I've just highlighted that bit because I think you've included it because you feel obliged to or that you think it'll balance out what you've said so far.
Its pretty clear what you're thinking is, I dont believe you said anything revolutionary, I dont believe you said anything obvious either but you did a great job of regurgitating some liberal prejudice. Nice.
I don’t mean to pre-empt Randomnity’s response to your post, but I don’t even understand what you two are debating. There is a clear threat of divine retribution there. So yeah, it’s coercive and a deterrent. It’s also some of the more fascinating prose in the Bible: God’s people preparing for war. Using the King James Version:
In Verse 20, Moses gives the Israelites their marching orders: “...you will go armed before the Lord to war...â€
In Verse 21, Moses gives the terms of the war: “...until he hath driven out his enemies before him..â€
In Verse 22, Moses absolves the people of war guilt and promises them booty: “...ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord...â€
And then in Verse 23, Moses threatens divine retribution if the people refuse to go to war: “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.â€
And then in Verse 24 he goes back to emphasising the positives of going to war: “Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep...â€
It’s classic carrot-and-stick: Go to war, and you get homes and land. Refuse, and the Lord will take retribution.
It’s a great little speech. Moses is saying: “God’s got no time right now for chickenshit pacifists. Get your ass across the Jordan and kill something, or face the consequences.â€
The Old Testament is a chronicle. You can’t always take it literally, but nonetheless it chronicles real things: It’s about populations migrating, wars happening, and modern civilization being born. This sort of thing is exactly what makes the Old Testament much better reading than the New Testament. Nothing much happens in the New Testament; it’s mostly about the life of Jesus and the church reforms that came out of that. Whereas the Old Testament is epic history.
So what’s the problem? Why not read the passage as it’s written, i.e., according to the most obvious interpretation? Moses is a general preparing his people for battle, and he’s using a little carrot-and-stick technique. The threat of divine retribution is a deterrent. The promise of booty is an incentive. Big deal. That's how you get people to go to war.