The Israelites will certainly be going into battle from time to time. But men of army age and fighting condition can be excused from service under certain circumstances.
When the army has been called together, and after the priest has made the encouraging speech that we studied yesterday, the officers are to determine which men are to be excused from serving in the army at this time. "The officers shall say to the army: 'Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it." (Deuteronomy 20:5)
The first valid excuse for not going with the army is that a man has recently built or purchased a home and has not yet laid claim to it by moving into it and enjoying its comforts and blessings. A man had a right to settle himself and his family into the new home and enjoy it with his loved ones for a while before he was called to war. It is generally assumed by many scholars that a man was allowed to reside in his home for at least a full year before he could be called up for the army, and the reason for thinking this is based on the third exemption from service which we will look at momentarily.
"Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it." (Deuteronomy 20:6) This exemption allowed a man to stay home from the army for several years, according to the rules regarding fruit trees in Leviticus 19:23-25: "When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the Lord. But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the Lord your God."
A man had a right to tend the vineyard he planted in order to get it established so it could bear fruit for his own household and for the generations to come. He had a right to enjoy the fruit of his vineyard but he could not begin to enjoy it (eat of it) until the fifth year. This indicates that until after the harvest of the fifth year he would not have to go out with the army.
The third exemption regards engaged men. "Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her." (Deuteronomy 20:7) Deuteronomy 24:5 adds this exemption regarding men who are newly married. "If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married."
If a man is already engaged to a woman when it's time to go to war, he is not to be sent to war until after he has married her and has lived with her for a full year. If a man is already married but has been married for less than a year, he cannot be called into service until the first full year of marriage has been completed. These rules allow the man to keep his promise to his betrothed, to enjoy a full year of married life before potentially losing his life in battle, to give a full year of love and attention to the woman he loves, and to hopefully continue his family line by fathering a child. He has a right to be allowed to do these things because these are the basic things that most people look forward to doing with their lives: finding someone they love, making a home with them, and having a family with them. This third exemption is the basis for believing a man who has recently built or bought a home is allowed to inhabit the home for at least a year. Young men often remained in their father's home, helping with their father's estates, until they became engaged and then they would build or purchase a dwelling for their bride.
The fourth exemption allows men who are too frightened for battle to stay home from battle. "Then the officers shall add, 'Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.'" (Deuteronomy 20:8) A man who is standing there shaking in his boots will not be forced to go. Men who don't want to fight for their nation and who are going to freeze up in battle or run away from battle are nothing but a handicap to the army. This is why in the United States, and in many other countries, an all-volunteer army is preferred. An all-volunteer army is smaller but is more effective. Men who actually want to serve will be an encouragement to each other and will strive together to be the best army they can be. Men who don't want to be there are going to be a discouragement to everyone, in both word and deed. Imagine how you'd feel if you were fiercely swinging a sword in battle only to look around and see some of your fellow soldiers frozen in place or running away. A thing like that could make you doubt whether victory is possible. A thing like that might make you want to retreat from battle yourself. Emotions like negativity, doubt, and fear can be very infectious. The Lord doesn't want His army infected by negative emotions so He allows the fearful-hearted to go home.
In the book of Judges we find Gideon using this fourth exception from army service when addressing his own troops. He started out with 32,000 men but said to them, "Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead." (Judges 7:3) At his words, 22,000 men turned back. The Lord disqualified a number of other men from the army until Gideon ended up going into battle with only 300 men. But these were 300 men who wanted to be there. These were 300 men chosen by the Lord for His own reasons which are not specifically explained to us in the book of Judges. I assume the Lord sent only the best and brightest, so to speak---men who were spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically best suited for that particular battle.
As we noted when we began Deuteronomy 20, when the Lord is with the army it doesn't matter how many men are in the army. It doesn't matter whether the weapons of the Lord's soldiers are more primitive than the weapons of the enemy. It doesn't matter how numerous the enemy army is. It doesn't matter how much more experienced the enemy soldiers are than the Lord's soldiers. All that matters is: "The Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, 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 20:1b,4)
I want to close with two main points regarding the things we've learned so far from Deuteronomy 20. The first is that there will surely be battles in this life but the Lord will be with us. Life isn't always going to be a bed of roses and the Lord never promised it would be. Instead He promised to be with us not only when life is pleasant but also when life is tough. The second point is that we won't be in the thick of battle all the time. Life may not always be a bed of roses but it is a bed of roses sometimes. We see in our passage today that the Lord exempted men from service for various reasons so they could enjoy life. He wanted them to enjoy their new homes, their brides, and their vineyards. He wants all of us to enjoy our blessings too. There are going to be days when we feel on top of the world because everything is going wonderfully for us. On those days we should give thanks and rejoice! There are going to be other times when life is going along in a normal everyday way. We should give thanks for ordinary days too; we should not consider them dull or humdrum because ordinary days are days in which nothing distressing is happening to us. Then there are going to be days when we feel like enemy fire is coming at us from all sides. Even then we are to say what King David did in times like that: "I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side." (Psalm 3:6) And, "Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident." (Psalm 27:3) Why was David able to speak so confidently in the midst of scary circumstances? Because he knew God was with him. He knew God was for him. And, as the Apostle Paul said, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b)
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