Seder 150: Deuteronomy 20---Instructions on Warfare

In Deuteronomy 20, Moses laid out the ground rules for Israelite warfare.  A big message of verses 1-9 is that warfare would not be a top priority for Israel.  They would engage in it only when God directed them to do so, in which case he would be with them (v. 1).  That meant that they didn't need large numbers of soldiers, and they would not need to have a standing army.  Spiritual readiness would be more important for them than military preparation (v. 4).

A priest was to address the troops before a battle.  He would exhort them not to have fear, and he would urge anyone who had pressing family commitments or any kind of fears to step aside.  The morale of the army would be hurt by the presence of anyone who could not participate whole-heartedly.  

After the Israelites occupied Canaan, it's possible that they would have the opportunity to acquire additional territory.  In such a case, they were to begin by offering terms of peace to that place (v 11).  

Moses repeats in verses 16-18 that they are not to make treaties with the Canaanites, however (vv 16-18).  Canaanites were to be given three options:

• join the Israelites, as Rahab and her group did;
• flee from the area;
• stay and fight.

Those who chose the third option were to be devoted to destruction (v 17).  Canaanite ways of thinking would compromise Israel's mission in the world.  

One of the worst aspects of war is the ecological damage it causes.  Israelites were to minimize that kind of damage (vv 19-20).  

Christian Torah scholar John Sailhamer observed that a number of the principles described in Deuteronomy 20 were followed by Abram in his rescue of his nephew lot in Genesis 14.  

Since God was perfectly capable of removing any military obstacles from Israel's path, he could have chosen to not subject them to any military activity.  There must have been things for them---and perhaps the surrounding nations---to learn from such activity.  Presumably some would some grow in faith through the experience.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on July 1, 2023, Rob Wilson addressed the difficult subject of the conquest of Canaan.  This was a one-time event, a special situation in which a major factor was the moral depravity of the Canaanites.  Rob elaborated on the "abominable practices" mentioned in Deuteronomy 20:18.