Although they left Egypt with no war experience, the army of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, were directly responsible for the death of at least 4,400,193 human beings. In the early days, God took charge, and responsibility for the battles, and sometimes fought with them. In the last days, His army was directed by prophets who said God had told them what to do. In any case, He made them learn to fight, taught them the element of surprise, and what to do with the spoils of war. He gave them specific instructions on how to approach a city. He was a tactician, and statistician. He was familiar with supply lines and the law of diminishing returns.

Remember (Dueteronomy 20:10)? God’s first ploy was to offer peace. Why do battle, and kill virgins and potential slaves, if you can frighten a city into surrender? "When you march up to attack a city, first offer it terms of peace. If it agrees to your terms of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people to be found in it shall serve you in FORCED LABOR.."

But if you’re just going for plunder, and the good citizens of the city resist, "... lay siege to it, and when the Lord, your God, delivers it into your hand, put every male in it to the sword; but the women and children and livestock and all else in it that is worth plundering you may take as your booty."  Women, children, and livestock were easy to control and herd back home, but kill all the men, they could slow you down and cause trouble later. "That is how you shall deal with any city at a considerable distance from you, WHICH DOES NOT BELONG TO THE PEOPLES OF THIS LAND." These battles had nothing to do with “taking” the promised land! These battles were about looting, plunder, and slaves! Of course God, either now or later, got all the gold and silver. Oh, and his share of the virgins. Israel was on a roll, so God had them “taking” everything within striking distance.

But close to home, the rules changed drastically. "...in the cities which the Lord, your God, is giving you as your heritage, YOU SHALL NOT LEAVE A SINGLE SOUL ALIVE. You must doom them all AS THE LORD, YOUR GOD, HAS COMMANDED YOU." (Deuteronomy 20:10)

Remember always, (Numbers 21:14)

Hence it is said in the “BOOK OF THE WARS of the LORD”

THE GOD OF THE JEWS WAS A WAR GOD! 5,003,743 human beings lost their lives because of God’s army. When you know and remember this, many other things you read about in the Old Testament of the Bible fall into place.