It's noteworthy in today's reading, Deuteronomy 2:1-23, how God instructed the Israelites to leave the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites alone. The reason for this was God's grace. He had allotted land to the descendants of Esau (Edomites) and Lot (Moabites and Ammonites) because of their family ties to Israel.
Mark Braun in the Deuteronomy People's Bible also makes a good point about this: "It's noteworthy that the Lord said, 'I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own . . . I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot.' The prevailing belief in the ancient Near East was that there were many gods, each of whom governed a particular people or location. By the belief, one could hardly expect a god from one region to exert much influence in a different location. Israel's God, however, was no local or tribal deity. Saint Paul explained to the citizens of Athens, 'From one man he [God] made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live' (Acts 17:26). Israel's God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, is truly Lord of the nations."
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