Week 61, Day 1: Seige warfare

Today’s Reading:  Deut 20:1-20

Some thoughts from today’s reading…

Moses now tells Israel about how they are to handle warfare with a city that they come upon.  If the city is far away then they handle it differently than a city that is nearby.  The cities of the nations nearby they were to kill everything that breathes (16).  But those cities that are far off they were to offer terms of peace.  If the city surrendered then they would become their slaves.  If not then they would take the city and kill all the men.  It is interesting to se that when they were seiging a city they were instructed not to cut down any fruit trees to make their seigeworks with.  This makes sense for them to leave the trees they can eat from after the warfare is over but in the turmoil of the battle preparations I could also see someone not thinking of this on their own.

Question:  Why did Moses instruct the Israelites to kill everything that breathes within the cities that are nearby?

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