John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 4. For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you , etc.] To battle, and therefore they had no reason to fear and be dismayed, to be fainthearted, terrified, and tremble: fear not, I am with thee , etc.] ( Isaiah 41:10), this, according to the Misnah f239 , respects the ark, and so Jarchi, which was a symbol of the divine Presence, and went with them to battle; (see Joshua 6:4 Samuel 4:3-5) to fight for you against your enemies, to save you ; to annoy and destroy the one, and to protect and save the other; thus far the anointed priest addressed the people in an oration to this purpose: the account Maimonides gives of it is, that “when they have set their ranks, and are near to a battle, the anointed of war stands on an high place, and all the ranks before him, and says to them in the holy tongue, “hear, O Israel”, etc. unto to save you; and then another priest under him causes it to be heard by all the people with an high voice f240 ;” he repeated what the anointed of war had said, and expressed it with a loud voice, that all might hear.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-9 - In the wars wherein Israel engaged according to the will of God, the might expect the Divine assistance. The Lord was to be their onl confidence. In these respects they were types of the Christian' warfare. Those unwilling to fight, must be sent away. The unwillingnes might arise from a man's outward condition. God would not be served by men forced against their will. Thy people shall be willing, Ps 110:3 In running the Christian race, and fighting the good fight of faith, we must lay aside all that would make us unwilling. If a man' unwillingness rose from weakness and fear, he had leave to return from the war. The reason here given is, lest his brethren's heart fail a well as his heart. We must take heed that we fear not with the fear of them that are afraid, Isa 8:12.
Original Hebrew כי3588 יהוה3068 אלהיכם430 ההלך1980 עמכם5973 להלחם3898 לכם עם5973 איביכם341 להושׁיע3467 אתכם׃853
