Deuteronomy 20:1-20
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.
2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint,a 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.
5 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 and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eatenb of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.
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.
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 faintc as well as his heart.
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 leadd the people.
10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
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.
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 takee unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, 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.
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:
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.
WARFARE REGULATED BY GOD
(vs.1-19)
God certainly never did approve the saying, "All's fair in love and war." Rather, God gave explicit instructions to Israel as to how to conduct their warfare. But first, he insists that no matter how strong the enemy appears to be, Israel was to have no fear of going to battle against them, for these were the enemies of God who was with Israel, and who was requiring Israel to drive them from the land (v.1).
As a battle was to take place, the priest (the high priest) was first to address the people, telling them to have no fear of the enemy, for the Lord was with them to fight for them and save them from defeat (vs.3-4). Let us remember that believers today are called to fight, not against flesh and blood, but against the deceit of satanic enmity that seeks to keep us from enjoying our heavenly inheritance (Ephesians 6:12). This conflict involves our learning and standing for the truth of the Word of God in the face of many attempts to undermine or degrade it.
After the priest had delivered his message, then the military officers were to exempt from service men for various reasons. If one had built a house, not having dedicated it to live in, he was to be excused, or if one had planted a vineyard and had not reaped its fruits as yet (vs.5-6). These two exemptions would not apply to any in Israel at the time Moses spoke this, for Israel was not yet in their land, but they would apply when in the land.
Also one who was engaged to be married was to be excused, lest he should die in battle and therefore never be married (v.7). These three cases show us that attachment to the present things of life will unfit us in some measure for the spiritual warfare that is attached to heaven. Today, it is possible for us to put the things of God first even when having to deal with questions of property, food and human relationships. In fact, it is not only possible, but it is spiritually moral.
But another test was to be taken, one not likely to be copied by any another nation. The officers were to ask if any man was fearful or fainthearted. If so he was told to return home, lest this fearfulness would infect other men too (v.8). To show fear before the enemy will only mean defeat. Most of us must admit that we do have fears, but courage will enable us not to show fear, for the Lord is greater than our fears. Confidence in the Lord will give courage to overcome fear.
The officers were then to appoint captains, thus organizing the army in an orderly way. When they approached a city to attack it, they were to proclaim an offer of peace to the city, and if the city received this offer, then the city was to be placed under tribute to Israel. If the offer was refused, God would give the city into the hands of Israel, who were told to kill every man in the city, but they keep the women alive, the children and livestock, and all would be considered as plunder for Israel (vs.13-14).
However, this applied only to cities far from the land of Canaan, not to any of the cities of the land. As to these, God had before commanded that men, women, children and livestock should all be killed (vs.16-17). The reason for this we have already seen. These nations had sold themselves to the service of demonism and idolatry: their cup of iniquity was full, and none were to be spared (Deuteronomy 18:9). God knew that if they were allowed to live they would teach Israel the same evils to which these idolaters had become accustomed (v.18).
In besieging a city, no fruit trees were to be cut down for use in the attack (v.19). Tree that did not bear fruit could be used for this (v.20). Fruit trees are for man's nourishment, not for judgment. So, in the Word of God there are truths for nourishing and building up. But there are other truths that require the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). It is important that we use the truth for the purpose that God intends, not to misuse it.