Then the attack against the Midianites comes in Numbers 31:1-7—1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people." 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the LORD on Midian. 4 A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war." 5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the LORD commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. The zeal that Phinehas had when thrusting his spear through Zimri and Cozbi stirred up the people to attack those who had tempted them into idolatry. Let’s think about how far these people had come. They were once slaves in Egypt, unskilled in war, only in trodding out bricks and erecting monuments to the Egyptian gods. They had been brought through the desert where they grumbled and complained incessantly. Now, some 40+ years later, they defeat the army of Midian. They had overcome their feebleness through the power of the Hand of God. Now, consider yourself. You too were once a slave. A slave to sin. Maybe it was a great sin, maybe not. But you were, nonetheless a slave to it. You were far off from the Kingdom of God. But now, you are a different person, a new creation, reborn in the image of Christ. Ephesians 2:13—But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Romans 6:17-18 (ESV)—17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. (I like the ESV translation of this passage better, as it gives the true translation of the Greek word δοῦλοι (douloi), which means, literally, “slaves”). But now we are kings and priests to God, no longer slaves to sin. Were you a drunkard? You are now a prince. Were you a harlot? You are now a princess. Were you once living in the gutter, your life filled with nothing, only looking for the next day or the next bottle? Forget that, you are now a child of God. Attack the Midianites of your flesh, kill it, and remember who you are now! The Biblical Illustrator says this:
It is instructive to compare this warfare of the children of Israel with their earlier battles. There are many points of difference between them. In Egypt, when surrounded by their enemies, they were not called to fight. They were quite unprepared for war; but God fought for them, and they were still, and held their peace. Then again, subsequently they were attacked by the Amalekites. They did not begin the encounter, but only repelled the attacks; whereas on this occasion Moses said unto the people “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the LORD on Midian.” Their earlier encounters were all in self-defence—their later ones were aggressive. Here, then, we cannot but discern a mark of progress in Israel’s history. At first, when they were weak, and without experience of God’s power and unchanging love, they were more passive. Now that they had been formed into a more compact body, and trained to arms, and still more, had experienced the power and faithfulness of God, they were called to be aggressive, to attack and destroy the enemies of God. Now, we think, that this progress in Israel’s history is typical in the Christian life. In the first beginnings of the spiritual life the young Christian’s mind is chiefly passive. God’s work is to show him his own needs and what are his enemies. The very spirit of the gospel is aggressive, not in a worldly sense, nor indeed in the sense in which it was true of Israel, but in a higher and holier sense; for it is a spirit of faith in God-a spirit of holy jealousy for God’s glory—a spirit of deep compassion for perishing souls.
Numbers 31:8—They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. The man who would not curse Israel, but who led them astray another way, dies at their hands. What a fitting end to the man who led the people of God away from Him and into the degrading sin of sexual immorality mixed with idolatry! The people of God executed the justice of God by running a sword through this wretch. He had seen the goodness of God; he had seen that God would only bless them; he saw how great their numbers were. But instead of joining with them and becoming part of the people of God, He chose the riches of the world instead of the riches of God. Like Haman, who devised ill against the people of Israel and wound up being hanged on his own gallows, so Balaam devised evil against the people of God and was pierced through with a sword, thus bringing an end to his miserable life. Like Sanballat and Tobiah devised evil against Nehemiah and those who were rebuilding Jerusalem, only to see their feeble deeds come to naught, so this man, who sought to bring an end to Israel, saw his plans come to naught. And like our Adversary, who walks about like a roaring lion, seeks to bring down those called by God, he will be brought down to the Bottomless Pit and, finally, to the Lake of Fire. There is no way to defeat God. He cannot be dealt a blow that will not be turned around a hundred times—nay, a thousand or million or more times—harder on the one who tried it.
Numbers 31:9-18—9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast. 12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. 15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.” After the slaughter, the people gathered up all the prisoners of war—an action which angered Moses, as these were of the same women who led Israel into idolatry. Why would they keep them alive? But don’t we sometimes do the same thing? We keep some reminder of our past in our possession, some reminder of the good times we had when we were slaves to sin and apart from God. “Oh, what’s it going to hurt?” 1st Corinthians 10:12—Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Do you think Satan needs more than a little sliver of room to worm his way back into our lives? Open the door, even a crack, and he will burst through and make one regret giving him even the slightest foothold. Ephesians 4:27—Nor give place to the devil. The word translated “place” is the Greek τόπος (topos), and means “opportunity, power, occasion for acting.” Paul is warning us to not give the Devil an opportunity, to not give him an occasion for acting in our lives. Jesus warned us in Matthew 12:43-45 (and in Luke 11:24-26)—43 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first." Do not think you are stronger or smarter than the Devil. He has been around for far too long, and remember he convinced one-third of the angels to follow him in rebelling against God. Knowing that, what do you think your chances are against him? Just ask Eve how trying to outsmart the serpent worked out for her, for Adam, for all mankind.
“But they killed women? And children? What kind of a God commands that?” The kind of God who wants us to put sin far away from us. When they brought the women and children back, it may have been out of mercy. But they did not think ahead to what might happen if these were allowed to remain with the people of God. The women, we know, would have led more men astray. The boys? They would have grown up bitter, resentful of the men who killed their fathers. You want a villain origin story? Isn’t that how they all begin? “But what about where Moses says in verse 18 ‘But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately’? Isn’t that permitting child marriage and pedophilia?” This is an argument we need to be prepared for, as the enemies of God will use this. So, different translations do render הַטַּף בַּנָּשִׁים (hatap bannashiym) as “young girls” or “women children”. And that is, indeed, the literal translation of this verse. But to claim this gives a green light to pedophilia is not warranted by the text. Nowhere does it say they are to take them as wives or concubines. And with there being a dearth of commentary on this verse, I’m going to give you my take on it, which may or may not be the best. But here goes: The young women—and yes, even young girls—who had not known a man intimately were to be taken in to the congregation, raised as an Israelite, and even used to perform tasks. When they became older they could be married, but nowhere—NOWHERE—does the text say ANYTHING about using these girls for sex. If anything, this was mercy. Their mothers were killed; their fathers were killed; if they had brothers they were put to death. They would have been left to fend for themselves in the desert. Instead, they were brought into the fold of the people of God, and raised in the Covenant of God.
The rest of the chapter deals with dividing up the spoils of war and the distribution of those spoils and the tribute to God. The only passage we will touch on in Numbers 31 is Numbers 31:48-50—48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, "Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. 50 Therefore we have brought an offering for the LORD, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD." Twelve thousand went to war against the Midianites, and twelve thousand returned. God knows how to save His people. The same can be said of those who trust in Christ. Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and none of His sheep will be lost. Does a Good Shepherd let any of His sheep wander off? Or when He sees that sheep wandering, will He not go and bring it back? Yes, He will bring it back. Matthew 18:12-14 (echoed in Luke 15:4-6)—12 "What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." Is your will greater than God’s will? Can you stray far enough from Jesus that He will let you go merrily on your way to Hell? Some say “Well, you can walk away from God and lose your salvation that way”. No, my friend! He is The Good Shepherd, and when He sees you going astray, if you are truly His, then He will run to you to bring you back to Himself! He will leave the 99 sheep who are staying to go get the one who is straying (Matthew 18:12-13; Luke 15:4-7). The Father knows all that He has given to His Son, and will not allow any of them to be lost!
Loving Shepherd of your sheep/all your lambs in safety keep;
Nothing can your power withstand/none can pluck them from your hand.
May they praise you ev'ry day/gladly all your will obey,
Like your blessed ones above/happy in your precious love.
Loving Shepherd, ever near/teach your lambs your voice to hear;
Suffer not their steps to stray/from the straight and narrow way.
Where you lead them may they go/walking in your steps below;
Then, before your Father's throne/Savior, claim them for your own.
(“Loving Shepherd of Thy Sheep” by Jane Leeson)
Father, help us to always remember Your goodness and Your faithfulness in all our battles, knowing that You will come for us when we stray. Help us to always put to death sin in our mortal bodies, to put to death the old man and to put on the new man. Help us to not cling to those things that would take us back to who we used to be, but help us to remember that we are a new creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works. But in our hatred for sin, let us always remember mercy in our dealings with those who do not know You.
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
