Deuteronomy 19:1-21 ASV, Deuteronomy 20:1-20 ASV and Deuteronomy 21:1-23 ASV

19:1-20:9
Justice is concerned with (a) the protection of the innocent - ‘innocent blood will not be shed in your land’(10); (b) the punishment of the guilty - ‘you must purge the evil from among you’(19). Through justice, God is to be glorified among His people. We are to fight for the Lord without fear, confident of His glorious presence (20:1-4). In the service of the Lord, we must not be ‘fearful and fainthearted’(20:8). We are to be ‘good soldiers of Jesus Christ’(2 Timothy 2:3). We need to give careful attention to the Word of God: ‘When you draw near to the battle, the priest will come forward and speak to the people, and say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel...’(20:2-3). God’s Word is not concerned only with ‘Church work’. It sends us ‘back to our house’- ‘dedicated’ to the Lord (20:5-9).

20:10-21:23
The offer of ‘peace’ is made (20:10; Romans 5:1). Some refuse to ‘make peace’. They choose to ‘make war’(20:12). When the enemies of Christ and the Gospel are raging, we must be resolute in our commitment to living ‘as the Lord our God has commanded’(20:16-18). We are to ‘do what is right in the sight of the Lord’. This will involve ‘going forth to war against our enemies’. It will involve ‘purging the evil from our midst’(21:9-10,21; Ephesians 6:10-13; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Hebrews 12:1-2,11). Our life of holiness is grounded in the death of Christ who, on the Cross, was ‘accursed by God’so that we might be saved by God (21:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24). Through faith in Him, we have been declared holy (Romans 5:1,3-5,9-10).