Chapter Twenty
The Rules of Warfare
20:1 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Moses now begins to discuss warfare. However, before he begins to outline God’s protocols for war, he addresses mankind’s greatest flaw resulting from being a sinner, fear. While fear is not “all bad,” as it also serves to regulate some human behavior, such as fear of getting caught for a crime, self-preservation, fear of losing control, etc., fear can also be crippling. The fear of death is also a healthy fear, except when it becomes overwhelming. When circumstances arise that challenge a way of life, or risk potential human life that can only be resolved through fighting, a decision needs to be made, fight or comply to the change. The decision must address the question, is the potential loss worth the potential gain? If fighting is unavoidable, there is typically only one outcome, one side wins and the other side loses. However, if a potentially dangerous and fatal encounter is inevitable, the fear of death could be a serious problem.[1]
Moses knows that soon these people will be entering the Promised Land, and the current inhabitants will resist their encroachment and the purging of their way of life. But since their lifestyles are an abomination to God, and they also worship false gods, they could never live together. The concept of coexisting or making any compromises would not be possible, as God requires His people to be holy and the land they inhabit to also be holy, therefore, a deadly confrontation would be inevitable.
However, this is God’s battle, they have nothing to worry about, even when it appears from mankind’s perspective that they have the disadvantage (such as being outnumbered), they just need to “show up!” But first they need to be assured that there is nothing to fear. They are reminded that YHWH is with them, the same God that brought them out of Egypt and has cared for them the last forty years in the wilderness.
20:2 And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people 3 and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, 4 for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’
When they come together for a battle one of the priests (most likely the High Priest or a senior priest) will talk to them and encourage them. Using the familiar “Hear, O Israel” introduction, the priest is to remind them that they are not to fear, panic, or have any dread of the enemy. He is to further explain that YHWH is not only with them, but also He who is doing the fighting and will give them victory.
20:5 Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. 6 And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. 7 And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’ 8 And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’ 9 And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people.
Once the priest is finished speaking to the troops, the officers (Hebrew ‘šô·ṭerîm’,[2] an official, can be a magistrate or an officer of the military[3]), are to speak. Understanding that most of the men being addressed here are civilians, not military, those that would be mobilized only during times of utmost necessity; their commitment requirements would be minimal. Although, every male would need to be trained and be available to do battle at any time, like the modern concept of a militia.
The officers ask if anyone had built a new house that has not yet been dedicated, planted a vineyard, and has not yet enjoyed drinking wine made from the grapes grown there, promised to marry a wife but at this time not married her, frightened to do battle, or too fainthearted to be effective on the battleground. If any of these circumstances are true, those men were relieved of duty and could return home.
There have been several suggested ways as to how to interpret these verses, such as to consider that dedicating a house, enjoying the fruits from a new vineyard, or marrying a wife they were betrothed to are more important than fighting a battle, or that anyone dying before these important events in life would be considered overly tragic. Perhaps the more practical application is to consider applying basic psychology. In each of these scenarios a man’s thoughts would undoubtedly be focused on these things instead of concentrating on doing battle. Adding to that list anyone who was afraid or too timid to fight, these are people who could do more harm than good in battle. Otherwise stating that there is nothing to worry about, that God will be with them (see verse one), and then discuss dying in battle (see verses 5-7), certainly would be a poor tactic to encourage someone.
Once the officers concluded speaking, and those that meet the criteria discussed above to return home have been released, the commanders are appointed (Hebrew ‘śǎr[4] ṣā·ḇā(’),[5] captain or chief in charge, a person with authority) to lead the military campaign.
20:10 “When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. 11 And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. 12 But if it makes no peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 And when the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, 14 but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God has given you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here.
Referring to a time after they are settled into the Promised Land when they engage in battle in places far from home (a very different protocol of battling the inhabitants of the Promised Land follows in verses 16-18). The people of Israel are to first engage an enemy using a limited form of diplomacy. Instead of war they can surrender and offer themselves as slaves to serve the Israelites. However, if they choose to do battle, the people of Israel are to assault them, as YHWH will provide the victory. All male adults are to be executed and the women, children, livestock, and everything else shall be plundered and taken away as spoil for their use or consumption. This was to be their warfare practice when engaging cities outside their land, not those within the boundaries of the Promised Land.
20:16 But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded, 18 that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the LORD your God.
The rules of engaging the current inhabitants of the land that YHWH was giving the people of Israel was to be very different, nothing was to remain living. All the Hittites,[6] the Amorites,[7] the Canaanites,[8] the Perizzites,[9] the Hivites[10] and the Jebusites[11] were to be destroyed just as discussed earlier (see Deuteronomy 7:1-5). If they are eliminated, they would not be able to teach the people of Israel how to do the things they do that are an abomination to God, things that would cause them to sin against YHWH.
20:19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.
History indicates that many adversaries during the time of war would surround a fortified wall city to cut the people off from food and water (often referred to as a famine in the Bible, see 2 Kings 6:25; 7:4; 25:3). At times additional tactics were used to convey hopelessness to get the trapped people to surrender quicker. One such tactic was to burn, or threaten to burn, and destroy fruit trees (they take many years to cultivate before bearing fruit). God did not allow the people to employ that method. The Hebrew seems to imply that the trees in the field (those planted like an orchard) are not human and therefore are not capable of defending themselves. However, wood could be obtained from non-fruit trees to build siegeworks (typically a structure, such as a ramp or mound, to access the top of a fortified city wall, see 2 Kings 25:1; Jeremiah 52:4; Ezekiel 4:2; 17:17; 21:22; 26:8), an effective method of breaching city walls.
Considerations
The concept of killing all that breathes, both human and animal alike, is repulsive to most people, as it should be. Life is precious and has immeasurable value. So why would the One that brought everything into existence, the Creator of all life, now demand that the life be taken from these people and their animals? Many people, when they read this and the historical accounts when these instructions were being followed, plus other perceived atrocities in the Bible, often stop reading and quickly categorize God as being a mean despot that is angry at mankind. That understanding can then become an intellectual barrier that prevents them from believing in God, the truth of the Bible and of course, Jesus as their Savior (see the Preface). Many question how a loving God can demand the death of others (or similar wording)? Questions like these come up whenever God moves in anger against man, such as the near-total annihilation of the great flood during Noah’s day, the tenth plague killing the firstborn in Egypt or the deaths of the people of Israel that died in the wilderness. Again, the quick answer is we can’t answer those questions to everyone’s satisfaction. Remember, we are not God, nor can we think like Him[12], especially since He is omniscient and would know if someone was going to later repent.
But we can understand certain concepts through the lens God has provided for each of us, His Word. Since mankind had been corrupted through sin, we know through God’s law that everyone is condemned to die. We also know that God provided a way for those sins to be atoned for through the same law, which required His people to be consecrated and live a holy life in a consecrated and holy land. The people that settled in the land before the Israelites arrived were unholy, as they practiced despicable and vile rituals often involving animals in that land, resulting in polluting the land and making it unholy as well. Just like someone who found a stain on their clothing and then removes the stain by cleaning the garment, the land can only be holy through purging and cleansing. Is the purging of a people group fair? The issue of fairness can only be validated or judged by the one who made the rules and that, of course, is God.[13]
Jesus later fulfilled that same law, allowing people to be forgiven and their sins atoned for without having to comply to the law for themselves. But what about the people before Jesus lived a sinless life, suffered, died, and came back to life again, offering salvation to all that trust and believe in Him? Were people able to be saved in the Old Testament? Yes, there were Old Testament Saints (those that are saved).
Since man alone cannot be saved by the law, demonstrating our need for Jesus, one question that is often asked is, “How were the people of the Old Testament saved?” The apostle Paul helps us answer that question as he wrote in his epistle to the church in Rome:
“What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin. Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”
(Romans 4:1-12)
Paul asks what benefit Abraham received for his works. If Abraham did do something to render himself as righteous, he would have something to boast about, but not before God; true righteousness is not offered by what somebody does. Paul next asks a great question, “what does the Scripture say?” That may sound somewhat peculiar since this epistle is in Scripture, but the ‘Scripture’ Paul is referring to is the Old Testament, as the New Testament was in the process of being written.
To understand the examples Paul will be using in this chapter, we need to review Abraham’s background. He was the son of Terah (see Genesis 11:24-26); his brothers were Nahor and Haran (the father of Lot) and he was called “the friend of God,” three times in Scripture (see 2 Chronicles 20:7; Isaiah 41:8 and James 2:23). He is considered the father of the Hebrews, the Israelites, and the Jews (Paul will shortly add Christians to that list, later in this epistle). Abraham was called out of his hometown to go to some unknown location (instructions were to be given along the way), based on a promise and blessing that his offspring would be a great nation (see Genesis 12:1-9). How many would be willing to go to some unknown location and do something that won’t be explained until later? That alone requires faith! But his faith didn’t stop there. Shortly afterwards Abraham was also offered an unconditional and everlasting covenant with God (see Genesis 15:1-7) and circumcision was to be a sign of that covenant (see Genesis 17:9-14). Abraham believed God when he heard that he was going to have a son with Sarah, his wife, even after they would have been considered to be too old for childbearing. Later after his son Isaac was an adult, God tested Abraham’s faith when He requested Abraham to sacrifice his son, we read that God stopped him after seeing that Abraham was going to obey (see Genesis 22:1-8).
In verse three, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” There are three Greek words in this verse that can help summarize this concept for us: ‘believed’ (Greek ‘episteusen’,[14] whose root word is ‘pístis’,[15] the Greek word for ‘faith’); ‘counted’ (Greek ‘elogisthē’,[16] an accounting term that means to credit or to pass to one’s account) and ‘righteousness’ (Greek ‘dikaiosynēn’,[17] meaning to be approved by God). Paul injects again the fact that works of any kind will not help anyone gain righteousness (see also Deuteronomy 9:4-5). Paul points out that if someone does something, then they are due payment for what they did, but the gift of salvation is not for sale. The word that is translated as ‘gift’ in verse four is the Greek word ‘charin’,[18] which is most often translated as ‘grace’, a great reminder that Jesus did all the work for our salvation, and, by the grace of God, He offers it to us as a free gift. Only faith in Jesus alone can justify the ungodly.
Paul then references another key figure in the Old Testament, King David, the author of several of the Psalms. Here Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 to further illustrate his point: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (emphasis added)
The three key words here are ‘forgiven’ (Greek word ‘aphethēsan’,[19] to send away); ‘covered’ (Greek word ‘epikalyphthęsan’,[20] meaning to cover over), helping us see the need for atonement; and ‘count’, the same Greek word translated as ‘counted’ in verses three and four (see also 2 Corinthians 5:19). But Paul is using these verses to point out something else, he begins by asking another question, “is this blessing only for the circumcised, or also the uncircumcised?” He then takes us back to reestablish that it was Abraham’s faith that was credited to him as righteousness, not his actions or works. But, if that was the case, when was it credited to him? Was it after he was given circumcision as a sign of the covenant, or before? Abraham’s faith in God preceded his circumcision. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness he had by faith, before he was circumcised. The word translated as ‘seal’ is the Greek word ‘sphragida’,[21] a word that refers to a process to validate or authenticate a message from a king or other person in authority, typically using a signet in wax; the verb of this word is used in the New Testament to point out the permanence of the promises of God (see Ephesians 1:13-14). In other words, Abraham had faith in God during a time in his life that he would have been considered a Gentile. His saving faith was before he became the father of the Hebrews.
This means that Abraham is the father of all who believe and have faith in Jesus, both those that are circumcised (the Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews) and those that are not circumcised. Paul once again clarifies the need for those that are circumcised to follow in Abraham’s footsteps and have faith like what he had before he received the sign of circumcision, since neither their lineage nor circumcision can save them.
The author of Hebrews explains, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” (Hebrews 11:1-2) The author then listed several key Old Testament saints along with examples of their faith in action, including two references to Abraham.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” (Hebrews 11:8-10)
“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.” (Hebrews 11:17-19)
After listing these Old Testament saints and their acts of faith, the author of Hebrews reminds his readers what they are to do (including us today):
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2, see also commentary on the book of Hebrews in the Supplemental section of this book.)
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[1] See Considerations under Genesis 32:13-21.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 7860.
[3] See also commentary under Deuteronomy 16:18-20.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 8269.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 6635.
[6] See commentary under Genesis 10:15.
[7] See commentary under Genesis 10:16-18.
[8] See commentaries under Genesis 10:6, 15, 16-18, 19-20.
[9] See commentary under Genesis 13:5-7.
[10] See commentary under Genesis 10:16-18.
[11] See commentary under Genesis 10:16-18.
[12] See commentary under Genesis 6:5-6.
[13] See Considerations under Genesis 3:7.
[14] Strong’s Greek 4100.
[15] Strong’s Greek 4102.
[16] Strong’s Greek 3049.
[17] Strong’s Greek 1343.
[18] Strong’s Greek 5485.
[19] Strong’s Greek 863.
[20] Strong’s Greek 1943.
[21] Strong’s Greek 4973.