This
chapter settles the militia, and establishes the laws and ordinances of war,
I. Relating to the soldiers. 1. Those must be encouraged that were drawn up
to battle, ver. 1-4. 2. Those must be dismissed and sent back again whose
private affairs called for their attendance at home (ver. 5-7), or whose
weakness and timidity unfitted them for service in the field, ver. 8, 9. II.
Relating to the enemies they made war with. 1. The treaties they must make
with the cities that were far off, ver. 10-15. 2. The destruction they must
make of the people into whose land they were going, ver. 16-18. 3. The care
they must take, in besieging cities, not to destroy the fruit-trees, ver.
19, 20.
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Directions
Concerning War; Persons Excused from War.
B. C.
1451.
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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.
Israel was at this time to be considered rather as a camp than as a kingdom,
entering upon an enemy's country, and not yet settled in a country of their
own; and, besides the war they were now entering upon in order to their
settlement, even after their settlement they could neither protect nor
enlarge their coast without hearing the alarms of war. It was therefore
needful that they should have directions given them in their military
affairs; and in these verses they are directed in managing, marshalling, and
drawing up their own forces. And it is observable that the discipline of war
here prescribed is so far from having any thing in it harsh or severe, as is
usual in martial law, that the intent of the whole is, on the contrary, to
encourage the soldiers, and to make their service easy to them.
I. Those that were disposed to fight must be encouraged and animated against
their fears.
1. Moses here gives a general encouragement, which the leaders and
commanders in the war must take to themselves: "Be not afraid of
them, v. 1. Though the enemy have ever so much the advantage by
their numbers (being more than thou), and by their cavalry (their armies
being much made up of horses and chariots, which thou art not allowed to
multiply), yet decline not coming to a battle with them, dread not the
issue, nor doubt of success." Two things they must encourage themselves
with in their wars, provided they kept close to their God and their
religion, otherwise they forfeited these encouragements:-- (1.) The presence
of God with them: "The Lord thy God is with thee, and therefore
thou art not in danger, nor needest thou be afraid." See Isa. xli. 10.
(2.) The experience they and their fathers had had of God's power and
goodness in bringing them out of the land of Egypt, in defiance of
Pharaoh and all his hosts, which was not only in general a proof of the
divine omnipotence, but to them in particular a pledge of what God would do
further for them. He that saved them from those greater enemies would not
suffer them to be run down by those that were every way less considerable,
and thus to have all he had done for them undone again.
2. This encouragement must be particularly addressed to the common soldiers
by a priest appointed, and, the Jews say, anointed, for that purpose, whom
they call the anointed of the war, a very proper title for our
anointed Redeemer, the captain of our salvation: This priest, in God's name,
was to animate the people; and who so fit to do that as he whose office it
was as priest to pray for them? For the best encouragements arise from the
precious promises made to the prayer of faith. This priest must, (1.) Charge
them not to be afraid (v. 3), for nothing weakens the hands so much
as that which makes the heart tremble, v. 3. There is need of precept
upon precept to this purport, as there is here: Let not your hearts be
tender (so the word is), to receive all the impressions of fear, but let
a believing confidence in the power and promise of God harden them. Fear
not, and do not make haste (so the word is), for he that believeth doth
not make more haste than good speed. "Do not make haste either rashly
to anticipate your advantages or basely to fly off upon every
disadvantage." (2.) He must assure them of the presence of God with
them, to own and plead their righteous cause, and not only to save them from
their enemies, but to give them victory over them, v. 4. Note, Those
have no reason to fear that have God with them. The giving of this
encouragement by a priest, one of the Lord's ministers, intimates, [1.] That
it is very fit that armies should have chaplains, not only to pray for them,
but to preach to them, both to reprove that which would hinder their success
and to raise their hopes of it. [2.] That it is the work of Christ's
ministers to encourage his good soldiers in their spiritual conflict with
the world and the flesh, and to assure them of a conquest, yea, more than a
conquest, through Christ that loved us.
II. Those that were indisposed to fight must be discharged, whether the
indisposition did arise,
1. From the circumstances of a man's outward condition; as, (1.) If he had
lately built or purchased a new house, and had not taken possession of it,
had not dedicated it (v. 5), that is, made a solemn festival for the
entertainment of his friends, that came to him to welcome him to his house;
let him go home and take the comfort of that which God had blessed him with,
till, by enjoying it for some time, he become less fond of it, and
consequently less disturbed in the war by the thoughts of it, and more
willing to lie and leave it. For this is the nature of all our worldly
enjoyments, that they please us best at first; after a while we see the
vanity of them. Some think that this dedication of their houses was a
religious act, and that they took possession of them with prayers and
praises, with a solemn devoting of themselves and all their enjoyments to
the service and honour of God. David penned the 30th Psalm on such an
occasion, as appears by the title. Note, He that has a house of his own
should dedicate it to God by setting up and keeping up the fear and worship
of God in it, that he may have a church in his house; and nothing should be
suffered to divert a man from this. Or, (2.) If a man had been at a great
expense to plant a vineyard, and longed to eat of the fruit of
it, which for the first three years he was forbidden to do by the law (Lev.
xix. 23, &c.), let him go home, if he has a mind, and gratify his own
humour with the fruits of it, v. 6. See how indulgent God is to his
people in innocent things, and how far from being a hard Master. Since we
naturally covet to eat the labour of our hands, rather than an Israelite
should be crossed therein, his service in war shall be dispensed with., Or,
(3.) If a man had made up his mind to be married, and the marriage were not
solemnized, he was at liberty to return (v. 7), as also to tarry at
home for one year after marriage (ch. xxiv. 5), for the terrors of
war would be disagreeable to a man who had just welcomed the soft scene of
domestic attachment. And God would not be served in his wars by pressed men,
that were forced into the army against their will, but they must all be
perfectly volunteers. Ps. cx. 3, Thy people shall be willing. In
running the Christian race, and fighting the good fight of faith, we must lay
aside every weight, and all that which would clog and divert our minds
and make us unwilling. The Jewish writers agree that this liberty to return
was allowed only in those wars which they made voluntarily (as bishop
Patrick expresses it), not those which were made by the divine command
against Amalek and the Canaanites, in which every man was bound to fight.
2. If a man's indisposition to fight arose from the weakness and timidity of
his own spirit, he had leave to return from the war, v. 8. This
proclamation Gideon made to his army, and it detached above two-thirds of
them, Judg. vii. 3. Some make the fearfulness and faintheartedness here
supposed to arise from the terrors of an evil conscience, which would make a
man afraid to look death and danger in the face. It was then thought that
men of loose and profligate lives would not be good soldiers, but must needs
be both cowards in an army and curses to it, the shame and trouble of the
camp; and therefore those who were conscious to themselves of notorious
guilt were shaken off. But it seems rather to be meant of a natural
fearfulness. It was partly in kindness to them that they had their discharge
(for, though shamed, they were eased); but much more in kindness to the rest
of the army, who were hereby freed from the incumbrance of such as were
useless and unserviceable, while the danger of infection from their
cowardice and flight was prevented. This is the reason here given: Lest
his brethren's heart fail as well as his heart. Fear is catching, and in
an army is of most pernicious consequence. We must take heed that we fear
not the fear of those that are afraid, Isa. viii. 12.
III. It is here ordered that, when all the cowards were dismissed, then
captains should be nominated (v. 9), for it was in a special manner
necessary that the leaders and commanders should be men of courage. That
reform therefore must be made when the army was first mustered and
marshalled. The soldiers of Christ have need of courage, that they may quit
themselves like men, and endure hardness like good soldiers, especially the
officers of his army.
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Proclamations
of War; Directions Concerning War.
B. C.
1451.
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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.
They are here directed what method to take in dealing with the cities (these
only are mentioned, v. 10, but doubtless the armies in the field, and
the nations they had occasion to deal with, are likewise intended) upon
which they made war. They must not make a descent upon any of their
neighbours till they had first given them fair notice, by a public
manifesto, or remonstrance, stating the ground of their quarrel with them.
In dealing with the worst of enemies, the laws of justice and honour must be
observed; and, as the sword must never be taken in hand without cause, so
not without cause shown. War is an appeal, in which the merits of the cause
must be set forth.
I. Even to the proclamation of war must be subjoined a tender of peace, if
they would accept of it upon reasonable terms. That is (say the Jewish
writers), "upon condition that they renounce idolatry, worship the God
of Israel, as proselytes of the gate that were not circumcised, pay to their
new masters a yearly tribute, and submit to their government:" on these
terms the process of war should be stayed, and their conquerors, upon this
submission, were to be their protectors, v. 10, 11. Some think that
even the seven nations of Canaan were to have this offer of peace made to
them; and the offer was no jest or mockery, though it was of the Lord to
harden their hearts that they should not accept it, Josh. xi. 20. Others
think that they are excluded (v. 16) not only from the benefit of
that law (v. 13) which confines military execution to the males only,
but from the benefit of this also, which allows not to make war till peace
was refused. And I see not how they could proclaim peace to those who by the
law were to be utterly rooted out, and to whom they were to show no mercy, ch.
vii. 2. But for any other nation which they made war upon, for the enlarging
of their coast, the avenging of any wrong done, or the recovery of any right
denied, they must first proclaim peace to the. Let this show, 1. God's grace
in dealing with sinners: though he might most justly and easily destroy
them, yet, having no pleasure in their ruin, he proclaims peace, and
beseeches them to be reconciled; so that those who lie most obnoxious to his
justice, and ready to fall as sacrifices to it, if they make him an answer
of peace, and open to him, upon condition that they will be tributaries and
servants to him, shall not only be saved from ruin, but incorporated with
his Israel, as fellow-citizens with the saints. 2. Let it show us our duty
in dealing with our brethren: if any quarrel happen, let us not only be
ready to hearken to the proposals of peace, but forward to make such
proposals. We should never make use of the law till we have first tried to
accommodate matters in variance amicably, and without expense and vexation. We
must be for peace, whoever are for war.
II. If the offers of peace were not accepted, then they must proceed to push
on the war. And let those to whom God offers peace know that if they reject
the offer, and take not the benefit of it within the time limited, judgment
will rejoice against mercy in the execution as much as now mercy rejoices
against judgment in the reprieve. In this case, 1. There is a promise
implied that they should be victorious. It is taken for granted that the
Lord their God would deliver it into their hands, v. 13. Note,
Those enterprises which we undertake by a divine warrant, and prosecute by
divine direction, we may expect to succeed in. If we take God's method, we
shall have his blessing. 2. They are ordered, in honour to the public
justice, to put all the soldiers to the sword, for them I understand by every
male (v. 13), all that bore arms (as all then did that were
able); but the spoil they are allowed to take to themselves (v. 14),
in which were reckoned the women and children. Note, A justifiable property
is acquired in that which is won in lawful war. God himself owns the title: The
Lord thy God gives it thee; and therefore he must be owned in it, Ps.
xliv. 3.
III. The nations of Canaan are excepted from the merciful provisions made by
this law. Remnants might be left of the cities that were very far off (v.
15), because by them they were not in so much danger of being infected with
idolatry, nor was their country so directly and immediately intended in the
promise; but of the cities which were given to Israel for an inheritance no
remnants must be left of their inhabitants (v. 16), for it put a
slight upon the promise to admit Canaanites to share with them in the
peculiar land of promise; and for another reason they must be utterly
destroyed (v. 17), because, since it could not be expected that they
should be cured of their idolatry, if they were left with that plague-sore
upon them they would be in danger of infecting God's Israel, who were too
apt to take the infection: They will teach you to do after their
abominations (v. 18), to introduce their customs into the worship
of the God of Israel, and by degrees to forsake him and to worship false
gods; for those that dare violate the second commandment will not long keep
to the first. Strange worships open the door to strange deities.
IV. Care is here taken that in the besieging of cities there should not be
any destruction made of fruit-trees, v. 19-20. In those times, when
besiegers forced their way, not as now with bombs and cannon-ball, but with
battering rams, they had occasion for much timber in carrying on their
sieges: now because, in the heat of war, men are not apt to consider, as
they ought, the public good, it is expressly provided that fruit-trees
should not be used as timber-trees. That reason, for the tree of the
field is man's (the word life we supply), all the ancient
versions, the Septuagint, Targums, &c., read, For is the tree of the
field a man? Or the tree of the field is not a man, that it should
come against thee in the siege, or retire from thee into the bulwark.
"Do not brutishly vent thy rage against the trees that can do thee no
harm." But our translation seems most agreeable to the intent of the
law, and it teaches us, 1. That God is a better friend to man than man is to
himself; and God's law, which we are apt to complain of as a heavy yoke,
consults our interest and comfort, while our own appetites and passions, of
which we are so indulgent, are really enemies to our welfare. The intent of
many of the divine precepts is to restrain us from destroying that which is
our life and food. 2. That armies and their commanders are not allowed to
make what desolation they please in the countries that are the seat of war.
Military rage must always be checked and ruled with reason. War, though
carried on with ever so much caution, is destructive enough, and should not
be made more so than is absolutely necessary. Generous spirits will show
themselves tender, not only of men's lives, but of their livelihoods; for,
though the life is more than meat, yet it will soon be nothing
without meat. 3. The Jews understand this as a prohibition of all wilful
waste upon any account whatsoever. No fruit-tree is to be destroyed unless
it be barren, and cumber the ground. "Nay," they maintain,
"whoso wilfully breaks vessels, tears clothes, stops wells, pulls down
buildings, or destroys meat, transgresses this law: Thou shalt not
destroy." Christ took care that the broken meat should be gathered
up, that nothing might be lost. Every creature of God is good, and, as
nothing is to be refused, so nothing is to be abused. We may live to want
what we carelessly waste.
