Life in War

The law is built, much like a wall, by layering one brick on top of another. In the end, it all works in cohesion to form one unified front. So these next few weeks we are going to see various laws which might fit under one commandment or another. I believe we still have the broader framework of the ten commandments at work, but there are some that might overlap with other commandments, as we saw last week in Marcus’ sermon regarding not moving a neighbor’s boundary stone.

And now, as we arrive at Deuteronomy chapter 20, we think of how our section today fits into the wider context of the sermon. Moses is in the middle of applying the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder”. One natural question that arises is, “Well, what about warfare? Is it right to kill other human beings in battle?”

There have been many throughout history who have refrained from war because they believe they are being faithful to obey the sixth commandment by not taking human life. And while I would encourage efforts to be faithful to scripture, I do believe they were mistaken by not taking the full counsel of scripture. If God gave the Israelites the sixth commandment and yet let them into battle, is the Lord now contradicting himself?

The answer is no because God knows that war is necessary in this world in order to defend, or for Israel when invading the land, to enact God’s righteous retribution onto the sinful nations that were living there.

But, as we shall see, the Lord seeks to preserve life, even in the midst of war.

So if you have your Bibles, please turn there with me. Deuteronomy chapter 20.

Deuteronomy 20 ESV

“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. “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you. Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. 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, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God. “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you? Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

Let us pray. (prays)

This passage breaks down into three simple parts. I’ve given you my outline here:

Breakdown:

vv. 1-9 Fear and Futility

vv. 10-18 Calm and Conquest

vv. 19-20 Land and Longevity

Fear and Futility (1-9)

For Israel, there was much to be afraid of, especially in battle. Verse one sets the stage. God does not say “if you come to battle against armies greater and stronger than your own”, he says “When”. And that’s exactly what happened to the Israelites. The Canaanites had lived in the land much longer and had amassed large armies, full of chariots and horsemen and iron weapons. But unlike the Canaanites, Israel’s battles were to be led differently from the get-go. They were to be divinely led by the Lord. We can see this pattern in verse 2, whereby it is a priest that consults the Lord in order to give direction.

And the main point given to the Israelites is to “not fear”, first established in verse one but repeated two more times in this section, in verses 3 and 8. Alongside of the command is a tone of comfort. The people need to be reminded who it is who is with them, namely the Lord who brought them out of Egypt, who sent signs and wonders against pharaoh and Egypt, who sustained the Israelites in the wilderness. The priest’s words in verses 3-4 support this sentiment, reminding the people of who is leading the battle and the assured victory.

If this is not a call to faith, I don’t know what is. Other nations placed their hope of battle success in their machines or in their numbers, but the Lord’s battles are conquered in faith.

What is the greatest hindrance to faith?

Fear.

When Peter was walking on the water in faith, it was fear that pulled him down beneath the waves.

When the heart of one man turns in battle and causes those around him to flee, it leads to a loss of life and a loss of victory in battle.

When Joshua is about to enter the promised land, he is again given the command to not fear. You may have heard this verse quoted over and over again:

Joshua 1:9 ESV

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Israelites needed to be reminded of God’s presence with them in battle.

Just like how we need to be reminded of God’s presence with us.

We need to be reminded who our commander and chief really is, and have faith that he will lead us through the day.

What were Jesus’ final words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven?

“And behold, I am with you always, unto the end of the age”.

You could say that his last words given to the disciples were the same comfort and command he gave to the Israelites: Take courage, for I am with you.

Jesus, who commands legions of angels, who sees through the hypocrisy of human lies, who endured with much suffering the wrath of God and the cross, is with you to comfort you, strengthen you, help give you courage and the right words to say. God, in his full counsel of the Father, Son, and Spirit, does not abandon you.

When we face those fearful moments in our life, it’s easy to lose sight of that. When we are facing down our debt, or loss, or addiction, or we feel stuck where we’re at. We look to the things that are holding us back, rather than the things that God can do. We lose confidence, give in to fear, and lose faith.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

The call on your life is not to be governed by fear, but by the power of God, his love, and the self-control we exercise in our lives. And that begs the question to us,

Where is fear holding you back?

What, in your life, is that thing of fear that is holding you back from following the Lord? Is it going to be too awkward for you to engage that conversation about the gospel with that person in front of you in the grocery store line? Does it feel too strange walking up to someone, after being prompted by the Holy Spirit, and asking to pray for them?

One of my biggest challenges in college was overcoming the power of this fear. Leaving high school, I was a complete introvert- I did not want to approach anyone, let alone have people approach me. But through an internship in the office of spiritual life at my college, I learned to approach people, begin a conversation, and eventually talk about the gospel. It was during this time I would also travel to neighboring college campuses and work with a team to evangelize to other students. I think of the believers who ended up coming to the faith and attended my church and shared in our fellowship. I think of the young man who was standing in line in front of me in Chick-Fil-A who responded to the gospel call on his life, and who I sat down and prayed with as he gave his life to the Lord.

None of that would have happened had I remained in fear, holding back and not living in the power of God which he instilled within me through the power of his Spirit.

So what are you missing out on? Is living in fear really worth it? You might convince yourself that you’re safe, that you risked nothing to your reputation. But in doing so, you’re missing out on the blessing of the Lord, of winning souls to Christ and to his kingdom. Remember who it is who is the commander-in-chief, who leads not by sight but by faith.

The first part of our section here is about fear, but it’s also about futility.

In verses 5-7 we see provisions given to those who would go to battle. In these graces, we see the larger picture that the Lord has in store: that his people would be blessed in their dwellings, in land of their inheritance, and in their families.

Deuteronomy 20:5–7 ESV

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.’

Why these three things grouped together?

Well, in the Ancient Near East, that area around where Israel is located, nations would often curse their enemies in these three ways: That the home would not be inhabited, that the fruit of the field would be destroyed, and that the family line would be cut off. It’s called the “futility curse”, a wish by enemies that complete destruction would come upon their foes.

The Lord, in his divine forbearance, is already preventing futility among the people of Israel. His goal for them is to live life and to prosper in the land of promise. It doesn’t matter if the Lord has 100 people in the battle or 10 … if the Lord is the one behind the fight then he’s going to win. So he secures the life of the Israelites and prevents them from becoming futile.

He’s also the one allowing Israel to remain faithful to the whole law. There were rules about dedicating the fields … for three years the crops could be harvested, and in the fourth the field was to be dedicated to the Lord. Such is the same for the dedication of the home and for marriage. These are prior commitments, other responsibilities that the Israelites had when following the law.

For us as Christians, there is a time in our life when we have other responsibilities, whether at home with family, or tending to our own health, or previous commitments, that will seemingly keep us from fulfilling the call of ministry. And we can beat ourselves up saying “I wish I could do more”. Don’t do that. God knows. He has made provision. You aren’t being unfaithful by tending to the other things God has put in your life.

Is it wrong of you to take care of your family? To honor your father and mother by tending to them in their old age? To disciple your children or grandchildren? We can become trapped in a sense of false guilt at times because of the call to proclaim the gospel, but we fail to see how we are doing it already in our lives within how we live. We desire more, when what we’re doing is already pleasing to God. The Lord will raise up others and work miracles to get his work done. We need to trust in his leadership enough to know when we’re not needed in the fight. In stepping back, he prevents us from futility. He helps us combat burnout and over-commitment. He leads us into green pastures and restores our soul. Sometimes we think following Jesus is always walking in the shadow of the valley of death, but it’s just as much about the times of peace as the times of war.

So we look at this first section and we are reminded of two principles:

Do not fear, for the Lord is with you.

The Lord doesn’t always call you into battle.

So that’s the first part.

Secondly, we see a section on Calm and Conquest

Calm and Conquest (10-18)

I like how last week, Marcus mentioned the aspect of the law which is forward-looking. This law is one of those. It’s a law that was not necessarily going to be implemented by the generation that went in to conquer Israel, but was set as a standard for future generations. God anticipated the nation of Israel needing to fight enemies outside of the promised land.

These are the rules which Israel was to engage cities outside of the promised land in war. First, they were to offer terms of peace. We can see how God is working to prevent as much loss of life as possible.

Deuteronomy 20:10–11 ESV

“When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.

Forced labor, that doesn’t sound pleasant. I’d rather live as a free people, maybe pay a bit of taxes here and there but forced labor ....? How is that preservation of life? That’s like, slavery.

Well, you have to think of the war practices of the other nations at this point. Often times countries would go further than necessary when conquering cities, levying heavy taxes, imposing terrible burdens upon the cities they conquered. Cities would open their doors to the Assyrians, and yet the Assyrians would march in and kill people anyway. They’d lead prisoners away connected by fishhooks in their noses. The Egyptians were no different … they’d kill, rape, destroy, set fire. The Lord’s direction for the Israelites is not to become caught up in the conquest, but to treat their enemies (and these cities are enemies) fairly.

And what nations are these that Israel is going off to fight against? Well, those that are outside of the promised land.

Deuteronomy 20:15

Deuteronomy 20:15 ESV

Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here.

Why would Israel need to go and fight against these nations? I had to really think about this question, since I couldn’t see any reason why they would need to go off and conquer other other nations. But we are given accounts in scripture of where this law of war was necessary because the surrounding nations threatened Israel. Let me pull up a map here for you:

Map

Here we see other nations that surround Israel and Judah. The nations of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Syria. All of these nations attacked Israel and plotted against them at some point in time, despite Israel having no interest in their lands. We’re told in 2 Samuel chapter 10, when David was king of Israel, that a new king ascended to the throne of Ammon. He didn’t trust the Israelites, so he forged alliances with the surrounding nations and formed armies to march against the lands of Israel. Israel fought against them, beat them, and then these kingdoms lived in subject to Israel, paying tribute. This is why, by the time of Solomon’s reign, Israel had “peace on all sides”. Israel needed to fight in order to defend their own land. They were not separated from the politics and intrigue of their day.

And yet, despite being defeated, God shows mercy to the surrounding peoples. These other nations had gone to war against Israel, in an attempt to drive them from the land. Rather than being completely wiped out in genocide or driven from their own lands, they work forced labor for Israel. We know the Israelites were big on this, as they had officers appointed in charge of divisions of these workers, who were comprised of not just these surrounding nations, but also the nations within Israel that they did not wipe out when entering the promised land.

So manual labor is actually a good deal for those who were a threat to Israel, assuming they submitted peacefully once Israel’s armies approached their cities. But it was a harsher punishment for those who rebelled, which we see in verses 12-14.

Deuteronomy 20:12–14 ESV

But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you.

For those who refused to submit, all of the males, it is assumed here by most commentators that these are those who were fighters, were to be put to the sword. And all of the women and children were to be spared. Again, this is in contrast with the warring practices of the surrounding nations, who performed heinous acts of violence against those whom they conquered.

We even see in the following verses, this is a practice which Israel was to hold to for nations outside of the promised land, not those within.

Deuteronomy 20:16–18 ESV

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, but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God.

God’s holy and righteous justice was to be enacted against the people within the promised land for the sake of Israel, that they might not follow after other gods. All of these people were to be wiped out because God knew when their cup of wrath had become full. This warfare against the peoples within the promised land was distinctly different from those outside. Within the promised land we have God’s legitimate moral judgment on human wickedness in the context of his overall sovereignty. Let me say that again: it is God’s legitimate moral judgment on human wickedness in the context of his overall sovereignty. That means that God is the ruler of all of history. He sees when a people’s time is up, and he used Israel as a tool in this case, to bring about the wickedness of these people to an end. So the victory of Caanan is not merely a demonstration of the Lord’s power, but a vindication of truth.

The same practice was not to be applied to the surrounding nations, whose time had not yet come. (pause)

What principles do we learn from this section?

Well, firstly we see God’s value for human life, even in the midst of warfare. Israel was to be distinctly different than the surrounding nations in not carrying blood-lust too far, but to be respectful and value human life, being fair in their terms of peace, and exercising restraint even in victory. They were to not ignore the threats to their land, but respond with force. Sometimes, in order to love your neighbor well, you need to protect them from other forces that be. That might mean taking up arms in a war.

We see this principle in our world right now: The Ukrainians defending their nation from genocide from the Russians, the Israelis in Palestine because of the threat that came knocking against their door.

When we wage war as a nation, do we make sure to value human life? When we provide financial support to allies overseas, are we making sure we are backing the right nations?

Vladimir Putin does not practice life-honoring principles. He targets schools, hospitals, civilian infrastructures. He sends millions of his own troops to their deaths to obtain an objective, no matter how much blood is shed. Under his leadership, prisoners of war are shot, his own people killed once wounded (since they no longer serve a purpose).

Contrast that style of warfare to Ukraine, who strategically attacks military targets. They value the lives of their soldiers, which is why they do not throw them as a meat-shield into occupied territory. They treat their prisoners of war with fairness.

Think of Hamas, a terrorist organization whose main objective is to destroy Jews. They do not honor human life, but seek to take it.

Flip the coin around … How well are the Israelis doing in honoring the lives of the Palestinians? Not as comfortable of a question, is it? There’s that part of our brain that wants to favor our side and be partial and minimize the loss of human life.

We need to recognize that sometimes our allies need to be held accountable for bloodshed that could have been prevented.

The principles of God-honoring war versus hate-filled bloody war are necessary for our day and age, when we live in a world that will have wars and rumors of wars until Christ’s return. We need to know what to value when we vote in representatives in Congress or a new President. When we, or other nations wage war, do we look to value human life, even in the midst of armed conflict?

So that’s the principle, that God values life, even in the midst of war. If he values life, so should we.

Secondly, we see the principle of exercising restraint. (repeat)

God values life, so should we.

Exercise restraint.

Another word for restraint is self-control, one of the fruits of the Spirit.

The Israelites were not to get caught up in the bloodlust against their enemies, nor were they to take punishment too far.

Think of what would happen if they did not restrain themselves in war, but imposed a heavy burden on the surrounding nations … you’d have rebellions, people plotting vengeance and means of revenge. But when you treat your enemies fairly, they have no grounds (or no solid ground you might say), to make any sort of accusation against you. Instead, you are living as a witness against their evil deeds and pointing to the grace and kindness of the Lord.

We see this principle at work in Jesus’ teachings when he commands the Christian to love your enemies and to pray for those who persecute you. The Apostle Paul continues Jesus’ teaching in his letter to the Romans. He writes:

Romans 12:17–21 ESV

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Good only overcomes evil if restraint is exercised. When we entrust our anger toward someone, whether righteous or not, into the hands of God, we are able to pass it off our plate and move on to the good works which God has prepared beforehand. And note the principle here: if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Have you ever been in an argument, and you let slip some really hurtful words?

I have. It’s like you have that zinger in the back of your mind and you tell yourself that if this escalates further then you’re going to play this card to “win” the fight. But that’s not really the smart thing to do is it? Why? Because you know it’s hurtful. And as soon as the words drop out of your mouth you instantly regret them, because you know you’re hurting someone you love.

We need to guard ourselves and exercise self control in the heat of the moment and submit all things that we say in constant prayer to the Lord.

The final two verses of our passage speak to the Land and Longevity.

Land and Longevity (19-20)

Deuteronomy 20:19–20 ESV

“When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you? Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

The Egyptians chopped down trees for battering rams and for siegeworks against cities. We even have records of the Greeks destroying whole fields of olive trees just out of their malice and hatred. Israel was not to take out their anger upon the world which God had created to sustain life, but was to honor the life-providing aspects that fruit-bearing trees were to provide.

Man looks at the short term picture. God looks at the broader view. Often times, we do not see the effects of our sin on the broader world around us. What may have begun as a spark was flamed into a devastating fire that has long-lasting consequences of future generations.

During the American Civil War, when the armies of the North invaded the South, they burned huge swaths of fields, crippling the South’s economy. This became known as the Sherman march. The destruction caused during this invasion lasted into future generations, as the South’s economy never fully recovered. Reconstruction failed as Jim Crow laws set in and the people were kept in an impoverished state due to racism. The destruction of the ground in Sherman’s scorched earth policies went above and beyond the boundaries of war, causing long-term scarring on the livelihoods of those who would inhabit those lands.

Sin has long-lasting consequences. There are many people who are in this world who have been scarred because of abuse. We need to be sensitive to the needs of these people, recognizing that the best way to love them is to slowly sow seeds in their life that will bring about fruit-bearing trees. The process is slow and the way forward is tedious. It takes patience and understanding and gentle correction when it comes to these matters.

We also need to guard against our own sin and the temptation of the flesh, by putting it to death every day, lest it become unleashed upon those who do not deserve to be destroyed, or carried too far.

What “fruit” does your own sin prevent from growing?

This is the final note I want us to leave on. We live in a world that’s at war, not just physical war between nations, but in a spiritual war. God’s plan for history always values life in the midst of that war. If we’re too busy focused on ourselves, we can lose sight of the value of the human being on the other side of the aisle. Paul writes:

Ephesians 6:12 ESV

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.

When we address someone we disagree with, are we addressing their argument, or are we making the attacks personal? Making it personal will only drive a wedge between you and them. But if you truly love your enemy, you will treat their arguments with respect, not just shirking them off but taking them at face value, and addressing the proposition in a fair way. If you allow your sinful flesh to shut down your enemy, you do not leave room for redemption or for the possibility of fruit to come.

The Lord is the one who is the giver of life, even in the midst of war. Let us not be an instrument of death and destruction used by the enemy, but an instrument of the Lord that brings life through fair treatment of even our enemies.

Let us pray.