¶ … God can be seen in the three battles mentioned. Most evident is the fact that, as the Israelites are fighting a Holy War, God is the most important part of each battle. God is also shown by the selected passages as both omnipotent and all-powerful, as the giver and taker of victory and of life.
When choosing victory for his people, God expects their loyalty in return. This loyalty is based upon display of God's power in Egypt (Deut. 6:24). This is used as a reminder to keep God's laws for the victories that he has and will provide for Israel. These are the conditions for God's continued support throughout the battles within the Holy War. A further element is the security that God provides in turn for following his conditions for fighting battles and living life. God provides security for his people while driving fear into the hearts of their enemies (Deut. 26:8).
The Holy War furthermore entails the requirement that God's people remain nationally and religiously pure. For this reason the element of complete destruction of all that is alien to Israel is one of the essential elements of engaging in God's battle. In order to curb the possibility of idolatry then, God commands that all human beings left alive in besieged towns should be killed so they cannot teach their idolatrous ways to God's people (Deut 20:18).
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