Dealing with false witnesses and going to War

 Dealing with false witnesses and going to war

S-Deut 19 NIV

Witnesses15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.(A)   16 If a malicious witness(A) takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime,   17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges(A) who are in office at the time.   18 The judges must make a thorough investigation,(A) and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite,   19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.(A) You must purge the evil from among you.   20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid,(A) and never again will such an evil thing be done among you.   21 Show no pity:(A) life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.(B) 

 Going to War20

 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours,(A) do not be afraid(B) of them,(C) because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with(D) you.   2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.   3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted(A) or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them.   4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you(A) to fight(B) for you against your enemies to give you victory.(C)” 

 Going to War20 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours,(A) do not be afraid(B) of them,(C) because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with(D) you.   2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.   3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted(A) or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them.   4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you(A) to fight(B) for you against your enemies to give you victory.(C)”   5 The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in(A) it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it.   6 Has anyone planted(A) a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it?(B) Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it.   7 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.(A)”   8 Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”(A)   9 When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.   10 When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.(A)   11 If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject(A) to forced labor(B) and shall work for you.   12 If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.   13 When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.(A)   14 As for the women, the children, the livestock(A) and everything else in the city,(B) you may take these as plunder(C) for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies.   15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance(A) from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.   16 However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.(A)   17 Completely destroy[a] them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.   18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods,(A) and you will sin(B) against the Lord your God.   19 When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, 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?[a]   20 However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees(A) and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls. 

O-  This the book of instructions to the Israelites before they go to war and take the promise land.   It dealt with both the rules of how they are to maintain themselves a good and faithful society that trusts and follows God, as well as directed specific activities they should do to keep themselves as free from sin as possible.   Here we se a series of verses on how to deal with liars.  It is discussed in terms of dealing with false witnesses.  This comes right after the section on justice.    The next group of text informs the Israelites on how to go to WAR.   It discusses to leave behind those who have concerns for their life, their family, or just plain faint hearted is excused.  For the rest the lord is with them and they need to understand the Lord with defeat their enemies and not them.    They are to show no mercy and leave anyone alive in the land they go because they are not of God and will become a cancer among the Israelites.    The principle is this,  go to battle knowing the Lord is with you, don’t be faint hearted and trust in Him to defeat your enemies.    Lastly leave no remnant of the past behind because the cancer that remains though small will for sure cause death later.

A - The application for me is real and it is today.  Today I face giants,  Markle, Williamson and Greene regarding my future at PSNSY.    Dave has been a cancer in the department that has caused a good leader to behave poorly in how he chose to lead me as his operations officer.   I need to understand that Dave is a false witness and needs to be dealt with.  I will give this to the Lord, but remain available to be the tool that God uses to correct Dave.    In terms of the battle I go in with a group of people not present but that have my back, and I know God has their backs.   I will not be fainthearted,  I will stand my ground, and trust in the Lord.  I have nothing to fear, because He is with me, therefore I have no reason to be defensive, or strike out in anger, but simply need to be a good and active listener.   The Lord will strike down those in His path for my life. 

P - Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today’s lesson, may it be sealed to my heart.  I pray Lord that you would be with me today, let my words be your words,  guard my heart and mind from my flesh.   I pray you would go before me and defeat my enemies.  Give me the courage to be humble and not reactive.  I pray all this in Jesus Christ name,  Amen.