought together to conquer the kings on the west side of the Jordan together, then they can go back to their possession.

And in chapter 1 we saw that. Joshua reminded them of that agreement, and Joshua held them to that agreement. And we're going to find out They completely make good on that agreement in the book of Joshua. So they do as they promised to do. They do get east of the Jordan as their inheritance.

Applications, I'll give you two. Number one, our text is simply an account of God keeping his promises. God makes promises, God keeps promises, this is another account of it. Promises first made about 650 years earlier. So we're watching Promises made 650 years earlier, fulfilled before our eyes in the events of Joshua.

Promises made to Abraham regarding his descendants and to his descendants. They would never be fulfilled to Abraham. He only ever owned a burial plot in Israel. But he promised to give his descendants this land and now he has given his descendants this land. And it isn't as if Israel was a model of faithfulness in the meantime.

Are you tracking with me? Meaning, If there was ever a case for bailing out on a promise, God has it here. God's not like that. Israel was not a model of faithfulness in the meantime. Quite the contrary.

You know your Old Testament. But as Hebrews 6 verse 18 says, it is impossible for God to lie. It's impossible. He is utterly unable to lie. When he makes an unconditional promise, and this was an unconditional promise, it obviously wasn't based on Israel's faithfulness.

When he makes an unconditional promise, he's utterly unable to do anything except keep it. Because of who he's always been, because of who he is, because of who he always will be. Who he always will be. You'd be tempted to say, who cares? The fulfillment of these promises was more than 3, 400 years ago.

So, the promises were made 4, 000 years ago, and they were kept 3, 400 years ago. Why would I care? Well, I would care because God has made me what Peter calls exceedingly great and precious promises. And God never changes. So it really doesn't matter how long ago it was.

He fulfilled these promises 3400 years ago. He could have fulfilled them 10, 000 years ago. It's just as good to me because God's the same yesterday, today, and forever. All the promises of God are yes and amen in our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 1 verse 20.

That's why we should all care. That's why Joshua chapter 12 is more than interesting. Because God has made His believing people exceedingly great and precious promises. And he shows himself, he gives us confidence in those promises by showing himself over and over and over and over and over again. And the Old Testament would be not only a promise making God, but a promise keeping God.

He kept his promises to these people. They were unconditional promises. He's made me exceedingly great and precious and unconditional promises to true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep them. This stands as a monument, as a testament that all of the promises of good that he has made to the believer will all be kept.

That's why you should care. That's why you should care. Number two, Moses and Joshua were a blessing to the people of God because of God. Moses, yay, Okay, I'll cheer with you. Joshua, yay!

I'm in! I'll cheer with you. They were a blessing. Their memory is worthy of honoring. But understand, they were a blessing to the people of God because of God.

God raised them up. God sustained them. God kept them faithful. Let me let you in on a little secret. The people of God never needed Moses or Joshua.

They only needed the God of Moses and Joshua. Moses and Joshua. John the Baptist told his hearers, Don't gloat to your children of Abraham. God to raise up out of these stones children to Abraham. If I finish faithfully, you can call me Jason, the servant of the Lord, at my funeral.

Not a day sooner. In the meantime, until that moment, I am utterly replaceable. You do not need me. You do not need James. You need my God.

You need James' God. God could raise up another one to be here next week. That's actually comforting to me. Brothers and sisters, may God give us the grace to finish well. Content to be nothing and for God to be everything and just to point to Him.

God, I do thank you for the servants, your servants that you have raised up and sustained, given the Grace to be faithful all the way to the end, so that they might bear the title of honor, servant of the Lord, may it be so of us. May You give us the grace to serve you to the last day, to the finish line, content to be nothing. Content that you would be everything. Content to have our one great purpose to be just to point to you. To walk in your ways, to obey you as you give us light to walk by to walk.

Thank you for the histories of your kept promises and how that gives us such happiness and such confidence as we look forward to the fulfillment of all the promises that you made to us. Everyone, yes and amen in your son. Praise you. In Jesus name we pray, amen.