That feeling of frustration, of being turned back just as you're reaching your goal... well, the Israelites knew it well.
Chapter 85 of the Book of Jasher plunges us right into a moment of intense tension as the Israelites are trying to enter the Promised Land. King Arad, a Canaanite ruler, hears of their approach and prepares for war. And, understandably, the Israelites are terrified. The text tells us that Arad had a "great and heavy army," and the people are seized by fear, so much so that they resolve to turn back to Egypt.
Can you imagine? After all that journeying, all that hardship, they’re ready to give up. They retreat about three days' journey to a place called Maserath Beni Jaakon, and stay there for thirty days, paralyzed by fear.
But not everyone is ready to surrender.
The tribe of Levi, zealous for the sake of God, sees the other Israelites wavering and takes matters into their own hands. They actually fight against their own brethren, forcing them to turn back toward their destination, Mount Hor. Talk about brotherly love… or the lack thereof!
When they finally return to their path, King Arad is still waiting, ready for battle. This time, Israel makes a vow: "If thou wilt deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." And God listens. The Canaanites are defeated, their cities destroyed, and the place is named Hormah, meaning "utterly destroyed."
Okay, victory! But the journey is far from over.
They continue onward, eventually reaching the border of Moab. They ask to pass through the land, but the Moabites, remembering how Sihon, king of the Amorites, had previously taken their land, refuse. The Israelites are forbidden by God to fight Moab, so they move on, eventually arriving at the border between Moab and the Amorites.
Next up? A request to pass through the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites. He refuses, too, leading to a battle at Jahaz. But, once again, God delivers the Amorites into the hand of Israel, and they take possession of Sihon's land. They even consider attacking the Ammonites, but God forbids it: "Do not besiege the children of Ammon... for I will give nothing to you of their land."
Then comes the epic tale of Og, king of Bashan, a truly larger-than-life figure. Jasher emphasizes his power and that of his son, Naaron. Og, in his arrogance, decides he's going to crush the entire Israelite camp with a massive stone. We're talking a stone that was three parsa in length – a parsa being an ancient Persian unit of distance, roughly equivalent to 5-6 kilometers!
So, Og hefts this enormous rock onto his head, intending to hurl it at the Israelites. But the angel of the Lord intervenes, piercing the stone, which then falls onto Og's neck, causing him to fall to the ground. According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, Og was a descendant of the giants who lived before the flood, making his defeat all the more significant.
Moses then goes down and, with a stick, strikes Og at his ankles, killing him. The Israelites then proceed to utterly destroy Og's people.
After this victory, the Israelites take Jaazer and its villages, driving out the Amorites. They conquer sixty cities from the Amorite kings, from the brook of Arnon to Mount Herman. Finally, they arrive at the plains of Moab, near Jericho.
But uh oh, trouble is brewing.
The Moabites, terrified by Israel's victories over Sihon and Og, decide to take action. They appoint Balak, son of Zippor, as their king, and he seeks an alliance with the Midianites.
Balak, desperate, sends messengers to Balaam, son of Beor, a Mesopotamian diviner, to curse the Israelites. The Moabites remembered, as the text says, "at the time when Sihon king of the Amorites fought against you... he had sent to Beor the son of Janeas and to Balaam his son from Mesopotamia, and they came and cursed you; therefore did the hand of Sihon prevail over you, that he took your land." Balak hoped that Balaam's curses would weaken the Israelites, allowing Moab to defeat them.
Balak’s messengers tell Balaam, "Behold there is a people come out from Egypt, behold they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Now therefore come and curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me."
Balaam travels to meet Balak, to curse Israel, but God forbids him, saying, "Curse not this people for it is blessed." Despite Balak's urging, Balaam refuses to curse Israel.
So, Balak gives up, and Balaam returns to his land. But the story doesn't end there.
The Israelites, now camped in the plain of Shittim, begin to succumb to temptation. The Moabite women, adorned in finery, entice the Israelite men, leading them into idolatry and immorality. The Sifrei (Numbers 115) elaborates on the cunning of the Moabite women, who used their beauty and charm to lure the Israelites away from their faith.
The Moabites offered the Israelites food, wine, and beautiful women. The men were seduced, partook in sacrifices to foreign gods, and engaged in sexual immorality. As we find in Numbers 25:1-3, "While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them."
A plague breaks out, killing twenty-four thousand Israelites. According to Numbers 25:9, this plague was a direct consequence of their infidelity and idolatry.
In the midst of this chaos, Zimri, a Simeonite man, publicly consorts with Cosbi, a Midianite woman, the daughter of a Midianite king. Phineas, the son of Eleazar, acts decisively, killing them both with a spear, stopping the plague.
Wow. So, what do we take away from this rollercoaster of a chapter?
It’s a stark reminder that even after great victories, internal struggles and temptations can be just as dangerous as external enemies. The Israelites faced external threats from the Canaanites, Amorites, and Moabites, but their greatest challenge came from within: their own wavering faith and susceptibility to temptation.
Think about it: it's not enough to overcome external obstacles. We must also guard against our own weaknesses and remain steadfast in our values, because the path to any "promised land" is rarely a straight line. It’s filled with detours, temptations, and the ever-present possibility of stumbling, even when we think we're closest to the goal.