Warriors’ Code

   Sometimes reading through the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Bible, can be a difficult exercise. I have been following the Oxygen reading scheme this year, and have recently been reading Deuteronomy.

   In many ways, Deuteronomy is a re-run of earlier content in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, but the 5th book actually looks, in great depth, at the laws and statutes of God. As Christians we believe in following the 10 Commandments and the moral laws of the Old Testament. Many of the laws in Deuteronomy, however, are national laws given to the Israelites to wisely govern their nation. While these laws might not be 100% applicable to our everyday lives today, they still show us the heart and majesty of our Lord God who gave them.

    One law, repeated at least twice, really made an impression on me. It has three-fold consequences. This law concerns warfare. God knew that Israel would have to wage war in her future; he gave this law to be spoken when Israel had gathered together her army ready for battle,

“Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying,

‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.

And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

And is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take her.’

And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say,

‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’”

(Deuteronomy 20:5-8 ESV)

   As I see it, this law shows both great power and also great love. On the one hand, no Israelite army needs to concern itself about numbers or the strength of its infantry. Why not? Because the Lord God is the General! The Lord is in the vanguard and is fighting for his people! Who needs to be afraid of chariots and horses, when the almighty Lord God is on their side! Israel did not need to be worried about building big armies or fielding powerful battalions: God is greater than any Division, Corps or Nation.

  The New Testament puts it like this, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

  The second result of this law is love. The Lord loves his people and doesn’t wish to see them in distress or suffering. The later repetition of the statute helps to confirm this,

    “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken.”

(Deuteronomy 24:5 ESV)

   The Lord is not a cruel taskmaster, rather he wants those who love him to be happy and praiseful. Enjoying the simple and honest pleasures given to us by God, with thanksgiving and praise, is honouring to the joy-giver: God.

  But, there is a third and perhaps more startling side-effect of this law. There has to be someone who will go out to fight the enemy; the whole of Israel cannot simply go home! This law teaches real selflessness. It cannot have been easy to stand in the battle lines of Israel while your newly-married friend and your brother who had just closed his contract for a new house both went home. You would have the responsibility of fighting to defend the happiness of your brothers.

   Can we complain about God’s requirements? Can we complain about his law teaching us to be self-sacrificial? Hardly! The Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself and became a man. He gave himself up to be crucified on a cross- the most brutal of Roman execution tools. He self-sacrificed more than anyone else in the whole of history. Why did he do this? Because he loved us so much that he wanted our sins to be forgiven and our guilt to be destroyed.

   This law shows God’s power and might against even the most well equipped and trained warriors of this world; it shows God’s love for his people and his desire for their happiness; and it also shows the self-sacrificial love to be shown between Christian brothers and sisters.

   Deuteronomy can teach us something after all!