Two Key Roles of Military Officers In Times of War -- Recruitment and Appointments

[photo courtesy of West Point -- mwi.usma.edu]

The Law of Warfare -- Part II -- Deuteronomy 20:5-9

Last time we talked about the role of the clergy in times of war. This time our passage in Deuteronomy describes two very specific roles of senior military officers with respect to warfare.

The first is in verses 5-8 and the second is in given in verse 9.

Officers only want men (and now women) in their troops that will be totally focused and committed to the cause of defeating the enemy.  So any one in the process of building a house or in the midst of some other project was sent home. Otherwise, his/her mind would have been on that which he/she left unfinished rather than on the battle before them.

And the same is true of those who have planted a vineyard but have not yet harvested the fruit (verse 6). And of course, there are those who are involved in a relationship with the intent of being married (verse 7) -- no way they'd focus on the battle, so they are sent home.

Finally, the officers do not want people fighting beside them who are afraid and fainthearted. Their feelings may spread to the others (verse 8). A weak link in a chain, makes the chain inferior. A bad apple spreads its disease on the good ones in the basket. You can't have that when you are fighting a war -- physically or spiritually.

Recruitment is a major industry in the world today -- especially executive recruitment. Every one who recruits will tell you "It's a jungle out there and we need the right people to help us win this war we're waging." Whatever the war is. We cannot say enough about the importance of recruitment to the success of an organization, or a project, or a mission. One friend of mine has made a career out of running potential candidates through actual simulations of circumstances they would face on the job with a specific client. He believes resumes don't tell the whole story or the important part of the story. And he's right.

Just like the officers in the days of the Israelites, good managers today need to know not only what is required of employees in a job, but also what isn't required and in fact, would be a hindrance to performance for a candidate.

Unfortunately, many of us in our lives, many church leaders, and many business executives, do not take the time to recruit carefully.  Some rush to get married and the consequences and the cost are horrendous. Church boards select pastors without thinking it through carefully, and the spiritual costs for many are grave. Businesses appoint people into jobs that they soon want to get rid of.  These situations cannot be corrected easily.  The laws of our land today make that next to impossible. Our divorce laws, for better or for worse, don't always side with the innocent party. Our church leaders' fears of appearing to be inhumane usually favor the poor-performing incumbent and the congregation suffers. Our labor laws usually side with the employee. In each case, we need to do a better job of recruitment. We need to take the time and spend the money up front to do so, otherwise, the alternative costs of letting someone go -- spouse, church worker, or employee -- are, as my friend shows in his work, many times more costly. As someone once said and I have often repeated in my work, "the best time to fire someone is before you hire them".

Then in verse 9, the chief officers appoint other commanders of troops from those that have been properly recruited. This is their second key role. This requires excellent judgement, top-notch gut feelings, and wisdom -- preferably the kind that comes from experience as well as a dependence on God, a godly officer's ultimate "Commander in Chief".  Sometimes, we may recruit excellent people into our operations, but they do not have the capacity to lead other men and women. We need to detect that before they're appointed to higher positions involving supervision of others.

People have the ability to pick their own friends. Jordan Peterson says this about that: "If you have a friend whose friendship you wouldn't recommend to your sister, or your father, or you son, why would you have such a friend for yourself?"  Good question. Pick wisely.

We had or have the opportunity to pick our spouse. I hope you did or will do that well. And finally, as leaders in our churches, a business, or any organization, you have the opportunity to choose people. Don't rush. Consider what qualities, experience, etc., are needed. Consider what things must be avoided at all costs. Take the time to ensure both.

We will continue to find these 'gems for living life' today in the O.T. Sign up (to the right) to get notified of our new blogs so you won't miss out. Share your thoughts wth us in the comments. Share this blog with others. And pick wisely.

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