"How should the Moabites be treated?" (Alleged Contradiction #E5563)
And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Deuteronomy 2:9
And he said unto them, Follow after me: for the LORD hath delivered your enemies the Moabites into your hand. And they went down after him, and took the fords of Jordan toward Moab, and suffered not a man to pass over. And they slew of Moab at that time about ten thousand men, all lusty, and all men of valour; and there escaped not a man. So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land had rest fourscore years.
Judges 3:28-30
There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee.
Jeremiah 48:2
Response
Deuteronomy, Judges, and Jeremiah were written at very different times. The relationships between nations can certain change over time, and so why would we expect God to tell Israel to do the exact same thing forever regarding a particular nation? Foreign policy does not work this way: we deal with nations based on what they are doing in the present, not what they did hundreds of years ago.
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