When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. It shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people, and shall tell them, “Hear, Israel, you draw near today to battle against your enemies. Don’t let your heart faint! Don’t be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them; for Yahweh your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
The officers shall speak to the people, saying, “What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit. What man is there who has pledged to be married to a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.” The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart.” It shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall appoint captains of armies at the head of the people.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 4, 5, 6 Meaning, upon just occasion: for God permitteth not his…
Meaning, upon just occasion: for God permitteth not his people to fight when it seemeth good to them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–8 Deu 20:1 When thou goest out to battle against…
Deu 20:1 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, [and] a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
Ver. 1. When thou goest out to battle.] It is not unlawful, therefore, to go to war, as Lactantius and some others held; whether it be pro religione vel pro regione: only because it is easier to stir strife than to stop and stint it, - non enim in eiusdem potestate est initium belli, eiusque finis, {a} - war is not rashly to be undertaken, lest it befall men as in the battle between the dragon and the elephant. The dragon sucketh out the blood of the elephant, and the weight of the falling elephant oppresseth the dragon, and so both perish. {b} St Augustine would never pray for such as had willfully and voluntarily thrust themselves into unnecessary wars. {c}
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For the Lord thy God is with thee.] And how many reckonest thou him for? - as Antigonus said to his discouraged soldiers. "The Lord is a man of war"; {Exo 15:3} or, as the Chaldee there expresseth it, "a victor of wars." {2Ch 32:8} Si Deus pro nobis, &c. {Rom 8:31}
{a} Salust., in Jugurth.
{b} Plin., lib. viii. cap. 12.
{c} Possid., in Vit. Aug.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9 When thou goest out to battle, upon a just…
When thou goest out to battle, upon a just and necessary cause, as upon great provocation, or for thy own defence.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Israel was at this time to be considered rather…
Israel was at this time to be considered rather as a camp than as a kingdom, entering upon an enemy's country, and not yet settled in a country of their own; and, besides the war they were now entering upon in order to their settlement, even after their settlement they could neither protect nor enlarge their coast without hearing the alarms of war. It was therefore needful that they should have directions given them in their military affairs; and in these verses they are directed in managing, marshalling, and drawing up their own forces. And it is observable that the discipline of war here prescribed is so far from having any thing in it harsh or severe, as is usual in martial law, that the intent of the whole is, on the contrary, to encourage the soldiers, and to make their service easy to them.
I. Those that were disposed to fight must be encouraged and animated against their fears.
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1. Moses here gives a general encouragement, which the leaders and commanders in the war must take to themselves: "Be not afraid of them, Deu 20:1. Though the enemy have ever so much the advantage by their numbers (being more than thou), and by their cavalry (their armies being much made up of horses and chariots, which thou art not allowed to multiply), yet decline not coming to a battle with them, dread not the issue, nor doubt of success." Two things they must encourage themselves with in their wars, provided they kept close to their God and their religion, otherwise they forfeited these encouragements: - (1.) The presence of God with them: "The Lord thy God is with thee, and therefore thou art not in danger, nor needest thou be afraid." See Isa 41:10. (2.) The experience they and their fathers had had of God's power and goodness in bringing them out of the land of Egypt, in defiance of Pharaoh and all his hosts, which was not only in general a proof of the divine omnipotence, but to them in particular a pledge of what God would do further for them. He that saved them from those greater enemies would not suffer them to be run down by those that were every way less considerable, and thus to have all he had done for them undone again.
2. This encouragement must be particularly addressed to the common soldiers by a priest appointed, and, the Jews say, anointed, for that purpose, whom they call the anointed of the war, a very proper title for our anointed Redeemer, the captain of our salvation: This priest, in God's name, was to animate the people; and who so fit to do that as he whose office it was as priest to pray for them? For the best encouragements arise from the precious promises made to the prayer of faith. This priest must, (1.) Charge them not to be afraid (Deu 20:3), for nothing weakens the hands so much as that which makes the heart tremble, Deu 20:3. There is need of precept upon precept to this purport, as there is here: Let not your hearts be tender (so the word is), to receive all the impressions of fear, but let a believing confidence in the power and promise of God harden them. Fear not, and do not make haste (so the word is), for he that believeth doth not make more haste than good speed. "Do not make haste either rashly to anticipate your advantages or basely to fly off upon every disadvantage." (2.) He must assure them of the presence of God with them, to own and plead their righteous cause, and not only to save them from their enemies, but to give them victory over them, Deu 20:4. Note, Those have no reason to fear that have God with them. The giving of this encouragement by a priest, one of the Lord's ministers, intimates, [1.] That it is very fit that armies should have chaplains, not only to pray for them, but to preach to them, both to reprove that which would hinder their success and to raise their hopes of it. [2.] That it is the work of Christ's ministers to encourage his good soldiers in their spiritual conflict with the world and the flesh, and to assure them of a conquest, yea, more than a conquest, through Christ that loved us.
II. Those that were indisposed to fight must be discharged, whether the indisposition did arise,
1. From the circumstances of a man's outward condition; as, (1.) If he had lately built or purchased a new house, and had not taken possession of it, had not dedicated it (Deu 20:5), that is, made a solemn festival for the entertainment of his friends, that came to him to welcome him to his house; let him go home and take the comfort of that which God had blessed him with, till, by enjoying it for some time, he become less fond of it, and consequently less disturbed in the war by the thoughts of it, and more willing to lie and leave it. For this is the nature of all our worldly enjoyments, that they please us best at first; after a while we see the vanity of them. Some think that this dedication of their houses was a religious act, and that they took possession of them with prayers and praises, with a solemn devoting of themselves and all their enjoyments to the service and honour of God. David penned the 30th Psalm on such an occasion, as appears by the title. Note, He that has a house of his own should dedicate it to God by setting up and keeping up the fear and worship of God in it, that he may have a church in his house; and nothing should be suffered to divert a man from this. Or, (2.) If a man had been at a great expense to plant a vineyard, and longed to eat of the fruit of it, which for the first three years he was forbidden to do by the law (Lev 19:23, etc.), let him go home, if he has a mind, and gratify his own humour with the fruits of it, Deu 20:6. See how indulgent God is to his people in innocent things, and how far from being a hard Master. Since we naturally covet to eat the labour of our hands, rather than an Israelite should be crossed therein, his service in war shall be dispensed with., Or, (3.) If a man had made up his mind to be married, and the marriage were not solemnized, he was at liberty to return (Deu 20:7), as also to tarry at home for one year after marriage (Deu 24:5), for the terrors of war would be disagreeable to a man who had just welcomed the soft scene of domestic attachment. And God would not be served in his wars by pressed men, that were forced into the army against their will, but they must all be perfectly volunteers. Psa 110:3, Thy people shall be willing. In running the Christian race, and fighting the good fight of faith, we must lay aside every weight, and all that which would clog and divert our minds and make us unwilling. The Jewish writers agree that this liberty to return was allowed only in those wars which they made voluntarily (as bishop Patrick expresses it), not those which were made by the divine command against Amalek and the Canaanites, in which every man was bound to fight.
2. If a man's indisposition to fight arose from the weakness and timidity of his own spirit, he had leave to return from the war, Deu 20:8. This proclamation Gideon made to his army, and it detached above two-thirds of them, Jdg 7:3. Some make the fearfulness and faintheartedness here supposed to arise from the terrors of an evil conscience, which would make a man afraid to look death and danger in the face. It was then thought that men of loose and profligate lives would not be good soldiers, but must needs be both cowards in an army and curses to it, the shame and trouble of the camp; and therefore those who were conscious to themselves of notorious guilt were shaken off. But it seems rather to be meant of a natural fearfulness. It was partly in kindness to them that they had their discharge (for, though shamed, they were eased); but much more in kindness to the rest of the army, who were hereby freed from the incumbrance of such as were useless and unserviceable, while the danger of infection from their cowardice and flight was prevented. This is the reason here given: Lest his brethren's heart fail as well as his heart. Fear is catching, and in an army is of most pernicious consequence. We must take heed that we fear not the fear of those that are afraid, Isa 8:12.
III. It is here ordered that, when all the cowards were dismissed, then captains should be nominated (Deu 20:9), for it was in a special manner necessary that the leaders and commanders should be men of courage. That reform therefore must be made when the army was first mustered and marshalled. The soldiers of Christ have need of courage, that they may quit themselves like men, and endure hardness like good soldiers, especially the officers of his army.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–9 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies,....…
When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies,.... There were two sorts of war the Israelites were engaged in, one commanded and another permitted, as Maimonides (c) distinguishes; one was by the order and appointment of God, as against the seven nations of Canaan; the other was voluntary and arbitrary, which was left to their own discretion and will, as they saw fit, when they were provoked or distressed, or were invaded by their enemies, or they saw reason to go out against them, and either act the offensive or defensive part, or both; and of each of these some things are said in this chapter:
and seest horses and chariots, and a people more than thou; the Israelites had no horses, and so no chariots, their armies were all infantry; but their neighbouring nations that made war with them had a large cavalry, and multitudes of chariots, which made them very formidable; thus Shishak, king of Egypt, in the times of Rehoboam, came against Jerusalem with 1200 chariots and 60,000, horsemen, and people without number; and Zerah the Ethiopian, in the times of Asa, came against him with an host of 100,000 men, and three hundred chariots, Ch2 12:2.
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be not afraid of them; because of the strength of their cavalry, the terrible approaches of their chariots, and the number of their men:
for the Lord thy God is with thee; hence, as Hezekiah says, more would be with them than with their enemies, with whom was an arm of flesh, but with them the Lord their God, Ch2 32:7 and so the Targum of Jonathan,"for all of them shall be reckoned as one horse and one chariot before the Lord your God;''with whom numbers are nothing; and which adds,"for his Word shall be your help;''the eternal Logos, or Word of God; so Onkelos; and if God and his Word, his only begotten Son, are on the side of his people, they have nothing to fear from enemies, though ever so many and mighty:
which brought thee out of the land of Egypt; which is observed for the encouragement of their faith and confidence in him; for he that did that for them, what is it he cannot or will not do?
(c) Hilchot Melachim, c. 7. sect. 1.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 9 The exhortation of the priest to them who were…
The exhortation of the priest to them who were going to battle, ver. 1-4. The dismission of them who were engaged in business, or faint-hearted, ver. 5-9. How they were to treat distant cities, ver. 10-15. The cities of the Canaanites, ver. 16-18. Fruit- trees not to be destroyed, ver. 19, 20.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 7, 8 Directions concerning campaigns, 1.
CHAPTER XX
Directions concerning campaigns, 1.
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The priest shall encourage the people with the assurance that
God will accompany and fight for them, 2-4.
The officers shalt dismiss from the army all who had just built
a new house, but had not dedicated it, 5.
All who had planted a vineyard, but had not yet eaten of its
fruits, 6.
All who had betrothed a wife, but had not brought her home, 7.
And all who were timid and faint-hearted, 8.
The commanders to be chosen after the timid, c., had retired, 9.
No city to be attacked till they had proclaimed conditions of
peace to it, provided it be a city beyond the bounds of the
seven Canaanitish nations if it submitted, it was to become
tributary; if not, it was to be besieged, sacked, and all the
males put to the sword; the women, children, and cattle to be
taken as booty, 19-15.
No such offers to be made to the cities of the Canaanites; of
them nothing shall be preserved, and the reason, 16-18.
In besieging a city no trees to be cut down but those which do
not bear fruit, 19, 20.
NOTES ON CHAP. XX
Verse 1. When thou goest out to battle] This refers chiefly to the battles they were to have with the Canaanites, in order to get possession of the promised land; for it cannot be considered to apply to any wars which they might have with the surrounding nations for political reasons, as the Divine assistance could not be expected in wars which were not undertaken by the Divine command.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 7, 9 Deu 20:1. When thou goest out to battle against…
Deu 20:1. When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies — The land of Canaan being to be gained by conquest, in a war of God’s special appointment; and the Israelites, after their settlement in it, being likely to be exposed to invasions from, or quarrels with the neighbouring nations, Moses judged it necessary to leave them some standing rules for their conduct in both these kinds of war. The first and great rule was, to commit their cause to God, depending with entire confidence upon that divine power which had so often and so wonderfully delivered them, without the least fear or discouragement at the superior force or terrible appearance of their enemies. And seest horses and chariots — The armies of the Israelites consisted wholly of foot, and their law seems to have obliged them to continue so, in order that their reliance might be entirely on God, Deu 17:16. But the Egyptians, Canaanites, and other nations, had the advantage of horses and chariots, in which they placed their confidence. Thus the psalmist: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” These chariots were sometimes armed with scythes, to rush in among the foot, and cut them down like grass, which made them very formidable. These are the chariots of iron, mentioned Jdg 4:3.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 9 Horses, and chariots - The most formidable elements of…
Horses, and chariots - The most formidable elements of an Oriental host, which the Canaanites possessed in great numbers; compare Jos 17:16; Jdg 4:3; 1Sa 13:5. Israel could not match these with corresponding forces (compare Deu 17:16 note and references), but, having the God of battles on its side, was not to be dismayed by them; the assumption being that the war had the sanction of God, and was consequently just.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–9 Egypt. Hence it appears that the doctrine of the…
Egypt. Hence it appears that the doctrine of the Quakers, who condemn all wars, is contrary to that of God. If they were always essentially unlawful, He would never have authorized them. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5, 9 when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that…
when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people--Jewish writers say that there was a war priest appointed by a special ceremonial to attend the army. It was natural that the solemn objects and motives of religion should have been applied to animate patriotism, and so give additional impulse to valor; other people have done this. But in the case of Israel, the regular attendance of a priest on the battlefield was in accordance with their theocratic government, in which everything was done directly by God through His delegated ministers. It was the province of this priest to sound the trumpets (Num 10:9; Num 31:6), and he had others under him who repeated at the head of each battalion the exhortations which he addressed to the warriors in general. The speech (Deu 20:3-4) is marked by a brevity and expressiveness admirably suited to the occasion, namely, when the men were drawn up in line.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 1. Seest horses, and chariots — Of the military…
1. Seest horses, and chariots — Of the military resources of the Oriental nations, with whom the Israelites would be likely to be brought in hostile contact, cavalry constituted an important part. The Egyptians and the Syrians are especially mentioned for the abundance of their cavalry.
Be not afraid — The Israelites are to call to mind their past history, when Jehovah overthrew the horse and the rider when he so triumphantly brought up his people out of Egypt.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–9 1. When thou goest forth to war, etc.] So…
1. When thou goest forth to war, etc.] So Deu_21:10, cp. Deu_23:9 (10). On go forth see Deu_13:13 (14). Enemies, so Sam. LXX; Heb. enemy (but collective).
and seest horses, and chariots] Foreign to early Israel, see on Deu_17:16 Jos_17:16, Jdg_1:19; Jdg_4:3.
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and a people more than thou, thou shalt not, etc.] So Sam. LXX, Heb. omits and. On the rest see Deu_7:17 ff.
the Lord thy God is with thee] Cp. Deu_1:30; Deu_1:42, Deu_7:21, Isa_7:14; Isa_8:8.
which brought thee up] instead of the usual brought thee forth, Deu_7:19, etc. Was it on the strength of this verse that Josiah adventured on his fatal encounter with Pharaoh-Necoh in 612 b.c.?
1–9. Of War and Exemptions from Service in it
When Israel goes to war with a foe more numerous and having horses and chariots they shall not fear; Jehovah is with them (Deu_20:1). On the eve of the campaign a priest shall exhort the people (Deu_20:2-4). Officers shall discharge every man who has built a house and not dedicated it (Deu_20:5), or planted a vineyard but not completed the rites opening its fruits to common use (Deu_20:6), or betrothed a wife but not taken her (Deu_20:7); and all who are faint-hearted (Deu_20:8). This done captains shall be appointed (Deu_20:9).—In the Sg. address except for Deu_20:2 a, where, however, LXX has Sg. and the Heb. Pl. is due to the attraction of the vbs in the priest’s speech to the ranks, in which the Pl. address is natural.
Thus Steuern.’s allotment of this part to his. Pl. author loses one of its reasons. His other, the use in Deu_20:2 of the people instead of Israel, common in Sg. passages, is not relevant to a quotation which besides has not the usual Pl. phrase for fearing (see on Deu_1:29); while his suggestion that Deu_20:1 is borrowed from Deu_21:10, Deu_23:9 (10), and Deu_7:17 and so editorial, is ungrounded. It is more natural to take Deu_20:2-4 as secondary (so Berth. and Marti) because of the Plurals, because they repeat Deu_20:1, and because the priest appears in them alone (Berth.: from a time when there was no king but a high-priest in Israel). Yet even this is doubtful; for (as we have seen) the Pl. in Deu_20:2 a is accidental, while the presence of a priest at the opening of a campaign, attended by sacrifices and oracles, was to be expected, and is confirmed for the time of the Judges and early Monarchy by such passages as Jdg_20:26, 1Sa_4:3 f., 1Sa_14:18 f., etc.
I see, therefore, no reason for doubting the unity and originality of the whole passage.
Exemptions from war-service are granted by most Asiatic powers, but their range varies much from time to time. In Palestine the Turks used to let an only son and widows’ sons go free, and for a time every married man. Later service was obligatory upon all except Christians and the tent-dwelling Arabs (Baldensperger PEFQ, 1906, 18). Recently Christians have been obliged to serve.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 (1) When thou goest out to battle—i.e., generally; not…
XX.
LAWS OF WARFARE.
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(1) When thou goest out to battle—i.e., generally; not only in the immediate conquest of Canaan. Yet it may be observed that in the writings of Moses it is foreseen that the completion of the conquest will be gradual, and that Israel will have to go to battle many times before all enemies are overcome.
Horses and chariots.—The Israelitish army was chiefly, or rather entirely, composed of infantry, in most of the great victories won by them.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 20
Deuteronomy 20
"When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And it shall be when ye are come nigh unto the battle that priest shall approach, and speak unto the people, and shall say, unto them, Hear, O Israel; ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them for the Lord your God is he that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you (Vers. 1-4.)
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How wonderful to think of the Lord as a Man of war! Think of His fighting against people! Some find it very hard to take in the idea - to understand how a benevolent Being could act in such a character. But the difficulty arises mainly from not distinguishing between the different dispensations. It was just as consistent with the character of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to fight against His enemies, as it is with the character of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to forgive them. And inasmuch as it is the revealed character of God that furnishes the model on which His people are to be found - the standard by which they are to act, it was quite as consistent for Israel to cut their enemies in pieces, as it is for us to love them, pray for them, and do them good.
If this very simple Principle were borne in mind, it would remove a quantity of misunderstanding, and save a vast amount of unintelligent discussion. No doubt it is thoroughly wrong for the church of God to go to war. No one can read the New Testament, with a mind free from bias, and not see this. We are positively commanded to love our enemies, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that despitefully use us. "Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword." And again, in another gospel, "Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" Again, our Lord says to Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight" - it would be perfectly consistent them so to do. ···· "But now is my kingdom not from hence" - and therefore it would be wholly out of character utterly inconsistent, thoroughly wrong for them to fight.
Ah this is so plain that we need only say, "How readest thou?" Our blessed Lord did not fight; He meekly and patiently submitted to all manner of abuse and ill-treatment, and in so doing He left us an example that we should follow His steps. If we only honestly ask ourselves the question, "What would Jesus do?" it would close all discussion on this point as well as on a thousand other points besides. There is really no use in reasoning, no need of it. If the words and ways of our blessed Lord, and the distinct teaching of His Spirit, by His holy apostles, be not sufficient for our guidance, all discussion is utterly vain.
And, if we be asked, What does the Holy Ghost teach on this great practical point? Hear His precious clear and pointed words. "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves; but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12.)
These are the lovely ethics of the church of God: the principles of that heavenly kingdom to which all true Christians belong. Would they have suited Israel of old? Certainly not. Only conceive Joshua. acting toward the Canaanites on the principles of Romans 12! It would have been as flagrant an inconsistency as for us to act on the principle of Deuteronomy 20. How is this? Simply because, in Joshua’s day, God was executing judgement in righteousness; whereas, now, He is dealing in unqualified grace. This makes all the difference. The principle of divine action is the grand moral regulator for God’s people in all ages. If this be seen, all difficulty is removed, all discussion definitively closed.
But then if any feel disposed to ask, "What about the world? How could it get on upon the principle of grace? Could it act on the doctrine of Romans 12: 20?" Not for a moment. The idea is simply absurd. To attempt to amalgamate the principles of grace with the law of nations, or to infuse the spirit of the New Testament into the framework of political economy would instantly plunge civilized society into hopeless confusion. And here is just where many most excellent and well-meaning people are astray. They want to press the nations of the world into the adoption of a principle which would be destructive of their national existence. The time is not come yet for nations to beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and learn war no more. That blessed time will come, thank God, when this groaning earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. But to seek to get nations, now to act upon peace principles is simply to ask them to cease to be; in a word, it is thoroughly hopeless, unintelligent labour. It cannot be. We are not called upon to regulate the world, but to pass through it, as pilgrims and strangers. Jesus did not come to set the world right. He came to seek and to save that which was lost; and as to the world, He testified of it that its deeds were evil. He will, ere long come to set things right. He will take to Himself His great power and reign. The kingdoms of this world shall, most assuredly, become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. He will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them that do iniquity. All this is most blessedly true: but we must wait His time. It can be of no possible use for us, by our ignorant efforts, to seek to bring about a condition of things which all scripture goes to prove can only be introduced by the personal presence and rule of our beloved and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But we must proceed with our chapter.
Israel were called to fight the Lord’s battles. The moment they put their foot upon the land of it was war to the knife with the doomed inhabitants. "Of the cities of these people which the Lord God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou save alive nothing that breatheth." This was distinct and emphatic. The seed of Abraham were not only to possess the land of Canaan, but they were to be God’s instruments in executing His just judgement upon the guilty inhabitants, whose sins had risen up to heaven, and become absolutely intolerable.
Does any one feel called upon to apologise for the divine actings towards the seven nations of Canaan. If so, let him be well assured of this that his labour is perfectly gratuitous, entirely uncalled for. What folly for any poor worm of the earth to think of entering upon such work! And what folly, too for any one to require an apology or an explanation. It was a high honour put upon Israel to exterminate those guilty nations - an honour of which they proved themselves utterly unworthy, inasmuch as they failed to do as they were commanded. They left alive many of those who ought to have been utterly destroyed; they spared them to be the wretched instruments of their own ultimate ruin, by leading them into the self-same sins which had so loudly called for divine judgement.
But let us look, for a moment, at the qualifications which were necessary for those who would fight the Lord’s battles. We shall find the opening paragraph of our chapter full of most precious instruction for ourselves in the spiritual warfare which we are called to wage.
The reader will observe that the people, on approaching to the battle, were to be addressed, first, by the priest, and secondly, by the officers. This order is very beautiful. The priest came forward to unfold to the people their high privileges; the officers came to remind them of their holy responsibilities. Such is the divine order here. Privilege comes first, and then responsibility. "The priest shall approach, and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them, Hear O Israel; ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your hearts faint, fear not and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you".
What blessed words are these! How full of comfort and encouragement! How eminently calculated to banish all fear and depression, and to infuse courage and confidence into the most sinking fainting heart! The priest was the very expression of the grace of God; his ministry a stream of most precious consolation flowing from the loving heart of the God of Israel to each individual warrior. His loving words were designed and fitted to gird up the loins of the mind, and nerve the feeblest arm for fight. He assures them of the divine presence with them. There is no question, no condition, no "if," no "but." It is an unqualified statement. Jehovah Elohim was with them. This surely was enough. It mattered not, in the smallest degree how many, how powerful, or how formidable were their enemies; they would all prove to be as chaff before the whirlwind, in the presence of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.
But then the officer had to be heard as well as the priest. "And the officers shall speak unto the people; saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it let him go return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that In fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart. And it shall be that when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people." (vers. 5-9.)
Thus we learn that there were two things absolutely essential to all who would fight the Lord’s battles, namely, a heart thoroughly disentangled from the things of nature and of earth; and a bold unclouded confidence in God. "No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." There is a very material difference between being engaged in the affairs of this life, and being entangled by them. A man might have had a house, a vineyard, and a wife, and yet have been fit for the battle. These things were not, in themselves, a hindrance; but it was having them under such conditions as rendered them an entanglement that unfitted a man for the conflict.
It is well to bear this in mind. We, as Christians, are called to carry on a constant spiritual warfare. We have to fight for every inch of heavenly ground. What the Canaanites were to Israel, the wicked spirits in the heavenlies are to us. We are not called to fight for eternal life; we have gotten that as God’s free gift, before we begin. We are not called to fight for salvation; we are saved before we enter upon the conflict. It is most needful to know what it is that we have to fight for, and whom we are to fight with. The object for which we fight is make good, maintain, and carry out, practically, our heavenly position and character, in the midst of scenes and circumstances of ordinary human life, from day to day. And then as to our spiritual foes they are wicked spirits who, during this present time, are permitted to occupy the heavenlies. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood" - as Israel had to do in Canaan - "but against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers [kosmokratoras] of this darkness, against wicked spirits in the heavenlies."
Now, the question is, what do we want in carrying on such a conflict as this? Must we abandon our lawful earthly callings? Must we detach ourselves from those relationships founded on nature and sanctioned of God? Is it needful to become an ascetic, a mystic or a monk, in order to carry on the spiritual warfare to which We are called? By no means; indeed for a Christian to do any one of these things would, in itself, be a proof that he had completely mistaken his calling, or that he had, at the very outset, fallen in the battle. We are imperatively called upon to work with our hands the thing is good, that we may have to give to him that needeth. And not only so, but we have the ample guidance, in the pages of the New Testament as to how we are to carry ourselves in the varied natural relationships which God Himself has established, and to which He has affixed the seal of His approval. Hence it is perfectly plain that earthly callings and natural relationships are, in themselves no hindrance to our waging a successful spiritual warfare.
What then is needed by the Christian warrior? A heart thoroughly disentangled from things earthly and natural; and an unclouded confidence in God. But how are these things to be maintained? Hear the divine reply. "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day," - that is the whole time from the cross to the coming of Christ - and, having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the Preparation of the gospel of peace! above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." (Eph 6.)
Reader, mark the qualification of a Christian warrior as here set forth: by the Holy Ghost. It is not the question of a house, a vineyard or a wife, but of having the inward man governed by "truth;" the outward conduct characterised by real practical "righteousness;" the moral habits and ways marked by the sweet "peace" of the gospel; the whole man covered by the impenetrable shield of "faith;" the seat of the understanding guarded by the full assurance of "salvation; and the heart continually sustained and strengthened by persevering prayer and supplication; and led forth in earnest intercession for all saints, and specially for the Lord’s beloved workmen and their blessed work. This is the way in which the spiritual Israel of God are to be furnished for the warfare which they are called to wage with wicked spirits in the heavenlies. May the Lord, in His infinite goodness, make all these things very real in our souls’ experience, and in our practical career, from day to day!
The close of our chapter contains the principles which were to govern Israel in their warfare. They were most carefully to discriminate between the cities which were very far off from them, and those that pertained to the seven judged nations. To the former they were, in the first place, to make overtures of peace. With the latter, on the contrary, they were to make no terms whatever. "When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it" - a marvellous method of fighting! - "And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it; and when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof" - as expressing the positive energy of evil - "with the edge of the sword. But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof" - all that was capable of being turned to account, in the service of God, and of His people- thou shalt take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee. Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which not of the cities of these nations."
Indiscriminate slaughter and wholesale destruction formed no part of Israel’s business. If any cities were disposed to accept the proffered terms of peace, they were to have the privilege of becoming tributaries to the people of God; and, in reference to those cities which would make no peace, all within their walls which could be made use of was to be reserved.
There are things in nature and things of earth which are capable of being used for God, they are sanctified by the word of God and prayer. We are told to make to ourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when we fail, they may receive us into everlasting habitations; which simply means that if this world’s riches come into the Christian’s hands, he should diligently and faithfully use them in the service of Christ; he should freely distribute them to the poor, and to all the Lord’s needy workmen; in short, he should make them available, in every right and prudent way, for the furtherance of the lord’s work in every department. In this way, the very riches which else might crumble into dust in their hands, or prove to be as rust on their souls, shall produce precious fruit that shall serve to minister an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Many seem to find considerable difficulty in Luke 16: 9; but its teaching is as clear and forcible as it is practically important. We find very similar instruction in 1 Timothy 6 "charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a Good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."* There is not a fraction which we spend, directly and simply, for Christ which will not be before us by and-by. The thought of this, though it should not, by any means, be a motive spring, may well encourage us to devote all we have, and all we are, to the service of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
{*It may interest the reader to know that the four leading authorities agree in reading ontos instead of aioniou, in 1 Timothy 6: 19. Thus the passage would be, "That they may lay hold on life in earnest" or in reality. The only real life is to live for Christ; to live in the light of eternity; to use all we possess for the promotion of God’s glory, and with an eye to the everlasting mansions. This, and only this, is life in earnest.}
Such is the plain teaching of Luke 16 and 1 Timothy 6; let us see that we understand it. The expression, "That they may receive you into everlasting habitations" simply means that what is spent for Christ will be rewarded in the day that is coming. Even a cup of cold water given in His precious Name shall have its sure reward in His everlasting kingdom. Oh! to spend and be spent for Him!
But we muse close this section by quoting the few last lines of our chapter, in which we have a very beautiful illustration of the way in which our God looks after the smallest matters, and His gracious care that nothing should be lost or injured. "When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege; only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued." (Vers. 19, 20.)
"Let nothing be lost," is the Master’s own word to us - a word which should ever he kept in remembrance. "Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused." We should carefully guard against all reckless waste of ought that can be made available for human use. Those who occupy the place of domestic servants should give their special attention to this matter. It is painful, at times, to witness the sinful waste of human food. Many a thing is flung out as offal which might supply a welcome meal for a needy family. If a Christian servant should read these lines, we would earnestly entreat him or her to weigh this subject in the divine presence, and never to practise or sanction the waste of the smallest atom that is capable of being turned to account for human use. We may depend upon it that to waste any creature of God is displeasing in His sight. Let us remember that His eye is upon us; and may it be our earnest desire to be agreeable to Him in all our ways.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 5, 8, 9 Vers. 1-20. The instructions in this chapter are peculiar…
DIRECTIONS CONCERNING WARFARE IN GENERAL, AND FOR THE BESIEGING OF CITIES IN PARTICULAR.
Vers. 1-20. The instructions in this chapter are peculiar to Deuteronomy. As the people of God, Israel was not a warlike nation; they were rather to abstain from warfare, and as a general rule to cultivate the arts of peace. But they had before them at this time the prospect of a serious and protracted conflict before they could occupy the land which God had assigned to them; and they might in future years have to go to war to maintain their independence and repel aggression. In view of this, instructions are here given regarding the conducting of military service.
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When they found themselves opposed by an army more numerous than their own, and better furnished with the material of warfare, they were not to be afraid or discouraged, for Jehovah their God, who had brought them out of Egypt, would be with them to protect and help them. (Psa_20:7) Horses and chariots. In these, which constituted the main strength of the nations with which they would have to contend, the Israelites were deficient; and to them these were always objects of terror in Jos_11:4 Jos_17:16; Jud_1:19 4:3; 1Sa_13:5.
Vers. 1-20. Wars to be regulated by Divine precepts.
The directions given by Moses in this chapter may serve to show the spirit in which wars should, if undertaken at all, be entered on and prosecuted. We are not called upon here to moot the question whether war is under any circumstances justifiable; since the principle on which the Hebrew lawgiver proceeds is that of tolerating for a while certain socially accepted customs, mitigating whatever in them is evil, and gradually educating people out of them altogether. In order to estimate the value of this chapter, it should be compared with the war customs of the nations round about. Dr. Jameson"s "Commentary" has some valuable references thereon. Here are directions: First, as to the men who are to serve. They are to be sifted. In each of the four cases of exemption there is an obvious significance. Having been chosen, they are then to be organized. And their attitude and courage in the war were to be those of men who knew that the Lord their God was with them. Note: No war should be entered on in which the presence and help of God cannot be expected and implored. Secondly, as to the mode of carrying on or entering on war. The nations of Canaan are to be "stamped out," that a great pollution may be driven from the world. With this exception the Hebrews are to avoid war, if possible (ver. 10), and are only to engage in it if forced thereto by the people by whom they were opposed. When in war, no wanton destruction was to be allowed. They were to build bulwarks against invaders, but were not to destroy the subsistence of a people by cutting down fruit trees, etc. How wonderfully humane and even tender are these regulations compared with the customs of other nations at that time! By them, in fact, the old pagan war spirit is repressed, and a war policy discouraged. The main pursuits of their life are to be found in the tillage of the soil. A standing army was unknown among them. War was not to be encouraged by an indiscriminate levy of men, nor was it to be pursued at the cost either of the industrial pursuits or of the domesticities and sanctities of life. If even in those days the war spirit was to be kept in subjection, much more should it be so now! The preacher may at appropriate times and seasons develop here from Bible principles respecting war.
1. War itself, in any form, is regarded in the Word of God as but an accompaniment of a transition state of things. It is not to last always. (Ps 46 Isa 2 Lu 2) Hence all should desire and pray that it may speedily come to an end.
2. Aggressive and unprovoked war for the mere purposes of conquest, finds no sanction whatever in the Word of God. Israel"s wars of conquest were to be limited within assigned bounds.
3. War should never be resorted to except in a case of stern necessity. Israel was to make the effort to avoid war, if possible.
4. Supremacy in war should never be the chief care of a people. It should at all times regard war as but an occasional and awful necessity, and should see more glory in avoiding it than in conquest.
5. When war is engaged in simply from sheer necessity, its horrors should be mitigated by a humane regard for the enemy"s welfare. There is more honor in kindly consideration for an enemy than there is in crushing him. To deprive him of the means of livelihood is a barbarity infinitely to be condemned.
6. When war becomes a stern necessity, so that it cannot righteously be avoided, it may then be invested with religious sanctions, and the blessing and help of God may be expected, asked for, and relied upon; then a people may say, "In the Name of our God we will set up our banners". (Ps 20) For success in such a war, a united people may look up to their God, and they will find that Jehovah hears. There can be no finer instance of this than the one recorded in 2Ch 20. The prayer of Jehoshaphat is sublime. The answer came.
7. When thus a people can confidingly look up to the Most High, and in the full assurance of being right can ask his blessing, there should be no faintheartedness known among them. They may be strong and of a good courage. The Lord God goeth with their armies, and he will give them success.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 1-5. War.
The wars of the world form a large part of its history. Savage nations delight in war, revel in its bloodshed and barbarities. Their heaven is a Valhalla. Civilized communities, while averse from having wars waged on them, are not always so averse from waging war on others. Military ambition, lust of conquest, hope of enrichment by pillage, the wiping out of old grudges, may instigate them to this course. Wherever or however waged, wars are a source of incalculable misery. It may be said of them, "It must needs be that wars come, but woe to that man by whom the war cometh!" War is not to be sought, it is to be by every legitimate means avoided, but it may become a necessity. In this case it must be bravely undertaken, and our trust placed in God for his help.
I RELIGIOUS COURAGE NEEDED IN WAR. It is a not uncommon idea that the influence of religion is adverse to the hardier elements in character. The Christian faith in particular is thought to inculcate a meek passivity of disposition, which, if not absolutely inconsistent with patriotism, courage, and other soldierly virtues, is at least unfavorable to their development. The man of spirit and the devout man are supposed to represent two opposite and incompatible types of character. This idea is strange, when we remember how largely the images and illustrations of the Christian life in Scripture are drawn from warfare. But it is sufficiently refuted by reference to facts. The meekness and unwearied forgivingness which is to characterize the Christian in his private relations is perfectly compatible with the most unflinching heroism in the discharge of public duty, and in the service of his country in her appeal to the God of battles. Christian meekness is not softness or effeminacy. On the contrary, it is an aspect of the highest courage, and develops moral qualities which make it easier to act courageously in any circumstances in which the individual may be placed. Civil liberty has seldom fared better than in the hands of God-fearing men. Instead of being the worst, they make the best soldiers. An army of soldiers, God-fearing and thoroughly disciplined, has usually proved more than a match for vastly superior forces of the enemy: Cromwell"s Ironsides, the Scotch Covenanters, the Cameronians. As fine examples of the soldierly character, we may name Colonel Gardiner, Sir Henry Havelock, Captain Hedley Vicars. It would be the life and strength of our armies were they composed of such men from the top to the bottom of the scale.
II WARLIKE COURAGE NEEDED IN RELIGION. We may apply the exhortations of these verses to the spiritual warfare. The gospel summons us to warfare.
1. With evil within us.
2. With the spiritual forces of evil around us.
3. With the hydra-headed incarnations of that evil in the institutions and customs, sins and follies of society.
It would be well if, in this campaign against evil, we could command in our ranks the same union, the same strict discipline, the same steadiness of action, above all, the same heroic bravery and endurance and preparedness to face the worst, which are often seen in earthly armies. Courage and readiness to sacrifice for Christ all that his cause demands, is a first condition of success in the spiritual warfare. There must be faith in the cause, devotion to the Leader, enthusiasm in his service, and the spirit of those who "love not their lives unto the death". (Rev_12:11) Instead of this, how often, when the battle approaches, do our hearts faint, fear, tremble, and are terrified because of our enemies! Victories are not thus to be gained. We forget that he who is with us is more than they who are against us. The Lord is more to those in whose midst he is than all the horses and chariots and multitudes of people that can be brought against them. J.O.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-20. Religious wars.
We have in this chapter an instructive direction about the prosecution of a religious war. For, after all, war may be the only way of advancing the interests of nations. Disputes become so entangled, and great principles become so staked in the disputes, that war is welcomed as the one way to peace and progress. It is an awful expedient, but there are worse things than war. "Cowardice," said Rev. F. W. Robertson, of Brighton, "is worse.
And the decay of enthusiasm and manliness is worse. And it is worse than death, ay, worse than a hundred thousand deaths, when a people has gravitated down into the creed that "the wealth of nations" consists, not in generous hearts in each breast, and freedom on each brow in national virtues, and primitive simplicity, and heroic endurance, and preference of duty to life; not in men, but in silk and cotton and something that they call "capital." Peace is blessed. Peace arising out of charity. But peace springing out of the calculations of selfishness is not blessed. If the price to be paid for peace is this, that "wealth accumulate and men decay," better far that every street in every town of our once noble country should run blood!" From the directions in the chapter before us, we learn such lessons as these
I THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE CAUSE, AND NOT THE NUMBERS IN THE FIELD, IS TO BE THE FOUNDATION OF TRUST. The Jews were going into Palestine as the Lord"s host, and, even though a minority sometimes, they were sure to win. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" was to be their ground of confidence. And our Lord contemplated the victory of a minority in his illustration about calculating the cost. "Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?". (Luk_14:31) A good cause, like a good king, is worth ten thousand soldiers. (2Sa_18:3) David"s great sin was trusting in numbers and not in God. (2Sa_24:2, etc.)
II A RIGHTEOUS CAUSE ADMITS OF THE WAR BEING ENTERED UPON RELIGIOUSLY. The priest was to give them an oration before the battle, showing that they were going to fight the Lord"s battles, and that he would be with them (vers. 2-4). Of course, this has been imitated often by those who had not right on their side. Yet the hypocrisy of a party or people is in itself a testimony to the need for a religious spirit characterizing combatants. The most depraved feel somehow in the tremendous game of war that they are appealing to the God of battles, and should at least acknowledge him in entering the contest.
III THE ARMY SHOULD BE WEEDED OF THE CAREFUL AND THE COWARDLY. Provision is here made for the dismissal home of those who are careworn about an undedicated habitation (ver. 5), or about a newly acquired vineyard (ver. 6), or about a betrothed wife (ver. 7), and also for the dismissal of those who are faint-hearted (ver. 8). The combatants should be as free as possible from care, and from the infection of cowardice. They might have sung, with the modem minstrels
We want no cowards in our band, That from their colors fly; We cell for valiant-hearted men, Who"re not afraid to die.
IV IN ORDINARY CONQUESTS, PEACEFUL PROPOSALS ARE FIRST TO BE TRIED. (Vers. 10-15.) If these are entertained, well and good; if not, then the conquest will be all the surer of having shown the preliminary consideration. This was to regulate any foreign conquest into which they might be forced. When the victory was won, the male adult population were to be put to the sword, because they had forfeited their lives by rejecting the peaceful proposals; but the women and children and property were to be the prey of the invaders. We have here the suggestion of arbitration, from which much is properly hoped in mitigation of war.
V BUT IN THE CONQUEST OF THE IDOLATROUS NATIONS OF CANAAN, EXTERMINATION WAS THE ONLY SAFETY FOR THE INVADING HOST. By their abominable idolatries they had forfeited all right to life, and their continued existence would only have been a snare to Israel. Children and women as well as adult males were to be included in the desolation. This apparently harsh decree has its counterpart still in the government of the world. A storm or pestilence does not respect children any more than men. It shows that the Great Ruler does not intend the present state of things to be final. A judgment to come is surely the logical lesson of such a feature of war and of providence. The innocent who suffer with the guilty shall get their compensation in the other life.
VI THE RAVAGES OF WAR ARE TO BE KEPT WITHIN AS NARROW LIMITS AS POSSIBLE. This seems to be the lesson in this arrangement about the protection of fruit trees in the siege (vers. 19, 20). The future peaceful and prosperous state of things is to be considered, and no more harm done by the stress of war than is absolutely unavoidable.
We have thus great principles applicable to all the warring period of human progress. Wars are still desperate remedies. A time is coming when "the war-drum shall throb no longer;" but meanwhile, let wars be prosecuted in a religious spirit and with all religious precautions, when they must be engaged in. A noble illustration of what may be done in war-time by Christian men is afforded by the "Christian Commission" in the United States. Its "Annals," written by Rev. Lemuel Moss, Home Secretary of the Commission, Philadelphia, 1868, form a handsome volume of 752 pages, which amply repay perusal. We must fight for principle, if we cannot secure its triumph by more peaceful means; but one day all will submit to it, and war be needed no longer. May God hasten the happy day! R.M.E.
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES Vers. 1-9. Military service to be voluntary.
In war, forced service is worse than useless; it is a source of weakness a cause of defeat. For successful warfare, all the skill and energy of every soldier is demanded; and unless the hearts of the warriors are in the conflict, no triumph can be anticipated.
I TO BE LOYAL FRIENDS OF GOD, WE MUST SOMETIMES TREAT MEN AS FOES. If we are truly God"s children, we must count God"s friends to be our friends, God"s foes to be our foes. We are not our own. We cannot expend life according to our personal will We are the property of another the Supreme King. Therefore we must do his work and fight his battles. Our notion of what is right and just must be made subordinate to his. Our minds are often too much biased with selfish feeling to judge what is right, if left to ourselves; but we shall not err if we closely follow the precepts of our God. The interests of God"s kingdom are to be held by us as paramount over the interests of man"s kingdom.
II GOD"S PRESENCE IN BATTLE OUTMATCHES ALL HUMAN FORCES. The source of conquest is not in the visible material of war. Victory is not on the side of the largest battalions. This is the creed of the infidel. If there were no God, it might be true. Mere numbers of combatants have as often hindered triumph as helped it. If God be ranged on the one side, it is a most unequal contest. The issue is a foregone event. Multiply human weapons or develop human skill as much as you please; let all the powers of arithmetic be exhausted in the computation; and still the finite is confronted by the Infinite. "Before him the inhabitants of the world are as grasshoppers." "If God be for us," vain is all opposition. Simple faith is the best equipment.
III GOD"S PRIEST IS THE INSPIRER OF TRUE COURAGE. The sanctions and the inspirations of religion may be obtained for the business of war. The true priest will not heedlessly lend his sanction to any emprise of war, nor will he withhold his benediction from a righteous contest. By virtue of his office, he is the messenger from God to the royal court, as well as to the people. If ever the oracle of the sanctuary should be consulted, it is when war is imminent. It is not the business of the priest to initiate war; but if war becomes a duty, it is the business of the priest to encourage and "respire the host of God"s elect. The true priest is in close accord with God. God"s heart beats within his heart; God"s will finds prompt response in him. Hence the priest"s voice is the human exponent of God"s thought. God"s strength is through hint conveyed to the mailed warriors, for he speaks with just authority.
IV GOD WILL ACHIEVE VICTORY ONLY THROUGH THE RIGHT-HEARTED. Unless the soldier"s mind and heart and soul be in the conflict, he had better tarry by his fireside. A few earnest, ardent warriors are preferred to mere array of numbers. If any soldier found more delight in his habitation or in his vineyard than in the success of battle, he might forthwith return. With the double-minded and the half-hearted God does not work. The channel must be emptied of self if Divine energy is to pass through it. We are not to conclude that God prefers the few to the many. But he will have the right kind of agents, or he will not work through them. The thirsty man does not prefer one drop of water to ten; but he does prefer one drop of wholesome water to a gallon of poisonous beverage. God works according to wise methods, and sends help through fitting channels. The best media through which he conveys military conquest is unselfish devotion to his cause. The consecrated soldier is the predestined conqueror.
V LEADERS IN GREAT ENTERPRISES ARE TO BE SELECTED FROM THE COURAGEOUS FEW. Men will most faithfully follow those leaders whom they have themselves chosen. As the faint-hearted were unfit to go to the battle, so were they unfit to choose captains over the host. The courageous are also the most judicious. Accurately measuring the work that has to be done, they can the better judge who are the most competent to do it. The brave heart and the clear eye go together. These captains, so appointed, would be strong in the consciousness that they enjoyed the esteem and support of the troops. Such an arrangement gives the best guarantee for efficient leaders. On the same ground, the rulers of the Church should be chosen on the ground of spiritual fitness solely on the ground of moral qualification. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 5 When thou goest out to battle.
Deu_20:1-4
When thou goest out to battle.
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Righteous war
I. Undertaken to accomplish the purpose of God. In the name of our God we will set up our banners.
II. Sanctioned by the will of God.
1. Gods will is ascertained by His presence.
2. Gods will is declared by His servants.
III. Conducted by the precepts of God. (J. Wolfendale.)
Christian life a warfare
I. This warfare is against mighty enemies.
1. Great in number.
2. Terrible in equipment.
II. In this warfare right men are wanted.
1. Good leaders.
2. Good soldiers.
(1) Soldiers conscious of right.
(2) Soldiers willing to serve.
(3) Soldiers full of courage.
III. In this warfare we should not be disheartened.
1. Gods providence encourages us. Brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. There is constant reference to this deliverance most striking and instructive. History unfolds Divine providence; abounds with proofs of omnipotence, and pledges of help. Examples are cited to animate to fortitude and virtue.
2. Gods presence is with us. The Lord thy God is with thee. Not merely as commander, but goeth with you into the greatest danger. Not as a spectator, like Xerxes, who viewed the conflict from on high, but to fight for you with the determination to save you. The Lord thy God, He it is, not a common general, that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. (J. Wolfendale.)
Be not afraid.
Fear forbidden
Israel had seen little of war, only a few brushes in their journey with inferior adversaries. Things would soon become more serious. Hence alarm and need of admonition and encouragement. All Christians are soldiers, and wage a good warfare. It is a necessary and trying warfare--continues through every season and in every condition. The forces of their enemies may be superior in number, vigilance, wisdom, and might. Hence danger of alarm and need of fortitude in the warrior. None have better grounds for courage than we; not in ourselves, for then we must fail.
I. The Divine presence: For the Lord thy God is with thee. Antigonus said to his troops, dismayed at the numbers of the foe, How many do you reckon me for? But God is all-wise and almighty. They that be with us are more than they that he with them. Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.
II. His agency: Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. To a Jew, this was not only a proof, but a pledge; not only showed what He could do, but was a voucher of what He would do. He is always the same, and never suffers what He has done to be undone. Strange would it have been, after opening a passage through the sea, to have drowned them in Jordan. What would have been thought of His great name, after placing Himself at their head to lead them to Canaan, if He had suffered them to be overcome by the way? He, who begins the work, is not only able to finish, but begins it for the very purpose. He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (W. Jay.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.—Reverence for life, and that which tends to…
CRITICAL NOTES.—Reverence for life, and that which tends to preserve it, was the motive for laws given in last chapter. The same is the basis of those in this chapter. Even in time of war, forbearance was to be exercised in respect of Israelites themselves who are levied for war (Deu_20:1-9); in respect of the enemy (Deu_20:10-15); Canaanitish nations alone excepted (Deu_20:16-18); and in respect of the property of the vanquished. (Speak. Com.)
Deu_20:1-9. Instructions for military service. Prospective in nature, but of permanent authority; not a temporary arrangement in prospect of war, but standing orders in future settlement of Israel. Horses, the chief strength of nations surrounding (Exo_14:7; Jos_17:6; Jdg_4:3).
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Deu_20:2. Priest, not high priest, but one appointed; called by Rabbins “the anointed of war,” like Phinehas (Num_31:6), who exhorted the people in formula (Deu_20:3-4). Tremble, lit., make haste, as if confused.
Deu_20:5-7. Officers, i.e., the Shoterim, roll-keepers (Exo_5:6-10) (Sept. scribes), whose duty to muster men and announce orders of generals (2Ch_26:11). Exemptions given. Dedicated the house on taking possession, by certain religious ceremonies (cf. Neh_12:27; Psalms 30) (title). A yearly immunity. Eaten (Deu_20:6), lit., made it common. When fruit trees were planted (Lev_19:23) and vines set (Jdg_19:24) fruit was not eaten the first four years, but set apart from common uses. Betrothed, always considerable time before marriage. Faint (Deu_20:8), melt, or flow down, become despondent (Gen_17:15; Jos_7:5). Captains at the head of the people, in smaller levies (Deu_20:10-20). Instructions concerning sieges, to prevent wanton destruction of life and property.
Deu_20:10. If towns peaceably surrendered, armed men were not put to death. Offensive wars not encouraged. Tributaries conquered nations would become servants, yet receive the highest blessings in alliance with Israel (2Sa_20:18-20). If besieged cities refused to capitulate, those found in arms, every male put to death. Women and children kindly treated (Deu_20:14).
Deu_20:15-18. With Canaanitish towns Israel was not to act thus. These people put under the ban must be exterminated. Nothing that breatheth, lit. every breath by which human beings alone are understood (cf. Jos_10:40; Jos_11:11, with chap Deu_11:14). If the seige was long, trees were not cut down (Deu_20:19). Various renderings have been given of this difficult text. The general sense seems to be that man’s life depends upon the fruit of the trees, in a sense he is identified with them; their destruction would be a sort of sacrilege, and would diminish fuel and hinder military operations. Trees whose fruit not edible, cut down and used for ramparts in seige (Eze_4:2).
RIGHTEOUS WAR.—Deu_20:1-5
Israel was not a warlike nation, but they were about to enter into serious conflict with other nations. In future years they might have to maintain their independence and defend themselves from aggression. Instructions are given to show the spirit in which war must be undertaken, carried on and finished. If war was inevitable the Providence of God would lead them into it. That would be righteous war.
I. War undertaken to accomplish the purpose of God. Israel undertook war, not of their own accord; not for selfish aggrandisement nor to realise ambitious schemes. They were commanded by God to possess the land. Fearful may be the consequences of rash and inconsiderate war “In the name of our God we will set up our banners.”
II. War sanctioned by the will of God. Every nation prays for its armies; but no war in which the presence of God cannot be expected is justifiable.
1. God’s will is ascertained by His presence. “The Lord thy God is with thee.” God may permit enterprises, but never helps them when they oppose His will. Israel rebelled, “went presumptuously up into the hill; God went not with them and they were smitten by the Amorites (Deu_1:43-44).
2. God’s will is declared by His servants. “The priest shall approach and speak unto the people.” They are not mere captains of the army, but ministers of God, reminding of the past and encouraging for the present. Their presence and help indicate God’s purpose. “The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever” (Num_10:8).
III. War conducted by the precepts of God. Here are specific directions, commands from God concerning war. War unprovoked and for unlawful conquest finds no sanction in God’s word. When it becomes a necessity to defend ourselves and punish evil doers, when it cannot justly be avoided, “The belligerent nation then becomes the executioner of Divine judgments, but it must also know and confess that it is used by God for this purpose, and that it only carries on war aright when it does so with this conviction. Then only can we come before God with confidence and a good conscience, because it is His will that we have performed; and every wilfully undertaken war forbids our having free and happy access to God.”—Luthardt. “Every purpose is established by counsel, and with good advice make war.”
CHRISTIAN LIFE A WARFARE
In war, God alone was Israel’s confidence. Their enemies might excel in numbers and in military strength, but they were not to be afraid. God would protect and help them.
I. This warfare is against mighty enemies. Surrounding nations were often a terror to Israel. The Christian fights against powerful odds; principalities and powers in earthly and heavenly places.
1. Enemies great in number. “A people more than thou.” God is not always with the strongest battalions. Numbers are often ranged against Him and His people. But He counts nations as nothing and less than nothing.
2. Enemies terrible in equipment. Horses and chariots were most formidable elements of ancient nations. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses,” but that is confidence vain and displeasing to God. Glorious were the victories when Israel renounced trust in human strength. “The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety (victory) is of the Lord.”
II. In this warfare right men are wanted. Every soldier is not valiant. Gideon’s army was sifted, and many in Israel were sent away for lack of faith and enthusiasm.
1. Good leaders are wanted. Men “anointed for war,” as the Rabbins called the priests—men of the stamp of Henry Havelock and Hedley Vicars. Men of undaunted courage, strong in God and prepared to lead.
2. Good soldiers are wanted. Soldiers who can endure hardness. a. Soldiers conscious of right. For if a man feels that he is in the wrong, he fears detection, disgrace and punishment. Macbeth started at the whisper of every wind. “Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.”—Shakespeare. b. Soldiers willing to serve. Volunteers, not pressed men. None can be forced. Service that is forced is weakness and useless. Our hearts must be in the conflict or we fight in vain. c. Soldiers full of courage The faint-hearted injure the morale of the troops. Fear is contagious and leads to flight. Beware of this infection, “neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid” (Isa_8:12).
III. In this warfare we should not be disheartened. “Let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble.” Why be terrified? Opponents flee before a brave man. “One of you shall chase a thousand.”
1. God’s providence encourages us. “Brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” There is constant reference to this deliverance most striking and instructive. History unfolds Divine providence; abounds with proofs of omnipotence, and pledges of help. Examples are cited to animate to fortitude and virtue.
2. God’s presence is with us. “The Lord thy God is with thee.” Not merely as commander, but “goeth with you” into the greatest danger. Not as a spectator, like Xerxes, who viewed the conflict from on high, but “to fight for you” with the determination “to save you.” “The Lord thy God, He it is,” not a common general, “that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”
THE EXEMPTIONS IN WAR.—Deu_20:5-9
Soldiers must be as free from care and cowardice as possible. Wellington declared “that the power of the greatest armies depends upon what the individual soldier is capable of doing and bearing.” Four classes are here exempted:—
I. Those involved in business. The soldier leaves his private business when he enlists to serve his country. The farmer leaves his plough, the mechanic his shop, and the merchant his store. In Israel those were not called to serve who, from circumstances and prospects, would feel most keenly the hardship.
1. Those engaged in dedicating a house. They must return to their house lest another dedicate it.
2. Those engaged in planting a vineyard must enjoy the fruit of it. Building and planting are good and needful for the community, but encumber the soldier.
II. Those hindered by social ties. “What man hath betrothed a wife and not taken her” (Deu_20:7; Deu_24:5). “It was deemed a great hardship to leave a house unfinished, a new property half-cultivated, and a recently contracted marriage unconsummated, and the exemptions allowed in these cases were founded on the principle, that a man’s heart being deeply engrossed with something at a distance, he would not be very enthusiastic in the public service.” (Jamieson). In an army there should be one heart, one purpose and one desire to please the commander. In the corps of Christian soldiers there is entire obedience to the will of the Captain of our Salvation. “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life: that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
III. Those deficient in personal qualifications. The fearful and faint-hearted were not permitted to war.
1. In moral qualifications. Some think that the fear named arose from an evil conscience which makes a man afraid of danger and death. Men of loose and profligate lives are often cowards and curses to an army. Hence those conscious of guilt were to be sent away. “A guilty conscience needs no accuser.” “Conscience makes cowards of us all.”
2. In natural qualification. The allusion seems to be natural cowardice. Men reverence bravery, but cowards are objects of scorn. Wellington said of some foreigners who ran away from the field of Waterloo, “Let them go; we are better without them.” There must be no fear in officers or men. No cowards in the ranks lest the army flee before the enemy. “Let him go and return unto his house lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_20:1. Fear forbidden. Israel had seen little of war, only a few brushes in their journey with inferior adversaries. Things would soon become more serious. Hence alarm and need of admonition and encouragement. All Christians are soldiers and wage a good warfare. It is a necessary and trying warfare—continues through every season and in every condition. The forces of their enemies may be superior in number, vigilance, wisdom and might. Hence danger of alarm and need of fortitude in the warrior. None have better grounds for courage than we, not in ourselves for then we must fail. First, the Divine presence: “For the Lord thy God is with thee.” Antigonus said to his troops, dismayed at the numbers of the foe, “How many do you reckon me for?” But God is all-wise and almighty. Nothing is too hard for the Lord, and if He be with us, “they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” Secondly, His agency: “Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” To a Jew, this was not only a proof but a pledge; not only showed what He could do, but was a voucher of what He would do. He is always the same, and never suffers what he has done to be undone. Strange would it have been, after opening a passage through the sea, to have drowned them in Jordan. What would have been thought of His great name, after placing himself at their head to lead them to Canaan, if He had suffered them to be overcome by the way? He, who begins the work, is not only able to finish, but begins it for the very purpose. “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with him also freely give us all things?”—Jay.
Deu_20:2-3. The priest helping the soldier. The priest shall approach and speak unto the people. “A minister of peace an advocate of war” only when war is justified. Even then only in showing how to regulate, mitigate, and direct it. Learn—
1. The connection of religion with war in its sanctions and inspirations.
2. The business of the priest to caution the leaders and encourage the soldiers in a righteous contest.
Deu_20:5. Building and dedicating a house.
1. By liberality to the poor. Festive ceremonies and entertainments were given.
2. By consecrating it to God through whose aid it had been built and by whose blessing it would prosper. There should be a family altar and a family religion. “A church in the house” (Psalms 30 th—compare title). This the best ornament and defence of the house.
Deu_20:8. Faint-hearted.
1. Cowardice weakens—faint, fear, tremble and terrify (Deu_20:3) are degrees of weakness.
2. Cowardice renders incapable of right impressions. Let not your hearts be tender to receive impressions of fear and despair. Melting hearts are like hot iron, capable of any impression. “Steel your hearts.”
3. Cowardice affects others. “Lest his brethren’s heart faint.”
Deu_20:5-9. Defective armies (churches or organizations).
1. Requiring to be sifted. The incapable and unfit sent home.
2. Requiring to be re-organized. “Captains” chosen fit “to lead the people.” Defects remedied and efficiency secured. Much to be done before the Christian Church can fight and conquer the world.
Christianity and Heroism. Christianity makes true heroes in war. Rulers in church and state should be chosen on account of spiritual or Christian character.
THE METHOD OF CONDUCTING WAR.—Deu_20:10-15
When Israel came nigh a city not belonging to the Canaanites, they were to summon it to peaceable surrender and submission (Jdg_21:13). Moses does not encourage aggressive war. If the town resisted a regular siege was undertaken, and when captured males were slain, women and children spared, and booty appropriated to their own use.
I. Try mild measures before severe. Even in war there should be honour and justice.
1. Offer peace before war. “Proclaim peace unto it.” In the settlement of quarrels, be ready to give and to submit to arbitration, proposals of peace. God in mercy offers peace to sinners—has no pleasure in their destruction, but beseeches them to be reconciled to Him.
2. Make men tributary rather than exterminate them. If peace proposals were accepted, they must acknowledge the supremacy of Israel by tribute-money. They must renounce idolatry and become servants. Then their conquerors would be their protectors. If we yield to God and become His servants, we shall not only be saved from destruction, but become fellow-citizens with saints and members of God’s household.
II. Display the spirit of humanity. In most barbarous times this has often been seen. Alexander, Caesar, and Napoleon were not devoid of feeling.
1. Spare property. Cities not plundered, trees not destroyed. Cattle and spoil to be appropriated to personal use.
2. Spare human lives. Helpless women and innocent children not to be touched. Here is a degree of self-control not displayed in modern Christian warfare.
A WAR OF EXTERMINATION.—Deu_20:16-18
The Canaanites were to be completely exterminated. They fell under the judicial displeasure of God and were utterly ruined, as the only means to preserve Israel from moral corruption. Learn—
I. That men may become so wicked that utter ruin ensues. Of cities given to Israel no remnant of inhabitants must be spared. Canaanites must not share with Israelites in the land of promise. No terms of peace were offered them. They had filled up the measure of iniquity; had become totally averse to God; and were abandoned to there awful doom. Their punishment was not the execution of revenge upon enemies, but the result of their own wickedness, the fulfilment of a Divine sentence upon that wickedness. “Thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth.”
II. This utter ruin ensues lest the people of God should be endangered. Israel would have been corrupted by the lives and idolatry of Canaanites. God’s people are morally endangered by the pollutions and customs of the world. God is concerned for their character and preservation (Exo_34:11-16). He loves them, and has given men for them, and people for their life (Isa_43:4). “That they teach you not to do after their abominations.”
III. What a warning this utter ruin should be to all. First to God’s people. What a motive for separation from sin and the world! What an argument for obedience when the disobedient are punished so fearfully. War against sin should be one of extermination. The least evil, if spared, may ruin the character. But to the impenitent and ungodly, here is a picture of the destruction which awaits them unless found in Christ. They are reserved “unto the judgment of the great day.”
PRESERVATION OF FRUIT TREES.—Deu_20:19-20
In carrying on war, leaders are apt to indulge in passion and destroy everything within reach. In a long siege, Israel might use non-fruit-bearing trees, but those bearing fruit were not to be touched.
I. God’s laws are intended to check unlawful feeling and action. God is more merciful than we are. Food trees and human life have been wantonly destroyed, and military rage is often most furious. The ravages of war must be checked. A voice must be heard, above the tramp of horsemen and the command of kings. “Thou shalt not.”
II. God’s laws prohibit any wilful waste at all times. God ever consults our interests and economises our resources. “The Jews,” says Henry, “understand this as a prohibition of all wilful waste upon any account whatsoever. No fruit tree is to be destroyed, unless it be barren and cumber the ground. Nay, they maintain, ‘Whoso wilfully breaks vessels, tears clothes, stops wells, pulls down buildings, or destroys meat, transgresses this law. Thou shalt not destroy.’ ” Broken fragments must be gathered up, that nothing be lost. Every creature is good in its end, and nothing must be refused or abused.
ON SPARING FRUIT TREES
What are the lessons touching our own life which are suggested by this exemption?
1. Spare the fruit trees,—Then men are to be self-controlled under the most exciting circumstances. Jews were to bear this restriction in mind at a time when most intensely excited. It was not to be remembered in moments of tranquilly, but to be sent before them, when fiercest passions were ablaze. We have been taught “that all is fair in war”—this law contradicts that proverbial morality. We are not to excuse wantonness by pleading excitement of circumstances. Beautiful the provision that in the keenest contest there was to be recollection of law! It should be so in our lives. In this day of fierce competition men are in danger of giving themselves up to passion, rather than judgement, and pleading the pressure of circumstances as an excuse for doing some things they would never think of doing in calmer moments. Such plea is vicious. Even in battle men are not to lose reflectiveness, in the presence of death they must remember the law of God.
2. Spare the fruit trees. Then do not force a present victory at the expense of future suffering. Victories may cost too much. What, if after conquest, we have cut off sources of supply and left ourselves without bread and water? The frequent question should be not, can I reach yonder point? but can I reach it without sacrificing obedience to divine law? You may get your own way in life, but what if you have to burn an orchard in doing so? A fruit tree standing between you and victory may appear a small thing, but that small thing represents the sources at which life renews itself. What if a man gain the whole world and loose his own soul?
3. Spare the fruit trees. Then judge all things by their highest usefulness and not by their temporary advantages. The tree might have been useful for bulwarks but there was a higher use to which it could be put, and its treatment was determined by this higher use. Things are not judged by their meanest, but by their highest possibilities. Are we living along the line of our highest capabilities, or consulting the conveniences of the passing moment? Who can find a fruit tree being cut down to help a man over a brooklet, when the meanest gate-post would have done just as well? Yet men lie in the dust, when they could exert most beneficial influence upon society. “Aim high, for he who aimeth at the sky shoots higher far than he who means a tree.”
4. Spare the fruit trees. Then man has it in his power to inflict great mischief upon himself and upon society. You can cut down. You have power to do mischief, but not right. A man may show strength in cutting down, but if he knew it he would show far greater strength in not doing so. Forbearance is often the last point of power. What is the Christian application of all this?
1. All in Christ Jesus are expected to bear fruit.
2. Only as Christians bear fruit will they be spared by Jesus Christ Himself.
3. Only in so far as Christians bear fruit ought they to receive toleration at the hands of society.
4. It is possible to bring forth evil fruit.
5. Fruit trees must be pruned. “That ye may bring forth much fruit” (Vol. III., The City Temple).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_20:10-15. Mercy and wrath.
1. Offered mercy precedes the execution of wrath.
1. A city beseiged.
2. Summons to surrender; city not to fall by sudden surprise, or unwarned.
3. Offer of peace. II. Condign punishment follows rejected mercy. Such rebels, if permitted to escape, would raise the standard of revolt elsewhere, and strengthen the resistance of other towns. Learn—
1. The gospel a message of reconciliation.
2. The gospel accepted brings peace.
3. The gospel rejected declares the eternal ruin of the rejector.—Bib. Museum.
Deu_20:19. Our interpretation of the primeval law of food is strongly confirmed by this passage and the essential wickedness of destroying the sources of human sustenance and comfort. The idea is that the tree which God planted is for all the children of men who pass by or dwell near, and need its fruit for food—a permanent supply, which no temporary exigency must be suffered to destroy. The Mahommedans to this day observe this law, and a curious story is related of the Arabian prophet, that when on one occasion in the siege of a fortress, prolonged by the access of the besieged during the night to the date palms outside its walls, he ordered some of his personal followers secretly to cut down these palm trees, his soldiers next morning remonstrated, so that Mahommed had to invent a special commission for the work, which however, he never afterwards repeated. (Temperance Com.) Fruit trees might not be destroyed. Doth God take care for trees? It was to teach us that if we bring forth fruit fit for God’s taste and relish, sanctifying God and Christ in our hearts, we shall not be destroyed.—Trapp.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 20
Deu_20:1. Battle. On the whole subject of Old Testament wars we give an extract from a paper read at the Church Congress last week (Oct. 14, 1885):—“The Old Testament takes man as he is, with savage, warlike instincts, and does not ignore his nature and proclaim at once the reign of peace. But the people are taught to see war in a new light. It is taken out of the hands of man and becomes God’s prerogative. Man wages war only as his vice-regent. He is fighting ‘the battle of the Lord.’ There is nothing personal in the campaigns of Israelites, nothing national except so far as the cause of Israel is the cause of God. It is a great advance in civilization when men neither take the law into their own hands nor suffer a relative to be the avenger of blood, but trust to the administration of impersonal law. Revenge, which in the individual is a kind of wild justice, is then transformed into that righteous indignation which is the root of the judicial system. This was the first, the indirect blow to the war-spirit of the Jews. But they had more to learn—that God is a God of battles is only a half truth. The higher truth was dimly shadowed forth when the patriarchal conqueror did homage to the mysterious King of Peace—when the wars of conquest were over and the chosen people established in the land their King, ‘a man of war’ is forbidden to build the temple and the honour given to ‘a man of rest.’ From first to last the Jews were taught that the explanation of the present is in the future, and as this kingdom becomes clearer it is revealed as a kingdom of peace. This Old Testament teaching in respect to war is propœdeutic, leading men on by little and little till they could sit at the feet of Jesus: and provisional, destroyed only by being fulfilled.”—Rev. Aubrey L. Moore.
Deu_20:1; Deu_20:4. God with thee. When the Crusaders encamped before Jerusalem, a terrible struggle ensued. The Saracens, who possessed the city, bore down upon them in countless numbers, and it seemed as though all was lost to the Christian army. All at once a joyful cry rang through the ranks—“St. James is with us! He fights on our side!” In the excitement of the conflict some of them fancied they saw the apostle in the clouds advancing to help them! It gave them new courage. They rushed forward with an energy which could not be withstood, and the battle was won.
Deu_20:5-9. Roman soldiers were not allowed to marry, or engage in any husbandry or trade; and they were forbidden to act as tutors to any person, or curators to any man’s estate, or proctors in the cause of other men. The general principle was to exclude them from those relations, agencies, and engagements, which would divert their minds from that which was to be the sole object of pursuit—A. Barnes.
Deu_20:9. Lead. Like Hannibal, whom Livy says was first in battle and last out of it.
Deu_20:10. Peace. When Alexander besieged a city, he sent an herald into it with burning torch in hand, to proclaim that if any man would repair and submit to him while the torch was burning, he should be saved; otherwise they might expect nothing but fire and sword. Tamerlane, when he came against any place, first hung out a white flag of grace, then a red, and lastly a black flag, to show that now there was no hope of mercy.—Trapp.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Laws of Warfare
Laws of Warfare
1. Horses and chariots] The army of the Israelites was chiefly composed of infantry: see on Deu_17:16.
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2. The priest] It is implied that the priests accompany the hosts of Israel into battle: see on Num_10:9. Hence the Heb. phrase 'to consecrate a war, or warriors,' usually rendered to 'prepare': see Joe_3:9 mg.; Isa_13:3.
5-9. From Num_1:3 it would appear that all able-bodied men from twenty years of age were liable to military service. But the evils of compulsory service were obviated by the rule laid down in this passage exempting certain classes. There was (1) the man who had built a new house or planted a vineyard, and had as yet got no return for his outlay. The law exempting him for a time was an encouragement to those who by personal outlay increased the material resources of the country. (2) A man who was betrothed or newly married was exempted for a year (cp. Deu_24:5). (3) The fearful and fainthearted were discharged. Fear is infectious, and the presence of such persons in the host would be a source of weakness and danger. For an instance of the observance of this rule see Jdg_7:3. It is implied that a sense of honour will protect this law from being abused.
10. War is to be regarded as the last resort, and only to be employed when negotiations for peace have been tried and failed. In the event of victory, only the fighting men are to be put to death; women and children are to be spared, except in the case of neighbouring idolatrous tribes.
16. Cp. Deu_7:1-5.
19, 20. Fruit-trees are not to be used for bulwarks and battering rams. The words at the end of Deu_20:19 should probably be read as in RV, 'for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?' i.e. the tree does no harm and is not to be treated as an enemy. Wanton destruction is not permissible even in war.
All these rules were designed to mitigate as far as possible the evils of war. There is to be no destruction of human life and property beyond what is actually necessary. The conduct of war is to be guided with reason and mercy.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 16. Concerning Future Wars
16. Concerning Future Wars
CHAPTER 20
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1. Words of encouragement (Deu 20:1-4)
2. The fearful and faint-hearted (Deu 20:5-9)
3. Concerning seiges (Deu 20:10-20)
In the appointed warfare there was no need to fear the enemies. The priest was commissioned to speak words of encouragement not to fear, nor to tremble, nor to be terrified by the horses and chariots. The divine assurance was threefold: Jehovah goeth with you, to fight for you, to save you. This presupposes their obedience. If they were obedient, they had nothing to fear. Victory was on their side. And we too need to fear nothing in our warfare with the wicked spirits (Eph. 6). The Lord is on our side and if we resist the devil he will flee from us.
But if Israel was disobedient and departed from the Lord, He fought against them and their enemies overcame them. See also Zec 14:3 about the time when Jehovah will overcome the nations who gather against Jerusalem at the close of the age. The faint-hearted and the fearful as well as those who might hanker after their possessions and become homesick were not to go into the battlefield. They were unfit for warfare, because they did not wholly trust in Jehovah. There was a most merciful arrangement, which consisted in an offer of peace to a besieged city. (The cities of the Canaanitish nations are not included.) Peace was the first thing proclaimed. If the offer was accepted the lives of the inhabitants were saved. If not and the people resisted the proclamation of peace and therefore showed the wickedness of their hearts, resisting God, the city was besieged. All the males were to be smitten with the sword, but the women and little ones were saved. It was different with the wicked inhabitants of the land. Their utter destruction was demanded. The reason for this is again stated in verse 18. The fruit trees during a siege were not to be cut down, for they sustained life.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Selection of Soldiers For a Campaign
The Selection of Soldiers For a Campaign
v. 1. When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses and chariots, an equipment which Israel did not possess at that time, and which always made the impression of superior power on the part of the enemy, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them, for the battle would not be to the stronger and more numerous by human calculation; for the Lord, thy God, is with thee, as He showed so often in later times, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, thereby showing the extent of His power.
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v. 2. And it shall be when ye are come nigh unto the battle, when they are mobilized for war and drawn up in order, to advance to the battle, that the priest, one specially commissioned for that purpose, shall approach and speak unto the people,
v. 3. and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your hearts faint, be weak and tender, fear not and do not tremble, be not stirred up with consternation, neither be ye terrified because of them, the expressions purposely being multiplied in order to emphasize the foolishness of fear;
v. 4. for the Lord, your God, is He that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you, to effect a rescue from all enemies and to insure the victory.
v. 5. And the officers, the keepers of the genealogical records and of the tribal rolls, whose duty it also was to keep account of the soldiers mustered, shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
v. 6. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it, for, by God’s command, there could not be a common use of fruit until the fifth year, Lev 19:23-25? Let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.
v. 7. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her, the formal marriage not yet having taken place? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her Independent human life is here recognized in its three beginnings: "house-building as the first foundation; the planting of the vineyard as the first enlargement of the relations of life; the betrothal as the first completion of the independent position in life. " The Lord did not want the social and economic order disorganized by war; He did not want to take away from His people the enjoyment of any of the blessings which He had supplied.
v. 8. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint, literally, melt, dissolve, as well as his heart. A single weak soldier, whom the very thought of going into battle filled with the direst misgivings and with terror, was likely to infect the entire army with his attitude.
v. 9. And it shall be when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people, men who were to have the actual command in the campaign and during the battles. All this was done under the direction of Jehovah, who always retained supreme command of His host, just as He is the only Ruler and Leader in His Church to the end of time.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 5, 6, 8 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues speaking to the people of Israel.
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When you march out to battle against your enemies
"When you go out to fight in a war against your enemies"
see horses, chariots
People considered an army with many horses and chariots to be very strong. The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
he who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
Yahweh brought the people from Egypt to Canaan. It was common to use the word "up" to refer to traveling from Egypt to Canaan. AT: "Yahweh who led you out from the land of Egypt"
translationWords
horse
chariot
people group
Yahweh
God
Egypt
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 7 20:4 He will fight for you: This promise affirms…
20:4 He will fight for you: This promise affirms that God initiates wars, carries them out, and brings them to successful conclusion against his enemies. The purpose of war initiated by God was to eradicate hopelessly unrepentant enemies and prevent them from contaminating his people (see 1:30).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.