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Arm Some Of Your Men To Go To War.5

What follows is an examination of Number 31 to consider what it might mean for us today.  

In Numbers, Israel was on the move to become a nation. How did God make a nation? A summary outline that answers this is given in Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 4:32-34 “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33 “Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34 “Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

Establishing a nation involved war. In Numbers 31 we see Israel meet the enemy. He organized the people for battle. He ordered them into battle and He caused them to be victorious. Everyone contributed either in active service or support of that service.

There are portions in Numbers 31 that are hard to understand and would make God out to be treacherous unless you understood the background and history of that day. If these portions about killing the enemy disturb you, then I suggest you read Is God A Moral Monster? to gain a better understanding and see that this is not so in the slightest.

The following commentary is from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. I'll include my comments and questions as well.
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Observation

An Outline

War with Midian. (Num 31:1-6)

Balaam slain. (Num 31:7-12)

Those slain who caused sin. (Num 31:13-18)

Purification of the Israelites. (Num 31:19-24)

Division of the spoil. (Num 31:25-47)

Offerings. (Num 31:48-54)

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

War with Midian (Num 31:1-6)

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 “A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

For commentary see Arm Some Of Your Men To Go To War.3

Balaam slain. (Num 31:7-12)

Numbers 31:7-12 So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. 10 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. 11 They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12 They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

Those slain who caused sin. (Num 31:13-18)

Numbers 31:13-38 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women? 16 “Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord. 17 “Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. 18 “But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves.

For commentary see Arm Some Of Your Men To Go To War.4

Purification of the Israelites. (Num 31:19-24)

19 “And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 “You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. 24 “And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

The Israelites had to purify themselves according to the law, and to abide without the camp seven days, though they had not contracted any moral guilt, the war being just and lawful, and commanded by God. Thus God would preserve in their minds a dread and detestation of shedding blood. The spoil had been used by Midianites, and being now come into the possession of Israelites, it was fit that it should be purified.

Division of the spoil (Num 31:25-47)

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the booty that was captured, both of man and of animal; 27 and divide the booty between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 “Levy a tax for the Lord from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; 29 take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the Lord. 30 “From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

32 Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33 and 72,000 cattle, 34 and 61,000 donkeys, 35 and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000.

36 The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, 37 and the Lord’s levy of the sheep was 675; 38 and the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord’s levy was 72; and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord’s levy was 61; 40 and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the Lord’s levy was 32 persons. 41 Moses gave the levy which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

42 As for the sons of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who had gone to war — 43 now the congregation’s half was 337,500 sheep, 44 and 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and the human beings were 16,000 — 47 and from the sons of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animals, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

Whatever we have, God justly claims a part. Out of the people’s share God required one in fifty, but out of the soldiers’ share only one in five hundred. The less opportunity we have of honouring God with personal services, the more should we give in money or value.

Offerings (Num 31:48-54)

48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, approached Moses, 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. 50 “So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” 51 Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all kinds of wrought articles. 52 All the gold of the offering which they offered up to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 53 The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself. 54 So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it to the tent of meeting as a memorial for the sons of Israel before the Lord.

The success of the Israelites had been very remarkable, so small a company overcoming such multitudes, but it was still more wonderful that not one was slain or missing. They presented the gold they found among the spoils, as an offering to the Lord. Thus they confessed, that instead of claiming a reward for their service, they needed forgiveness of much that had been amiss, and desired to be thankful for the preservation of their lives, which might justly have been taken away.

Key Takeaway

It is sad when things come to war. When appeals to reason and compromise fail in our society, what are we to do? If the enemy keeps clawing at you relentlessly what are you to do? When it comes to blows, there is to be distaste for blood. The sanctity of life is to be maintained. But with all that in mind the need to resist evil must be paramount. Each family should arm some of their men to go to war against evil.

Arm Some Of Your Men To Go To War.4

What follows is an examination of Number 31 to consider what it might mean for us today.  The pressing question for many Christians is...

Ps 11:3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?”

But, what are the foundations? Many do not know. God laid the foundations for one nation and I suggest we can learn what we need to know by observing what He did. 

There are portions in Numbers 31 that are hard to understand and would make God out to be treacherous unless you understood the background and history of that day. If these portions about killing the enemy disturb you, then I suggest you read Is God A Moral Monster? to gain a better understanding of the context. As merciless as these passages sound today, one really needs to stop and consider those that are willing to make money off of the murder of babies in the womb, the injection of untested substances into man, woman, and child, the mutilation of bodies for sexual pleasure, open borders to military age men, etc. At what point does the people's toleration of such evil become endorsement? What will future generations say about all this? There doesn't seem to be much difference.  

Last time, I answered a number of questions to help see what is in this chapter. Today, I want to begin filling in the background by looking at some commentary on this chapter. The following comes from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. I'll include my comments and questions as well.

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Observation

An Outline

  • War with Midian. (Num 31:1-6)
  • Balaam slain. (Num 31:7-12)
  • Those slain who caused sin. (Num 31:13-18)
  • Purification of the Israelites. (Num 31:19-24)
  • Division of the spoil. (Num 31:25-47)
  • Offerings. (Num 31:48-54)

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

War with Midian (Num 31:1-6)

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 “A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

See Arm Some Of Your Men To Go To War.3

Balaam slain. (Num 31:7-12)

Numbers 31:7-12 So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered. 10 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. 11 They took all the spoil and all the prey, both of man and of beast. 12 They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

The Israelites slew the Kings of Midian. They slew Balaam. God’s overruling providence brought him thither, and their just vengeance found him. Had he himself rightly believed what he had said of the happy state of Israel, he would not have thus herded with the enemies of Israel. The Midianites’ wicked wiles were Balaam’s projects: it was just that he should perish with them, (Hosea 4:5). They took the women and children captives. They burnt their cities and castles, and returned to the camp.

Those slain who caused sin. (Num 31:13-18)

Numbers 31:13-38 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women? 16 “Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord. 17 “Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately. 18 “But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves. 19 “And you, camp outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves, you and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 “You shall purify for yourselves every garment and every article of leather and all the work of goats’ hair, and all articles of wood.”

21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded Moses: 22 only the gold and the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin and the lead, 23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean, but it shall be purified with water for impurity. But whatever cannot stand the fire you shall pass through the water. 24 “And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may enter the camp.”

Division of the Booty

25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “You and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation take a count of the booty that was captured, both of man and of animal; 27 and divide the booty between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 “Levy a tax for the Lord from the men of war who went out to battle, one in five hundred of the persons and of the cattle and of the donkeys and of the sheep; 29 take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest, as an offering to the Lord. 30 “From the sons of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys and of the sheep, from all the animals, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” 31 Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

32 Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, 33 and 72,000 cattle, 34 and 61,000 donkeys, 35 and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000.

36 The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, 37 and the Lord’s levy of the sheep was 675; 38 and the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord’s levy was 72;

The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting others; it teaches us to avoid all occasions of evil, and to give no quarter to inward lusts. The women and children were not kept for sinful purposes, but for slaves, a custom every where practised in former times, as to captives. In the course of providence, when famine and plagues visit a nation for sin, children suffer in the common calamity. In this case parents are punished in their children; and for children dying before actual sin, full provision is made as to their eternal happiness, by the mercy of God in Christ.

Purification of the Israelites. (Num 31:19-24)

We will look at this next time.

Arm Some Of Your Men To Go To War.3

What follows is an examination of Number 31 to consider what it might mean for us today. America is fragmented and the force of evil is showing itself to be more organized than the forces of good. Is there anything we can do to avert certain disaster?

There are portions in this chapter that are hard to understand and would make God out to be treacherous unless you understood the background and history of that day. If these sections about killing women and children disturb you, then I suggest you read Is God A Moral Monster? As merciless as these passages sound today, one really needs to look around and see how many others are willing to make money off of murder of defenseless babies in the womb, injecting untested vaccines into children, etc. At what point does your toleration of such evil become endorsement? What will future generations say about you? Did your government not act in the same way but instead of inflicting this treachery upon enemies, they choose their own subjects for such abominations?  

Ps 11:3 If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?" 

Last time, I answered a bunch of questions to help see what is in this chapter. Today, I want to begin filling in the background by looking at some commentary on this chapter. The following comes from Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. I'll include my comments and questions as well.

How to Recruit the Best Talent for Your Startup? » StartWithHow

Observation

An Outline

War with Midian. (Num 31:1-6)

Balaam slain. (Num 31:7-12)

Those slain who caused sin. (Num 31:13-18)

Purification of the Israelites. (Num 31:19-24)

Division of the spoil. (Num 31:25-47)

Offerings. (Num 31:48-54)

Matthew Henry’s Commentary

War with Midian (Num 31:1-6)

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.” 3 Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 “A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” 5 So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.

All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission, though no persons now can do so. Their wars were begun and carried on expressly by Divine direction, and they were enabled to conquer by miracles. Unless it can be proved that the wicked Canaanites did not deserve their doom, objectors only prove their dislike to God, and their love to his enemies. Man makes light of the evil of sin, but God abhors it. This explains the terrible executions of the nations which had filled the measure of their sins.

My Comment

Take FULL vengeance. The scope of the battle was given. It was the LORD’S vengeance; it was to be a decisive battle of good overcoming evil.

1.Does any nation today practice “holy war?” Which ones?

The force of vengeance commissioned by God was derived in house; no foreign alliance or recruitment was needed.

2.What happens to an army’s strength when you combine foreigners into the army?
3.What if every nation consolidated in like manner? What changes or benefits or problems would we see if every family began to look after their family?
4.What causes family to abandon their own?
5.What is behind the fragmentation and division of your own family?
6.Which of these two societies is more likely to resist evil in all its forms?

7.What can bring fragmented family back together?
8.Could you find a thousand men in your family who would wage war against evil? Could you find one or two?
9.How do you go about looking for people who would wage war against evil? How do you think Moses was able to find these men?

Balaam slain (Num 31:7-12)

We will look at this next time.