A Time to Make Peace and A Time to Remove Sinful Influences
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 20:10-20 (NASB)
10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. 11 If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword. 14 Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby. 16 Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the Lord your God.
19 “When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.
SUMMARY
Moses instructs the Israelites on how to proceed in fighting with the cities they will encounter. If the cities are very far away from Promised Land, they are to offer it terms of peace. If these cities still want to fight against Israelites, then they are to overcome them, and kill the men, take the women, children, and all that is in the city. For the cities of the Promised Land however, they are to destroy everything that has breath of the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. This is so that they may not teach them to do all their detestable things and sin against the Lord. Moses also instructs them to use trees that are not fruit trees to make siegework when fighting against the neighboring cities, and not to cut down fruit trees so they may eat from them.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
As I was meditating on this passage I started wondering why God wanted to deal differently with the far away cities than the neighboring cities of Promised Land. Moses instructs them to make peace with the cities that were far away if possible and if they still want to fight only kill the men but take the women, children, and all other things as booty for themselves. However, God did not want the Israelites to even attempt to “make peace” with the inhabitants or neighboring cities of Promised Land, but utterly destroy them. Why?
I think it was the issue of influence and God did not want the idol-worshipping nations of Promised Land to influence Israelites in any way. “So that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the Lord your God.” (verse 18)
Unfortunately Israelites did not obey God’s instructions completely and Israel suffers for their disobedience. We get a glimpse of what these nations taught Israel in the following bible verses, “There were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord dispossessed before the sons of Israel.” (1 Kings 14:24) “But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had driven out from before the sons of Israel. He sacrificed and burned incense on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.” (2 Kings 16:3-4)
Does it seem cruel to destroy everything that has a breath in their territory and the neighboring cities? To our human understanding we can only look at here and now and what feels good to do right now. However, God can see the future and knows how we operate and can see plainly the consequences of our every action. We can make peace with people and cultures that have little influence over us, but within our sphere of influence we must not make any compromises but eradicate what is immoral.
APPLICATION
What this passage has taught me is to deal differently with people that are close and dear to me versus people that are far from me in terms of influence. I must make peace with people who are practically strangers and have no influence over me and not get into arguments over the religion or sins of the world. I was at my Indian neighbors house and they talked about how they consider cows to be holy animals. A part of me wanted to say something, but I knew if I got into an argument they may not invite us again. I must have a peaceful relationship with them. I am praying for God’s wisdom in how I can talk to them and also to make way for their salvation.
However, in my own household and my area of influence, like my small group in the education department of our church, or the students that I tutor, I must be vigilant to not to compromise my values and faith.
I must be vigilant in keeping out the influences of the world from my own life. There is a very popular K-drama my husband and I were watching together that depicts its main characters’ flaws in a favorable light. The drama portrays sociopathic behavior, revenge, and unforgiveness as justifiable. It really made me sad that it was a drama that had one of the highest ratings this year, and at the same time I realized the world is in need of Jesus more than ever.
I stopped watching the K-drama and instead listened to a dramatized recording of the bible instead. I didn’t like how I started liking these characters and started to be permissive of their behaviors in my heart. I must be vigilant in keeping my heart and mind pure from any immorality and not let it penetrate into my life.
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, You have called us out from the darkness into light through your Son’s death on the cross so that we may belong to You. I want to be set apart for You, and be holy. I confess I am tempted to compromise my beliefs and morals when entertained by the world. Please help me to be vigilant, and help me not to be ensnared by the influences of this world. I am weak and easily tempted, but You are strong, and You are our refuge and our fortress. Thank You for protecting us from all the evils of the world. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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