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Deuteronomy
Chapter 20
{Subject
- War}
1~~
When you go out to battle against your enemies,
and
see horses, and chariots, and a soldiers more than you have. . . be
not afraid of them . . .
for
Jehovah/God your Elohiym/Godhead is with you . . .
Who
brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
{Note: Jews did not traditionally have chariots and in most battles they were outnumbered. Yet they were commanded to Trust in the Lord and not be afraid.}
{What
does an army need first? Spiritual Strength - Creating Moral Courage}
2~~And
it shall be,
when
you are come near unto the battle,
that
the priest
{communicates the written word of God}
shall
approach and speak unto the people.
3-4~~And
shall say unto them,
"Hear,
O Israel,
you
approach this day unto battle against your enemies . . .
'do
not be weak minded'/'do not let not your hearts faint'
{we would say 'do not crack under the pressure' - your norms
and standards should be straight - this is RIGHT when done unto
the Lord} . . .
or
afraid or panic/tremble,
{this is the body - stay strong physically also}
neither
be you intimidated/terrified because of them 4~~
for
Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
is
He Who marches with you . . .
to
fight for you against your enemies . . .
to
deliver you. "
{no enemy can kill you unless God permits it!}
{Verses
5-7. Evaluation of the Troops - Cases of Honorable
Discharge from the Battle}
5~~
And the officers shall also speak unto the soldiers, saying,
"What
man is there that has built a new house,
and
has not dedicated it?"
Let
him go and return to his house,
lest
he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it."
{Note:
Case of a 'bad attitude'. This is a young men with a new wife and
children - no battle concentration - better to let him experience his
house first, then fight in the next battle}
6~~"And
what man is he that has planted a vineyard,
and
has not yet 'reaped its harvest'/'eaten of it'?
Let
him also go and return unto his house,
lest
he die in the battle, and another man eat of it."
{Note:
Second case of a 'bad attitude' - a griper. He is a new business
person with his mind on business instead of war. So, again no battle
concentration - better to let him taste a little business success,
then fight later.}
7~~"And
what man is there that has betrothed a wife,
and
has not 'had marital intercourse'/'taken her'?
let
him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle,
and
another man 'has sex with her'/'take her'."
{Note:
Third case of a bad mental attitude going into battle. This man is
engaged only and not yet with her. So, is another example of no
battle concentration - love on his mind!}
{Verses
8. Case of Dishonorable Discharge from the Battle - Cowards!}
8~~And
the officers shall speak further unto the people,
and
they shall say,
"What
man is there that is a coward and fearful/fainthearted?
Let
him go and return unto his house,
lest
his brethren's 'right lobe'/heart/'right lobe' faint
as
well as his 'right lobe'/heart.
{Note:
Cowardice is like a communicable disease - one coward encourages
cowardice among others.}.
{Must
Be Able to Identify Officers/Authority}
9~~And
it shall be,
when
the officers have finished speaking to the people,
that
they shall make 'a table of organization'/'captains of the armies'
to
lead the people."
{Verses
10-20. Siege Procedure in the Jewish Army}
10~~When
you come near unto a city to fight against it,
then
offer terms of peace unto it.
11~~And
it shall be,
if
it responds peaceably and lets you in,
all
the people present there shall serve you at forced labor.
12~~And
if does not surrender to you,
but
would join battle with you,
then
you shall besiege it.
13-14~~And
when Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
has
delivered it into your hands,
you
shall kill every male thereof
with
the edge of the sword . . . 14~~
{remember . . . this is a COMMAND from God - if you are a soldier
in a battle for your country - you be the BEST killer in your
outfit!}
but
the women,
and
the little ones,
and
the cattle,
and
all that is in the city,
even
all the spoil thereof,
shall
you take unto yourself
and
you shall eat the spoil of your enemies,
which
Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead
has
given you. 15~~
Thus
shall you do unto all the cities
which
are very far off from you,
which
are not of the cities of these nations. 16~~
But
of the cities of these people,
which
Jehovah/God your Elohiym/Godhead
dose
give you for an inheritance,
you
shall save alive nothing that breaths 17~~
But
you shall utterly destroy them . . .
namely,
the Hittites,
and
the Amorites,
the
Canaanites,
and
the Perizzites,
the
Hivites {see Joshua 9 - Gibeonites were Hivites},
and
the Jebusites . . .
as
Jehovah/God your Elohiym/Godhead
has
commanded you.
{Reason
for Annihilation commanded above}
18``Lest
they lead you into doing all the abhorrent things
that
they have done for their gods/'elohiym
so
you stand guilty before Jehovah/God your 'Elohiym/Godhead.
19``When
in your war against a city
you
have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it,
you
must not destroy the trees, wielding the axe against them.
You
may eat of them, but you must not cut them down.
Are
trees of the field human to withdraw before you
into
the besieged city?
20``Only
the trees that you know
do
not yield food may be destroyed.
You
may cut them down
for
constructing siege-works against the city
that
is waging war on you,
until
it has been reduced/subdued.
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