Today we begin Deuteronomy Chapter 20.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here.
For the King James version, click here.
“When you go out to fight your enemies and see horses, chariots and a force larger than yours, you are not to be afraid of them; because Adonai your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. When you are about to go into battle, the cohen is to come forward and address the people. He should tell them, ‘Listen, Israel! You are about to do battle against your enemies. Don’t be fainthearted or afraid; don’t be alarmed or frightened by them; because Adonai your God is going with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies and give you victory.’”-Deuteronomy 20:1-4
Deuteronomy Chapter 20 is all about how Israel is to prepare for war.
However, this isn’t just any run-of-the-mill war that’s being dealt with here.
We’re talking about HOLY WAR.
While there’s nothing wrong with utilizing these instructions to prepare for any kind of armed conflict, understand we’re talking about a battle in which HASHEM Himself is the general.
Men do NOT possess the authority to go around declaring a war “holy” no matter how much they feel their cause is just, righteous and on God’s side.
Now keep in mind that at this point in time the nomadic way of life was the only lifestyle the Israelites had ever known.
Not only did the Israelites NOT possess chariots nor the horses to pull them, even if they did have them, they wouldn’t have been able to properly use them in the first place.
Understand that during this time (around the 13th/14th centuries B.C.), chariots were the tanks of their day.
They were speedy moving impenetrable armor boxes from which spears and arrows could be launched AND…
…were considered to be the most fearsome and technologically advanced weapon that could ever be unleashed against an army of foot soldiers.
Any general with any degree of military savvy understood the enormous advantage chariots brought to the battlefield.
And any nation that possessed the know-how to manufacture these devices of war held a distinct advantage over a nation that didn’t.
This was precisely the situation the Hebrews found themselves in.
The Canaanites whom they would be invading had many chariots and knew how to use them.
In comparison, Israel had none.
Because of this, the Lord understood that His People would probably become filled with anxiety and lose confidence when they compared themselves to the more well-armed and physically larger men of Canaan.
Hence, God had to nip in the bud one of the most dangerous threats that can literally paralyze an army.
I’m talking about fear.
That’s right.
More important than military technology or weapons is the mental or psychological aspect of warfare.
In order to bolster their faith, Moses tells the people to recall what happened in Egypt.
When they were still slaves, not only did they NOT possess any weapons, heck they didn’t even have an army.
Yet God single-handedly brought the most powerful nation in the world at the time to its very knees by supernaturally manipulating the forces of nature.
The logic Moses is presenting to Israel is simple.
PREMISE ONE:
God is with Israel.
PREMISE TWO:
This is God’s War in the first place
(The very definition of a HOLY war by the way.)
CONCLUSION:
What does Israel have to fear from the stronger armies they will face?
The answer is absolutely NOTHING!
And the same goes for you as well.
I don’t care what battles you may be facing in your life at the moment.
If the God of Israel is with you and you have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel, I can assure you with the utmost confidence, you have absolutely NOTHING to fear.
Remember, the Lord your God “is going with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies and give you victory”.
I’m done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
-Ephesians 6:12
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