Deuteronomy 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,
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 eaten 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 faint 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 lead the people.
For the first part of this passage, this promise, I like this
verse in Psalms.
Psalm 20:7 Some trust in
chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our
God.
For the second part of this passage note the events and commands
around Gideon and his assignment.
Judges 7:1 ¶ Then
Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people that were with him, rose up early,
and pitched beside the well of Harod: so that the host of the Midianites were
on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley. 2 And the LORD said unto Gideon, The people
that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands,
lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the
ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and
depart early from mount Gilead. And there returned of the people twenty and two
thousand; and there remained ten thousand.
In this passage in Deuteronomy we see who God wanted and probably
wants, fighters and servants who are of a willing heart and not torn by
conflicting loyalties. Notice Paul’s statement.
1Corinthians 7:34 There is
difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the
things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she
that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her
husband.
This does not mean that God condemns our familial and social
responsibilities or has no compassion for our fear and trepidation.
1Timothy 5:8 But if any
provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath
denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
It is just that there are times when its “all hands to the pump”
and nothing can be on our minds but God and His will. Here, God is preparing
His people for battle. How does He prepare you? Or have you ever even done
battle for the Lord who created you?
One historical Bible translator, Tyndale if my memory serves me,
said that as we are not called to kill Canaanites we can regard in type our
sins as Canaanites that God will help us conquer. We do battle for the Lord
every day.
Deuteronomy 20:10 ¶ 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 take 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.
Verses 10-12 can be rather perplexing in light of the command to
destroy the Canaanites. According to Matthew Henry Jewish commentators noted
that the Canaanite city would have to renounce pagan worship, to worship the
God of Israel, pay a tribute, and submit to Israelite rule.
Notice the complete and utter destruction called for with regard
to those who will not submit.
No comments:
Post a Comment