For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.
Before the Israelites were to make their way over Jordan into Canaan, there were two kings that they conquered. One was Sihon king of the Heshbon and the other was Og king of Bashan. Apparently, they were both Amorite kings. There are several mentions of these kings in the Bible.
Ultimately, the land of Heshbon and Bashan were given to the tribe of Dan, and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh which was on the wilderness side of the Jordan river. It was good land for cattle and the tribes requested this of Moses. As long as they agreed to go over and fight with the other tribes, then Moses seemed to approve.
But the utter conquering of these two kings before Jericho seems to be a precursor to the promised land victories. And it was used of God and Moses as an example of what God can do for them if they are obedient. Think of it as Promise Land Practice:
Numbers 21:35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.
So now in Deuteronomy, which some call the second law, Moses is recounting all the things that have befallen the children of Israel and good portion of Chapter 3 is dedicated to recounting their victories over the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og. And in there is where we learn of the size and makeup of Og’s bed.
Og was the remnant of the giants. And it was the giants that were the main reason that Israel did not go over and possess the promise land right away. When they saw the giants, they had grasshopperitus. So it was a big deal to conquer this king. I would imagine that these huge monster like people were battle-hardened killing machines. Apparently it was significant that Og’s bed was made of iron. It had to be to support such a big man. If a cubit is roughly 18 inches, then nine cubits puts the length of the bed at 13 1/2 feet. So that gives us an idea of the warrior’s stature.
I say all this to say this: David prophetically said of Jesus crucifixion, “Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.” (Psalms 22:12) Now the land of these Amorites as the bible says was a land for cattle (Numbers 32:4). So no doubt there were a bunch of bulls there. And if you read commentary, everybody speculates that David is referring to the actual bulls that were from Bashan. They say that David uses these words to represent the utter strength and fierceness of the enemy.
Being the skeptic that I am, and having read so many references to Og king of Bashan, I can’t help but wonder if there was any thought of Og when this was written; for Og was a giant. I mean why the bulls of Bashan to represent that? The bulls of Texas are pretty strong and fierce too. Maybe the bulls of Bashan carry with it a reference to Og and the remnant of the giants.
Amos 2:9-10 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. (10) Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
If you put this all together, it reminds me of when Jesus said, “For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.” (Mark 12:36 ) The bulls of Bashan are the enemies of God.
Also consider Jesus’ parable about the man that planted a vineyard and let it out to husbandmen, When he sent servants to receive of them, they were beaten, wounded, and killed. And when he sent his son, they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. Jesus said of the man that owned the vineyard, “He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.” (Mark 12:9)
We understand that this exclusiveness that the Jews held with God was abolished and given also to the Gentiles. You see the similarity? The Jewish leaders, the ones that “railed on him, wagging their heads… mocking..” (Mark 15:29,30) are the bulls of Bashan. For in Psalm 22 also says of his tormentors “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head.. They gaped upon me with their mouths.” What was taken from the Jews in whom these leader represented was given to others, as was the husbandmen, and as was Og king of Bashan.
So in essence, if the bulls of Bashan did reference Og king of Bashan, then it gives Psalm 22 more of a prophetic twist. If you are aware of what God did to Og, the first bull of Bashan, then it helps us to understand how God opens up the kingdom to all the Gentiles.
Romans 11:11 Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles…
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