Sammy F,
Please don't ask me to do your homework. Didn't you learn in school that doing someone else's homework was against the rules? But I will make an exception.
Also, to tell me I have to do it in 24 hours????? What's that????? Again, I will rise up to your demands this time, but not again Sammy. You are not God, my father or mother, or anyone that I have to take orders from or serve. [Just some advice....if you would like to have someone do your work, asking nicely is so much more effective!]
Let's explore your verses:
Deut. 20
10 "When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.
11 "And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.
12 "Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.
[From Webster's New Collegiate Dictonary]
tributary - paying tribute to another to acknowledge submission, to obtain protection, or to purchase peace
From Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary:
#10-12 The Israelites are here directed about the nations on whom they made war. Let this show God's grace in dealing with sinners. He proclaims peace, and beseeches them to be reconciled. Let it also show us our duty in dealing with our brethren. Whoever are for war, we must be for peace. Of the cities given to Israel, none of their inhabitants must be left. Since it could not be expected that they should be cured of their idolatry, they would hurt Israel. These regulations are not the rules of our conduct, but Christ's law of love. The horrors of war must fill the feeling heart with anguish upon every recollection; and are proofs of the wickedness of man, the power of Satan, and the just vengeance of God, who thus scourges a guilty world. But how dreadful their case who are engaged in unequal conflict with their Maker, who will not submit to render him the easy tribute of worship and praise! Certain ruin awaits them. Let neither the number nor the power of the enemies of our souls dismay us; nor let even our own weakness cause us to tremble or to faint. The Lord will save us; but in this war let none engage whose hearts are fond of the world, or afraid of the cross and the conflict. Care is here taken that in besieging cities the fruit-trees should not be destroyed. God is a better friend to man than he is to himself; and God's law consults our interests and comforts; while our own appetites and passions, which we indulge, are enemies to our welfare. Many of the Divine precepts restrain us from destroying that which is for our life and food. The Jews understand this as forbidding all wilful waste upon any account whatsoever. Every creature of God is good; as nothing is to be refused, so nothing is to be abused. We may live to want what we carelessly waste.
13 "And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.
I will explain later in this post some of the reasons why this was necessary!
14 But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the spoils of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.
A previous post that will help you with what God says about the treatment of women that are captives of war:
Message 5731995
Also, little ones should be treated similarly to women, with the utmost respect to their human rights. They were to be supported and only helped.
Also, think about this. If the man of the house is killed, the women and children were left on their own. And that probably was in pretty bad shape. The man was the sole provider. Without him, they are probably lost. They needed guidance, help and support. And God made sure they got it. He ordered the Israelites to provide for them, to take care of them, and make sure they were not left homeless and to die.
15 "Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.
16 "But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive,
But you left out these 2 important verses which will help us understand these verses in context:
17 "but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you,
18 "lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God.
Why? Why such a seemingly horrible order from God you ask?
I tell you why. These groups of people were such horrible people. They murdered innocent people. They used their children as living sacrifices to pagan idols. They did things to people that were not guilty of anything, punishments not only not warranted, but so torturous to them, it probably were some of the worst, unfair suffering human's ever endured. And they usually stretched out the suffering of the person they were going to kill as long as possible, just to get them to suffer as long as possible. They sacrificed and killed innocent people for fun! There worship was of pagan Gods, totally against the one true God. Their sexual conduct was unbelievably out of control. Homosexuality, orgys, sex with animals and any other depraved sexual conduct you can imagine. There worship was pagan, and against God.
So they needed to be killed for some, or all the following reasons;
1. To stop the Israelites from assimilating with them and marrying them. God needed to stop any assimilation of these people into their population, and essentually destroying there own population. These people would inevitably infect the Israelites against God, and make them turn away from him. Remember, one bad apple spoils the bunch. Not the other away around! Also, the Israelites did not need any help turning away from God. They did that all by themselves, without any such pagan influence. And if they turned away from God, God's plan would have not been completed successfully and God would be wrong about his prophecy. And God and his word can not be wrong. It's impossible! [This was definitely one of the reasons!]
2. To stop the innocent human deaths of children, women and all people. [This was a definite reason!]
3. They had ungodly diseases, that if left unchecked, would destroy all of God's creation. Innocent people who probably be killed because of spread of diseases these men had. {Maybe a reason, maybe not!]
So for these first two reasons, and maybe the third, and most likely others that I have not spoken about, these people needed to be destroyed. And if they turned to the Lord before there destruction, the bible speaks of saving their lives.
Hope I did your homework to your satisfaction. Any other help I could provide, if you ask respectfully, I will be more than willing to help.
Steve
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