(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 20:1–9, “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. And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, 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; For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
When the Lord first gave Abraham the promise that his descendants would have tenure in the Promised Land, the Lord told him that they would have to dispossess the Amorites. (Gen 15:12–16, “And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.”) This promised included the corollary that Israel would have to be involved in battle, both to punish the Amorites and take possession of the Land. This section discuses what would happen when they came to battle. The underlying promise was that the Lord would fight for Israel and Israel would triumph. After all the Lord had taken them away from the greatest super power of their time when they had nothing to defend themselves other than the fact that they belonged to the Lord. However, the Lord understood that person who didn’t want to be in battle, or who was afraid, could affect the entire and snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Another given when fighting battles was that some would die. In order to make sure that people had time to enjoy the benefits that the Lord had given them, the Lord excused anyone who had a new status from battle so that they could enjoy their new status before the faced the possibility of death.
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