“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.”-Deuteronomy 20:2-3
We’re now in the midst of discussing holy war protocol.
Before the battle to take the Promised Land begins, God’s especially chosen servants, the Levitical priests will step forward to address the troops.
We shouldn’t be surprised at this.
Given that this is a holy war, the priesthood is at the center of all that will take place in the battle to drive the Canaanites out of the land they have inhabited for centuries.
The priests will be present at all the battles and will blow their trumpets to encourage the troops and exhort God to give His People the victory.
In addition, they will be responsible for delivering signals to the soldiers to ensure smooth forward progression from one Canaanite city to the next.
Next, I want to draw your attention to verse 3 where it says “Listen, Israel! You are about to do battle against your enemies”.
Unfortunately, because of our English translations, a very key word is being masked here.
Do you remember the pivotal teaching we were exposed to way back when we were in Deuteronomy Chapter 6?
I’m talking about a very key section in this chapter titled “The Shema” or sometimes just called “Hear, O Israel”.
Do you remember I told you that SHEMA is a very powerful Hebrew word that means much more than to just sit back and listen to something?
SHEMA is not a mere formal beginning to a speech and it doesn’t mean to just passively listen to something.
Included in this word’s meaning is the powerful command to get off your butt and OBEY!
We’re talking about massive, vigorous and aggressive action-taking here.
Hence, when the High Priest approaches the troops before the Holy War begins, what he’s really telling them is…
...”Israel, Listen up AND OBEY what we are about to tell you”.
The first issue that is dealt with is the psychological aspect of warfare.
Namely, how to deal with those feelings of fear and anxiety that will inevitably come up.
The Lord gives four pieces of advice to the Hebrew troops on how to nip this fear in the bud.
Now pay close attention here because these are the same four pieces of advice you can use to deal with any personal battles you may be facing or may face in the future.
Remember, what good is studying Scripture if you’re not going to apply it in your life?
The four pieces of advice given are…
-Don’t be faint-hearted.
-Don’t be afraid of the battle ahead of you.
-Don’t fall into a panic (don’t be alarmed)
-Don’t be afraid of the Canaanite soldiers
Again, why should the Israelite soldiers take these four pieces of advice to heart?
Simply because the Lord has reassured them HE will give them the victory.
It’s already a done deal.
Next, after the priests have finished exhorting the troops, we’re told the “officials” are to approach the soldiers with a totally different message dealing with the three circumstances that would allow some of the younger members of the Hebrew army to be exempt from fighting in the upcoming war.
Understand these so-called “officials” were NOT part of the military.
Some have speculated that these “officers” might have actually been the Levites who held BOTH governmental and religious roles.
Either way, they were NOT army commanders, army officers or the priests.
For lack of a better term, we could categorize them as “civilian government authorities”.
The next time we meet, we’ll begin examining the the three types of military deferments that were available to the younger Israelite soldiers.
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