Plains of Moab

**Excerpt from Joshua's Spiritual Warfare by Thomas B. Clarke, 2008**

NOTE: The following is the second of nine geography lessons from Joshua's Spiritual Warfare. The other lessons that are presented in the book are Mt. Sinai, Jordan River crossing, Jericho, Ai, Shechem, Gibeon, Hebron and Shiloh. To take full advantage of this teaching, you will need to install Google Earth on your computer (see below).

Back in Genesis, we read that Lot had two illegitimate sons because of incest with his two daughters. His older daughter had a son named Moab and he is the father of the Moabites (Gen 19:37). His younger daughter had a son named Ben-Ammi, and he is the father of the Ammonites (Gen 19:38). The Moabites settled in the land east of the Dead Sea, as well as the valley area between the Jordan River and Shittim in the Plains of Moab. The Ammonites settled in the plateau area east of the Jordan and north of the Moabite territory (which would be east and northeast of Shittim).

Assuming you have installed Google Earth on your computer (see below), type the following longitude and latitude which will take you to a modern day city in the Plains of Moab. This is a possible location of the city of Shittim:

31 49.9'N, 35 39.7'E

This city, located at the edge of the Rift Valley, is at the base of a significant incline. Using the controls at the top right corner of the screen, zoom so that the fertile valley to the west of this city can be seen; this is the Plains of Moab. Possibly you can see a stream from the east which may have provided water. At the top of the hillside is a large plateau area where modern day Amman, Jordan is located. Shittim's location between the valley and the hillside may indicate that a transition was about to take place to the Israelites at the Jordan River (Josh 3, 4).

Google Earth

If you have a newer model computer with an Internet connection, I invite you download Google Earth. (Note: Google Earth is not the same as Google Maps.) This totally free software from Google, Inc. allows you to look at the geography of any area on the earth using 3D imaging. It's phenomenal!! Based on satellite imagery, maps and aerial photographs, you can see the farm land of the Jordan Valley, the extensive winding of the Jordan River, the oasis near Jericho and any other location on this planet.

I use Google Earth on my home computer using a dial-up modem. A high speed Internet connection is faster but not a requirement. It is available as a download at Google Earth download. You should also find the "minimum and recommended configuration" which can be used to determine if the computer will be able to operate Google Earth properly. If you download other free software that is offered from Google, that is up to you. As a computer professional, I recommend downloading just Google Earth, assuming you have adequate resources on your PC or Mac. YOU ONLY NEED "GOOGLE EARTH" to see these locations.