May 7, 2021
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Deuteronomy? Here’s today’s reading:
Deuteronomy 20 (NIV)
Going to War
1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army........Continue Reading
The first instruction is to enter a war knowing that God is with you! In all our battles God is with us and when we follow His instruction we will be victorious. I also love the reminder to always try for peace first!
As God gives instruction for Jewish society how to conduct warfare needed to be amongst them particularly as they would be driving out the evil nations in Canaan. Trusting God and not giving into fear is of the highest priority because the battle always belongs to the Lord. It is interesting that the priest would give that message and the officers would then come up to give soldiers in certain life situations permission to go home. What a gracious offer and is really an extension of the trust they had in God because if He sets the standards, then it is actually better to go to battle with a smaller army if soldiers needed to leave with these circumstances.
It is also interesting for cities further away from Palestine, the Israelites would offer peace first and would then be able to use the conquer people as laborers. But when it came to the cities and peoples of Canaan who God was sending the Israelites to root out, they were to destroy them completely. Otherwise the people left behind could lead the people of Israel astray, which is exactly what happened. It is a lesson for all of us to consider the influence unbelievers have on us. Bad company does corrupt good character.
It was surprising to me that people were given the option to go home for all those circumstances in their lives. It would seem the army would be extremely small as most people would be afraid to go against such a big adversary and claim all kinds of reasons they ‘needed’ to go back and not fight.
I was struck by how counter-intuitive some of these instructions seem. When facing an enemy … reduce your ranks. Don’t you need as many warriors for battle as you can have, especially when dealing with a larger force? Instead, God instructs the leaders to filter out those who will be distracted in battle or who will be a distraction.
Deuteronomy 20
Deuteronomy 20
Deut 20
The verses about allowing those whose heart is elsewhere to leave and go to their homes, vineyards, wives, etc. made me think of verses in Joshua where God says that He will fight for the Israelites. Knowing that GOD is fighting this battle and if you are trusting Him and His instructions, you will surely defeat your enemies. I also thought that this is probably a good distribution of men considering that if all the men go to battle, there will not be any left to defend the women, children and elderly.
I also think it is interesting that God gives instructions about the trees. It makes sense to me, why destroy what can provide for you? It’s just common sense.
2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”