13. Basic Battle Plans
In Deuteronomy 20 we find the instructions God gave to the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised Land and engage their enemies. These instructions were the "Operational Orders" – the plan to conduct the military operations given to Israel's fighting forces by the One who was their supreme military commander.
In the modern United States military, Operational Orders (OPORD) are given in a standard five-point format and, coincidentally, God gave Israel five points to guide them in their mission. At first sight the commands may seem simple, but they are deceptively so; they represented vital information Israel needed for successful conquest.
Today, those same tactical instructions can be applied in our own lives and offer us some timeless guidelines for the spiritual battles we must fight – as we can see in each command point and the lesson it carries.
COMMAND 1: "When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God … will be with you … the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory" (Deuteronomy 20:1, 4). LESSON: God first reminds Israel – and us – that if we focus on the physical circumstances surrounding us, we will often fail because the problems look too big, too insurmountable. God tells us that he has brought us this far (vs. 1b) and that we must remember the forces we do not see are greater than those we do see (read 2 Kings 6:17 for an example). We must never fight by sight alone – our battles are won by what is not seen, and faith is a weapon our enemy does not have.
COMMAND 2: "The officers shall say to the army: 'Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? … Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? ... Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home'…" (Deuteronomy 20:5-7). LESSON: Although there is a humane aspect to this particular command, excusing those who might not want to fight, the clear tactical reason is that we cannot fight with distractions on our minds. Don't ever allow physical distractions to get in the way of the spiritual fight.
COMMAND 3: "When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to labor and shall work for you" (Deuteronomy 20:10-11). LESSON: In this command God shows that we should be willing to work with people if they are willing to work with us and the relationship does not interfere with our obeying God. This principle applies in many areas – we need to be firm in our beliefs, but still interact with others. Our lives can be a witness to others to the degree that we interact with them.
COMMAND 4: "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you … Completely destroy them … as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God" (Deuteronomy 20:1618). LESSON: God shows clearly that we will ultimately fail if we compromise with sin in any way. The nations around Israel not only enticed the Israelites to sin, but they also personified sin which must be destroyed. Make no compromise with sin – no matter how attractive it may look, the enemy that would destroy you must be destroyed.
COMMAND 5: "When you lay siege to a city… do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls" (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). LESSON: Finally, God shows that in fighting the battles we fight in life we must use wisdom. We should not make battles where there are none ("Are the trees people that you should besiege them?"), but in other cases we need to carefully use the resources that are available in the spiritual warfare we wage. Use wisdom, do not focus on things that are not the main problems in life – but use all available resources in the fights that matter.
Rather than supernaturally destroying Israel's enemies (or in our case, our problems), God let Israel (and now lets us) fight the fight, but gave the guidance needed to do it. Simple as the instructions may appear, each one of them deserves thought and meditation as to how they might apply in our own lives.
When we combine these principles with the advice given to us throughout the Bible, we have a spiritual "manual of war" which can be of great help to us as we go into combat. It is to the degree that we apply these lessons that we will be successful in the spiritual battles we face in claiming the promises that God has given us.