Numbers
chapter 31 details the first battle for the army of Israel, but this
isn’t a battle of conquest, but a battle of “The
Lord’s vengeance“.
Back in Numbers chapter 25, God would not allow Balaam (the
prophet-for-hire) curse the nation of Israel for the Midianites in
the region of Moab. But Balaam told the king the secret to defeating
Israel was to have the women of Moab entice the men of Israel to sin
and that plan worked. Now it is payback time for God. “Moses
sent a thousand men from each tribe, along with Phinehas, the priest,
who took with him articles from the sanctuary and trumpets for
signaling.”
Interesting, from God’s perspective, it appears the one priest was
as important as the twelve thousand soldiers! As you prepare for the
battles of the day, don’t forget to take up your spiritual weapons.
We are told that “they
killed every man“,
including the kings and Balaam (who perhaps could not resist the lure
of fortune?). “They
captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite
herds as plunder… and brought the captives and spoils to Moses and
Eleazar the priest.”
Moses was angry with the leaders, “Have
you allowed the women to live? They were the one who followed
Balaam’s advice and were the means of turning the men of Israel
away from the Lord… Kill all the boys and every woman that has
slept with a man.”
The boys of course would have been culturally obligated to avenge
their fathers. And once again we see; God does not play with the
temptation the women represent. 1 Corinthians 6:18 tells believers
to “Flee
from sexual immorality”
for this same reason.
The
soldiers and the spoils remained outside the camp until they could be
purified by fire or water. “Whatever
cannot withstand the fire must be put through that water… on the
seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you can
enter the camp.”
I wonder if we shouldn’t be as careful with the things we bring
home from work? How many fights at home would be avoided if we left
that battlefield attitude outside the camp? The plunder is divided
“between
the soldiers that took part in the battle and the rest of the
community“.
From the soldier’s portion, “one
out of every five hundred”
animals is given to the priests “as
a tribute to the Lord“.
And from the portion given to the community, “one
out of every fifty”
animals are given to the Levites. Interesting, it is only AFTER the
portion is given to the Lord that they count the numbers. It seems
that the Lord’s portion is never even considered their own. What a
wonderful attitude toward giving to God out of our first fruits.
The
chapter ends with the officer’s report to Moses, “Your
servants have counted the soldiers under our command and not one is
missing.”
Then notice the response of the soldiers, “So
we have brought an offering to the Lord…gold articles each of us
acquired…Moses and Eleazar accepted the gold… and all the gold
Eleazar presented as gifts to the Lord weighed 16.750 Shekels.”
(That is over $8 Million). Clearly they acknowledge their
miraculous protection is from the Lord and they want to express their
gratitude in a tangible way. This is not a requirement or
obligation, but it is motivated out of thankfulness; and there is not
a more powerful motivator for giving than loving thankfulness. Lives
and hearts are changed forever when they accept the forgiveness of
God through Christ. “For
in His fullness we have received grace upon grace”
(John 1:16). Let all you do be a gift of thanks!