Numbers 20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. And the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. 16 And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King's Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”
The people of Israel were moving through the wilderness, led by the cloud of God's presence. They had seen every time they had a need or became rebellious that He heard their cry. He led them smack onto the King's Highway, which passed through Edom. Rather than force themselves through by the power of God, they respectfully asked permission to pass through. As the passage goes on, they were repeatedly denied, so God led them another way. The point is that God did not say "barge through; I will give you the battle." They did not presume upon the presence of God, nor the fact that He always heard them. They waited for His time and way. So should we. Ultimately this event came back to haunt Edom, not Israel.
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