Deuteronomy 20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, (With the Israelites now at the edge of the Promised Land,
the Lord warns them that they would face powerful enemies there
and that these enemies would be well-equipped with strong armies.
Although the Israelite army would only be manned by its infantry, the inhabitants of the land would come against God's people
with greater numbers of infantry, and, additionally, with cavalry and iron chariots.
Not only would the horsemen and chariots give the enemy a great tactical advantage, but often scythes would be attached to the wheels of the chariots.
Then the chariots did double duty, running straight into the foot solders
and also cutting down peripheral infantrymen who weren't in the direct, frontal path of the chariots.
The message is clear that the enemy ahead of them was powerful. The enemy forces arrayed against us today are no less fierce and brutal.)
do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.
(The Lord's deliverance of His people from the bondage of Egypt,
is a foreshadowing of Christ's work of deliverance in us, both from our sin nature and the enemies coming against us today.
Though the enemy facing us may appear formidable and powerful, the Lord gives us these powerful reminders: not to waste energy by focusing on fear, but to stand on His promise that He is with us, on His promises that we will not be alone in the battle, that His power is greater than any enemy, and that He causes us to overcome.)
