Deuteronomy 20
DIRECTIONS CONCERNING WARFARE IN GENERAL
(vs. 1- 9)
The instructions in this chapter are peculiar to
Deuteronomy. As the people of
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.
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
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 (compare Psalm
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 war (Joshua 11:4; 17:16; Judges 1:19; 4:3; I Samuel 13:5).
2 “And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle,
that the priest”-
Not the high priest or any one of the priests, but the
military priest, the priest appointed
to
accompany the army, “the anointed for the
war;” משׁיח המלחמה, as the
rabbins designate him (compare Numbers 21:6; I Samuel 4:4; II
Chronicles 13:12).
His business was
to exhort the people, and to encourage them by reminding them that
the
Lord was their Leader, and would help them in the conflict. The formula of his
exhortation is here given in vs. 3-4 -“shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O
against your enemies:
let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble,
neither be ye terrified
because of them; 4 For the LORD your God is
He
that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to
save you.”
War
(vs. 1-4)
The wars of the world form a large part of its history.
Savage nations delight in war
and
revel in its bloodshed and barbarities. Their heaven is a
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.
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:
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.
exhortations of these verses to the spiritual warfare. The gospel
summons
us to warfare.
Ø
With evil within us.
Ø
With the spiritual
forces of evil around us.
Ø
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 DEATH”
(Revelation 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
(II Kings 6:15-20; I John 4:4). 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.
5 “And the officers” - the shoterim, the keepers of the genealogical tables
(ch.16:18). It belonged to them to appoint the men who were
to serve, and to release
those who had been summoned to the war, but whose domestic
relations were such
as
to entitle them to exemption - “shall
speak unto the people, saying, What man
is there that hath
built a new house, and hath not dedicated it?” – probably
formal possession was taken
of the house by some solemn ceremony, followed by
festive entertainment. - “let him go and return to his house,
lest he die in the
battle, and another man
dedicate it.” If there was one who had built a house,
but
had not dedicated it, i.e. by taking possession of
it and dwelling in it. 6 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.” - or
if there was one who had planted a
vineyard and had not
eaten of the fruit thereof - Vineyard. The Hebrew word (כֶּרֶם) here used designates
a
field or park of the nobler plants and trees cultivated in the manner of a
garden or
orchard, so that not vineyards alone, but also olive yards and
plots of the more valuable
fruit trees may be intended. Hath not eaten of it; literally, hath not laid it open,
made it common, i.e.
begun to use it, to gather its
produce for common use (compare
ch.28:30; Jeremiah
31:5). Trees planted for food were not to be used before the
fifth year of their growth (Leviticus 19:23-25, compare ch. 24:5). 7 And what man is
there that hath
betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go
and return
unto his house, lest
he die in the battle, and another man take her.” - or
if there
was
one who had betrothed a wife, but had not yet married her; — such were to be
allowed to return home, lest they should die in battle, and it be left to others to
consummate what they had begun. According to Josephus, this exemption was for a year,
according to the analogy of ch. 24:5.
8 “And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and
they shall say,
What man is there
that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and
return unto
his house, lest his
brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.”
The shoterim
were also to allow any that were naturally timid and fainthearted to return to their
homes, lest, if they remained with the host, others, infected by them, should lose
courage and become unfit for
service. His brethren’s heart faint; literally, flow
down or melt (compare Joshua 7:5). In ch.1:28, this verb is rendered by
“discouraged.”
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.”
The next thing the shoterim
had to do was to appoint captains to head the people who
were going to war. The army was divided into bands or companies, and over
each of
these a captain was placed, whose it was to command and lead
(Numbers 31:14, 48;
I Samuel 8:12; 22:7; II Samuel 18:1). Captains
of the armies. The phrase, “captain of
a host” (שַׂר צָבָא), usually designates the general or commander-in-chief of
the
entire army (Genesis 21:22; II Samuel 2:8; I Kings 16:16); but
here the phrase is
used in the plural of the chiefs of the companies or detachments of which
the whole
was
composed.
Exemptions (vs. 5-9)
Three classes were exempted from service in war, and one
class was forbidden to take
part in it. The exempted classes were:
o
He who had built a
house, but had not dedicated it.
o
He who had planted a
vineyard, but had not eaten of its fruit.
o
He who had betrothed a
wife, but had not married her.
The class forbidden to engage in the war was the class of
cowards (v. 8).
These regulations :
War has naturally a
disturbing effect on industry and commerce. It unsettles the
public mind. It creates a feeling of insecurity. It prevents
enterprise. These evils
would be intensified in a state of society where, besides the
danger of the country
being overrun by hostile armies, each adult male was liable for
service in the field.
In such a condition of
society there would obviously be a disinclination, when war
was imminent, to acquire property, to institute improvements,
or to enter into any
new engagements. The man who built a house would not be sure
that he would
live to dedicate it; the man who planted a vineyard, that he
would live to
eat of it; the man who betrothed a wife, that he would be
spared to take
her. This provision of the Law was therefore calculated to
have a reassuring
and tranquillizing effect, and would so far counteract the
tendency of warlike
rumors to paralyze industry and the arrangements of domestic
life.
They aimed at exempting
those who, from their circumstances and prospects,
would feel most keenly the hardship of a call to service. V. 7
connects itself
with the importance attached in ancient nations to the
perpetuation of the house.
IN THE ARMY.
The army was plainly better without the cowards than
with them. One coward may do harm to a whole company. But,
besides
these, it was likely that persons serving by compulsion, in a
spirit of
discontent at disappointed prospects, and for the sake of their
prospects
unwilling to part with their lives, would prove but inferior
soldiers. At any
rate, there was policy in recruiting the army only from those
who had a
fixed stake in the welfare of the nation. The man with house,
wife, and
vineyard was more likely to be ready to shed the last drop of his
blood in
defense of his treasures than one wholly unattached, or attached
only in
hope.
Ø
Those entering
the Christian warfare need to count the cost
(Luke 14:25-34).
Ø
In Christ’s
service there are no exemptions.
Ø
The danger of being
entangled in spirit in Christ’s service
(II Timothy 2:4).
Ø
The faint-hearted
are no strength to a cause (Judges
7:3).
Ø
Numbers are not
the only thing to be considered in reckoning
The efficiency of a
Church or of any body of spiritual warriors.
DIRECTIONS
CONCERNING THE BESIEGING OF CITIES (vs. 10-20)
In the case of a town
at a distance, not belonging to any of the Canaanitish
tribes, on
advancing against it they were first of all to summon the inhabitants
to a peaceable
surrender and submission (compare Judges 21:13). If this was
complied with, the
inhabitants were to become tributary to the Israelites and serve them;
but if this was
refused, the town was to be besieged, and, when taken, all the
males were to be slain,
and
the women and children, as well as all the booty that was in the place, were to
be
taken as the prey of the conquerors, who were to appropriate the
spoil to their
own
use.
10 “When thou comest nigh unto a
city to fight against it, then proclaim peace
unto it.” - i.e. invite it peaceably to surrender.
11 “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.” literally, shall be to thee for tribute and service.
The word rendered by “tribute”
(מַם) denotes properly tribute service, service
rendered as a tribute, whether for a season or in perpetuity
(compare Genesis 49:15;
Judges 1:30, 33, 35; I Kings 5:13; 9:21; Isaiah 31:8
[Authorized Version,
“discomfited”]) 12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war
against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13 And when the LORD thy God hath
delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite
every male thereof with the
edge of the sword:”
14 “But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and
all that is in the city,
even all the spoil
thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the
spoil of thine enemies,” - consume
it for thine own maintenance - “which the LORD
thy God hath given thee. 15 Thus shalt thou do unto
all the cities which are
very far off from thee, which are not
of the cities of these nations.”
This was for cities at a distance; it was to be otherwise
with the cities of the Canaanites.
To them no offer of peaceful submission was to be made, and when the city was
taken, all the inhabitants without reserve were to be destroyed.
This was in accordance
with God’s command to
precaution against the risk of the people being seduced into idolatry
by the heathen
should they be allowed to remain in the land. But whilst engaged in
besieging a town,
they were not to destroy the fruit trees that were outside the walls; but
trees that were
not
for food they might cut down and use in their operations against the city.
16 “But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God
doth give thee
for an inheritance,
thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: 17 But thou
shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites,
and the Amorites, the
Canaanites, and
the Perizzites, the Hivites,
and the Jebusites; as the LORD
thy God hath
commanded thee: 18 That they teach you not
to do after all
their abominations,
which they have done unto their gods; so should ye
sin against the LORD
your God. 19 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:” - literally, to come, i.e.
that they should come into
the
siege before thee, i.e.
either as thine adversary or to be used by thee for the
siege. For the tree of the field is
man’s life. This may mean
that the tree supplies
food
for the sustenance of man’s life. But as
the words stand in the text, they can
only be rendered thus: “For the man
is a tree of the field.” This gives no good sense,
or
indeed, any sense at all; and hence
it is proposed to alter the reading of the text
so
as to produce a meaning that shall
be acceptable. From an early period the
expedient has been resorted to of reading the clause
interrogatively, and,
instead of regarding it as parenthetical, connecting it with the
following
words, thus: “Is the tree of the field a man to come into siege
before thee?”
So the LXX., Rashi,
etc. It has been thought that only a very slight change
in
the punctuation is required to justify this rendering (הֶאָדָם instead of הָאָדָם);
but
more than this is acquired: the subject and object are hereby
reversed, and this is more than can be allowed. From an early
period also it
has
been proposed to read the clause as a negation, “For the tree of the
field is not a man to come into siege before thee.” So the Targum of
Onkelos, Abarbanel,
Vulgate, etc. The sense here is
substantially the same
as
in the preceding, and the same general objection applies to both. To
both also it may be objected that by this way of taking the passage Moses
is
made to utter a sentiment at once puerile and irrelevant; for what need to
declare formally, or in effect, that a tree is not a man? and what reason is
there in this for not cutting down fruit trees any more than
other trees? In
the
margin of the Authorized Version an alternative rendering is proposed,
“O man, the tree of the field is to be employed in the
siege.” But admitting
this as a possible rendering, it is exposed to the objection, on the one
hand,
that it is improbable that in a prosaic address like this an explanatory
appeal
would be introduced; and on the other, that it is inconceivable
that Moses
would in this casual and startling way anticipate what he goes
on in the
next sentence to express deliberately and clearly. The passage has probably
suffered at the hands of a transcriber, and the text as we have it
is corrupt.
The sense put upon it in the Authorized Version is that
suggested by Ibn
Ezra, and in the absence of anything better this may be
accepted. The fruit
tree is man’s life, as it furnishes that by which life is sustained, just
as, in
ch.24:6, the millstone is called a man’s life, inasmuch as
it supplies the means
of
life.
20
“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.” - literally, That thou
mayest build a siege — he,
an instrument for besieging, a
rampart, or bulwark —
against
the city, till it come down (compare
ch. 28:52).
The Terrible Side of Human Duty (vs. 10-20)
Sin has made such fatal havoc in our world,
that the most severe remedies have to
be
applied. In the administration of these remedies God
has chosen to employ men.
Thus He allies Himself with us and makes us partners with
Him in the administration
of
His kingdom. “Such honor have
all His saints.”
ACCOMPLISHED. Every aim which is formed in God’s mind is a seed of
righteousness. Therefore it must grow and come to perfection.
Necessity
enters into its very essence. No
power on earth or in hell is able to hinder
its accomplishment.
Who shall withstand the will of Omnipotence?
RIGHTEOUSNESS
SHALL SOONER OR LATER BE TRIUMPHANT!
All opposition to Jehovah’s will
shall eventually be crushed out. HE WHO
CREATED IS ABLE ALSO
TO DESTROY!
For the present His patient
love provides other remedies; and if remedial measures fail,
then fell
DESTRUCTION SHALL
SWEEP INTO ETERNAL DARKNESS
ALL OPPOSITION to His supreme will.
PEACEABLE MEANS IF MEN WILL SUBMIT TO GOD’S TERMS.
(v. 10.) Terms of peace were
to be offered by the Hebrews in their wars
with outlying nations. The main condition of peace and
friendship was the
relinquishment of idolatry. If men will fear
and serve God, they shall live.
To know God as our God is life eternal. If men will turn their backs upon
the sun, they must dwell in shadow; so if men will sever themselves from
the Source of life, they inevitably die. Not once, but often, does God offer
to us reconciliation, blessing, peace. By every method of
persuasion and
entreaty the Father of our spirits has endeavored to win us to
paths of
righteous obedience. “What more could
have been done more to my
vineyard, that I have not done in it? (Isaiah 5:4) - His will is our
sanctification; purity or perdition - here
is the alternative!
REWARDED. “All the spoil thereof shalt
thou take unto thyself” (v. 14).
The harder the work, the more
abundant shall be the reward. God’s
remuneration is ever ample and munificent. Most carefully does He weigh
every hardship we endure for Him. Our every tear He puts into
His bottle
(Psalm 56:8). Blind unbelief may count Him an “austere Master”
(Luke 19:21), who requires irksome
and painful work; but the man of filial
temper will run on most difficult errands, and his language, like
the Master,
is uniformly this, “I do always the things that please
Him” (John 8:29);
They who suffer with their Lord
now shall be glorified by and by together.!
DESTRUCTION.
Terms of peace were offered to less guilty nations lying
in
moral rottenness — there was no alternative but destruction. “Thou shalt
save alive nothing that breatheth” (v. 16). It is well for
us to learn that
there is a stage in our moral disease when the remedy
of mercy ceases to
take effect. It becomes “a savor of death unto death” (II Corinthians
2:16). “With the breath of His mouth shall He slay the wicked”
(Isaiah 11:4; II Thessalonians
2:8). When the heart has become
identified
with rebellion, when all feeling is averse from God,
when TOTAL
DEPRAVITY SETS IN — then God
abandons the man to his
INEVITABLE
DOOM! “
gave them up to their own hearts’ lust” (Psalm 81:12; Romans 1:24).
THIS IS MAN’S
BLACKEST DOOM! YET THERE IS MERCY
FOR ALL WHO WILL CONFESS THEIR SINS AND TRUST
HIM!
PRUDENT KINDNESS. In laying siege against a city, not an axe was to
be laid upon any fruit tree. Here we have a sample of’ God’s thoughtful
and generous love for men! Whatever can minister to the need and
comfort of His servants shall be secured to them. Though engaged
in the a
wful work of
destruction, He does not forget mercy; He is planning all the
while for His servants’ good. Though a frown is upon His face, tenderest
love is active within His heart. More careful is He for us than we are for
ourselves. Not a want, however minute, is by Him overlooked. The
desolating
flood is upon the earth, but an
ark is provided for Noah. The rain of
fire is
consuming
of your head are all numbered.” (Luke 12:7)
THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE CAUSE, AND NOT THE NUMBERS IN
THE FIELD, IS TO BE THE FOUNDATION OF TRUST. The Jews were going
into
sure to win. “If God be for
us, who can be against us?” (Romans
8:31) - 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?” (Luke
14:31).
A good cause, like a good king, is worth ten thousand soldiers (II Samuel 18:3).
David’s great sin was trusting in numbers and not in God (II Samuel 24:1-25).
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