Deuteronomy 20:5

"And the officers shall speak unto the people saying, What man is there who hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as his heart. And it shall be when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people."

There are four grounds of exemption given here:

(1) for a house-builder who has not yet dedicated his house;

(2) for the planter of a vineyard who has not yet brought the vineyard into common production;

(3) for the betrothed husband who has not yet taken his wife; and

(4) for all cowards.

We may only laugh at the remark by Watts that, "The officers act like king's men."[11] Such a remark is only an idle speculation founded on the false premise that this portion of Deuteronomy was written in the days of the Jewish monarchy. The remark is untrue on its face. Can anybody name a single king in all of human history who voluntarily discharged all the cowards? Come on, John, you cannot fool anybody with a canard like that one! On the other hand, the classic story of Gideon furnishes us with a Scriptural example of how this principle was effective long before the monarchy.

Exemption No. 1. Cook tells us that this exemption, like that of No. 3, lasted for one year (compare Deuteronomy 24:5).[12] He also added that, "Various ceremonies of a religious kind were customary among the Jews when taking possession of a new house."[13] The posting of certain passages of Scripture upon the posts of the door was certainly one of those ceremonies.

Exemption No. 2. Jamieson pointed out that for the first three years, the fruit of any newly-planted vineyard was considered unfit for use, and the fourth year was accounted to bear the firstfruits which were dedicated wholly to the Lord; thus, for one who had recently planted a vineyard, "this exemption would have lasted for at least four years."[14]

Exemption No. 3. This exemption is more fully explained in Deuteronomy 24:5f, where it is extended to newlyweds also and lasted a full year.

Exemption No. 4. "These people were not to be bullied into battle, scorned for their fear, or court-martialed; they were to be sent home along with the others who qualified for exemption."[15] Of course, fear can debilitate and destroy any army, and by thus eliminating the fearful, the army would be protected from a mass infection of cowardice. As pointed out above, no other army in human history was constituted in such a manner as this. Faith in God and His faithful guidance could alone prevent fear from entering the hearts of those truly committed to God. In the light of this, it is safe to conclude that the fearful were those not fully committed to the Lord and to His work. Fear is still a deadly enemy of progress in the Lord's work, and the antidote for it is the love of God. "Perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18)." The very first message of Christianity was that delivered by the angels of God over the hills of Judea, "FEAR NOT; for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11).