Making War pt1: Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Text Read

Deuteronomy 20:1–9

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’ And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’ And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.”

Introduction

As we begin to look into Deuteronomy 20, we find Israel’s manual for warfare. How they are to go about making war on two types of enemies. Those enemies who are distant Deuteronomy 20:15 “Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here.” and those enemies who are in Canaan Deuteronomy 20:16 “But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes,” One thing we need to remember is that the conquest we read about in the book of Joshua, how the Israelites destroyed the cities of Jericho, AI, etc were specific to those nations that were in the Land that God had promised to Israel. When war broke out on the cities outside of the Promised Land, those cities “very far from you”, were under a different set of rules. Remember, the Canaanites were under the direct judgment of God for their wickedness, and the Israelites were to be God’s instrument of execution on these people.

Text Explained

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Our passage today begins by looking back at a distant nation that had kept the Israelites under bondage for hundreds of years. Egypt was a world superpower with the best military technology of it’s day. It is almost as if God begins by telling the Israelites that they are expected to go out to war and when you do, expect your enemies to be bigger, stronger, and better trained than you. Despite the obvious advantage the enemies of Israel would have, the command God gives them is this “do not be afraid.” If the Israelites were obediently going out to war against the enemies of God, then the Lord would be with them. And if the Lord was with them, even a world superpower is not strong enough. Out passage continues...

And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, Now “only one of the functions of the priest in relation to war is mentioned in this context. In addition, priests would be responsible for the offering of sacrifices before going into battle, and some priests would be present in the battle, attending the ark which accompanied the army of the Lord. The role of the priest in addressing the army could be assumed by the king in other Near Eastern countries.” (Craigie, P. C. (1976). The Book of Deuteronomy. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) The role of the Priest was to be that physical representative of God before and on the battlefield. We see this later in 1 & 2 Samuel as Israel goes out to war, the priests give sacrifice to God, they carry the ark, etc. However, our passage today is stressing on their responsibility to reiterate what the Lord just told them in verse 1. Do not be afraid, the Lord is with you: ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not be afraid, Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, Do not be afraid for the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’ Do not be afraid because God is the One fighting for you and God will give the victory. If we ended it here, it would be an easy sermon and an easier application. Go fight for the Lord, He is with you and He will give you the victory. However, the passages continues. You see, while the Lord and His people as a whole will have the victory over superior foes, they were going to war and in war, people die. Verse 5-7 repeats this point Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’ You see, the command not to fear built upon the Promise that God would give His people victory did not guarantee that every Israelite who went out to war would return home. God was not promising to turn every one of them into invincible supermen. The danger on the battle field was very real. Yet Proverbs 21:31 “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” Psalm 144:1 “Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;” The people were to understand that the Lord may choose to spend their life to bring about a victory they would not see. So verses 5-7 gives multiple exemptions from military service for the purposes of making sure the soldier’s home was in order. If their home was not in order, then they should not be going to war. Scholar Eugene Merrill reminds us that “It is a well-attested fact that fear or preoccupation in the midst of conflict can endanger the life not only of the person afflicted by it but also the person’s compatriots. Far better for a few who are wholly committed than for sheer multitudes of hangers-on where the well-being of the community is involved.” (Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 283). Broadman & Holman Publishers.) All of the things stated: could cause a man to be distracted from the battle in a moment that would bring death to himself and those around him. So if a man had not dedicated his house, had not enjoyed the fruit of his vineyard, had not been with his wife, then they were to stay home so that they were not distracted from the battle they were facing. Now what I just referenced is true, a distracted soldier is a danger to himself and those around him. However, our text actually emphasizes the fact that the soldier may, through death, miss out on the blessings of the Lord. The stress of the text in regards to these military exemptions, are so that the individual would be able to enjoy the blessings of life. In fact later Deuteronomy 24:5 it states “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.” If a man was newly married, it was literally against the law for him to go to war. So here, in Israel’s manual for war, we see the goodness of God for His people. There is another exemption that God gave His people. We continue in verse 8 And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’ There was a command not to fear and then if a man is fearful and fainthearted, he is also given a military exemption for the sake of his fellow soldiers. On the surface, giving so many military exemptions does not appear to be a very good way to raise an army. However, let us look forward to the time of the judges when a certain man was threshing in a hole in the ground. At that time, God called Gideon to raise an army. Gideon brought in 32,000 men. Then God tells Gideon in Judges 7:3 “Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.’ ” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.” Scholar Peter Craigie points out that, “the object of the officers of the people was not to get the largest possible army, but the best possible army. The best possible army was the one wholly committed to God and absolutely confident in His strength and ability for the battle lying ahead of the army.” (Craigie, P. C. (1976). The Book of Deuteronomy (p. 273). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) God continues to whittle down Gideon’s army until only 300 remain. This was done so that Israel would not boast “that her own strength has saved her” Judg 7:2 The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ One scholar observes that “It/Israel’s victory was to be clear to all observers that battles were won because of the power and presence of the Lord and not because of human prowess.” (Merrill, E. H. (1994). Deuteronomy (Vol. 4, p. 284). Broadman & Holman Publishers.) Our text today emphasizes this fact in verses 1 & 4 the Lord your God is with you, the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory. Once all had been said, And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.” This is where we will pause for today. Next week, Lord willing, we will cover the second half of Israel’s condensed manual for war.

Text Applied

1) Spiritual warfare: Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” 2 Corinthians 10:3–6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” We need to be aware that while we are not at war with Canaanites or Philistines, we are at war. First, You are at war with your own sinful desires & attitudes. It is hard to fight an enemy on two fronts. The worst enemy is often the one you see in the mirror. Jesus commands us to remove the beam from our own eye before we try to remove the splinter from another’s. While a few of us may be a bit too hard on ourselves, most of us do not judge ourselves harshly enough. We lawyer up to excuse our own evil thoughts as, not that bad, we excuse our wandering eyes saying, it was just a glance, we excuse our lying tongues by saying it’s not a big deal or it was only partly a lie. We excuse our fits of anger by saying, they deserved it. We excuse our unkind actions by saying, they don’t deserve it. Folks, in our flesh Romans 7:18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. We are at war with our own sinful hearts and we must not trust the enemy within. We MUST take every thought captive. Second, we are at war with the sinful culture we are in. You see, our culture tells us that if it feels natural than it must not only be natural but good and morally right. Our culture is in open warfare in the realms of sexuality, abortion, and truth itself. Dear Christian, never lose sight of the fact that when you are interacting with people who are opposed to God, that they are not the enemy. They are spiritually blinded and need Jesus. As Jesus commanded in Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” This does not mean that we can’t engage them in debate and discourse. We are in spiritual warfare and that will call for conflict. We are to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” (2Cor10:3-6) As Peter said (1Peter 3:15) but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, We are to engage our culture with truth spoken in love. Sometimes we must speak with force, not wavering, not backing down, standing firm, but also with respect because they are fellow image bearers whom Christ died for. We are to pray, study, and engage in the spiritual warfare that surrounds us and that resides within us. As we do this, we must remember the second half of Romans 7:18 …For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” No matter how smart or skilled you are, you are not the one who brings victory. On our own, we will fail. In combatting your own sin and in combatting the evil within our community and in our culture, we must never forget Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him/Christ who strengthens me. Just like our salvation, it is not in our own power that victory will be achieved. It is the Power of God who is working through us.

2) We may not see the victory. In our text we saw the real possibility that some men would not live to see the victory that God would bring. Folks, are you OK with fighting the good fight of faith, praying for someone’s salvation, engaging with their questions and concerns, loving them as Christ has loved you, pouring your life into them for year upon year, decade upon decade, and perhaps never knowing this side of eternity whether it actually mattered? The reality of war is that we may not see the a loved one get saved, we may not live long enough to see a revival in our country, we may not see our culture turn to Christ, even so, are you willing to engage in the spiritual warfare that God calls you to? This reminds me of the 1914 Endurance Expedition to the South Pole. As the story goes, when SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON, was attempting to build his crew, he, SUPPOSEDLY, put this add out in the paper: "MEN WANTED: FOR HAZARDOUS JOURNEY. SMALL WAGES, BITTER COLD, LONG MONTHS OF COMPLETE DARKNESS, CONSTANT DANGER, SAFE RETURN DOUBTFUL. HONOUR AND RECOGNITION IN CASE OF SUCCESS. - SIR ERNEST SHACKLETON" We are called to fight the good fight of Faith, trusting that God will have the Victory, even if we will not see it this side of eternity.

3) Amidst the spiritual warfare, do not forget to enjoy the gifts of God. In our text we saw many military exemptions. The bulk of these exemptions were for people to enjoy the good gifts God has given them. Sometimes we can get so fixated on the spiritual warfare that is raging around us, that we forget all the blessings God has given to us. We do not take the time to enjoy the fruits of our labor, the time with friends and family. We are always discussing the next horrible thing that we saw on the News or our social media feed or etc. That is wrong and sometimes we need to step back/unplug so that we can actually taste and see the goodness of God to us. Amidst all the shaking, take time to enjoy the good gifts of the One who loves you does not change.