Numbers 31:1-54
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.
4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.
5 So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.
7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.
12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.a
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter 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 that hath known man by lying with him.b
18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.
20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood.
21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;
22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:
27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
28 And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.
30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks,c of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
34 And threescore and one thousand asses,
35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.
36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:
37 And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and twelve.
39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and one.
40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons.
41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD'S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,
43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
44 And thirty and six thousand beeves,
45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
46 And sixteen thousand persons;)
47 Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
48 And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge,d and there lacketh not one man of us.
50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten,e of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.
51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
52 And all the gold of the offeringf that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
Numbers 31:2. Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites. If it were just to cut off twenty four thousand of the Israelites for the awful feast, apostasy, and fornication at Baal-peor, it was equally just to punish Midian.
Numbers 31:4. Of every tribe a thousand. The twelve thousand sent against the Midianites were picked men, such as the enemy could not resist; and they were the more encouraged to see the priests and the ark of God marching at their head. The people of Midian seem to have been surprised in their sins, and to have made no defence.
Numbers 31:6. The holy instruments and the trumpets. Phinehas took the ephod, that he might on an emergency consult the Lord by Urim and Thummim. Trumpets, being mentioned in the plural number, any person it appears, might aid the priest in blowing them for various purposes. All Gideon's men were allowed to blow their trumpets.
Numbers 31:8. Five kings. As every tribe had its prince, so when they built cities every town had its king: greater kingdoms and empires were all formed by conquests.
Numbers 31:15. Have ye saved all the women alive? These were to be saved alive, according to Deuteronomy 20:14; but exceptions were made here, because these women had seduced the Israelites; and exceptions were made also against the women of the seven nations. Deuteronomy 20:16. In all the east, the married were known by their dress. The prostitutes of Baal-peor must not be turned loose on the Hebrew camp. The sentence, though severe, was just.
Numbers 31:22. The tin; בדיל Bedil, stannum or tin is mentioned four times in the old testament. There is no doubt that this beautiful metal came even at that early age from Cornwall in Phœnician ships, as Pliny afterwards reports.
Numbers 31:24. Ye shall wash your clothes. Livy says that the Macedonian army, on returning from war, marched between the two parts of a dog cut across, and hung on each side of the road. Men with bloody hands ought to wash their hands and hearts before they enter the house of God. Numbers 31:34. Sixty one thousand asses. Horses are not named; they were not so well adapted for the mountainous ranges of Moab. In Spain also the asses are preferred for the hills.
Numbers 31:40. Sixteen thousand female children. The boys slain would be the same in number: yet great numbers of this nation must have saved themselves by flight, for in less than two hundred years the Midianites gained the ascendancy over the Hebrews. See Judges 6.
REFLECTIONS.
We have seen in chapter 25th, how the Midianites basely ensnared the Israelites, to whom they were brethren by Keturah, Genesis 26:2, by sending artful and impudent women with favours to the camp. We have seen how twenty four thousand of the guilty perished for the sin. Now, the day of Midian is come. Their judgment did not slumber long. On the part of Midian, the crime was fairly a national act. The diabolical scheme had originated with Balaam; it had been adopted by the king and his nobles; the whole nation had not only consented, but now they triumphed in its success. Therefore the fathers, in all cases of this nature, acting for the children, caused the covenant of God's protection to be forfeited, and justly incurred on their country the penalty of destruction. How soon do the judgments of God, on many occasions, follow the commission of crimes, and even involve the children in the punishment of their fathers!
We have next the singular success of this expedition. They surprised and took the whole country, or southern branch of this nation; they slew every male whether old or young, who did not escape beyond the limits of the sword; burnt their cities, and brought the women and the spoil to the camp. The affrighted heathen fell as grass behind the scythe, while the Israelites lost not a single man. When God has commissioned an enemy to invade a nation, all counsel is but confusion, and defence itself is an unavailing effort. The enemy is inspired as a minister of justice, and the guilty victims faint with fear. How vain then to promise ourselves security in our sins, indulgence in vice, and exemption from punishment.
The fall of Balaam is here particularly noticed. He had been dismissed with shame from Moab; but still lingering in Midian, he had scarcely time to rejoice in the success of his counsel before vengeance fell upon him. God taketh the wise in their own craftiness. The wicked dig a pit, and fall into it themselves. Neither men nor nations have so great an enemy as those who seduce them to sin. How wretched are the people who seek counsel in man, instead of help from the Lord.
The officers mistaking their instructions, to kill every woman who had known man, and to spare the female children only, acted on the general law in Deuteronomy 20:14, and spared all the women; and the distinction was obvious, from their ornaments and dress. This singular oversight, which seemed in itself a mere accident, brought the delinquents once more to the camp, where they had ensnared the Israelites, and occasioned the death of twenty four thousand men. The wages of sin is death, and these wages they received on the spot where the crimes and the calamities began. How striking is the retributive justice of God!
In Moses, who was wroth with the officers, for sparing the women alive, and firm in administering the just sentence of God, as one of the last and best actions of his life, christian magistrates have a high model of conduct, when women of ill-fame are brought before them. It is true the lenient laws of nations do not now inflict so great a punishment on offenders in this way; yet the mere sight of a group of women, who have caught the unwary in their net, and occasioned disease and death to so many persons, ought to inspire the guardians of the public with every sentiment of abhorrence and indignation. Connivance at houses of ill-fame, and violations of the marriage covenant once allowed, are sure omens of destruction to a nation. Hence it is the smallest punishment that women of this character should be secured in places of retreat, and be compelled to labour for their bread, till some family will take them under protection. Oh how dearly did Israel and Midian pay for one day of divination, and consummate wickedness!
In the respect and condescension of Moses and the elders who went to meet and congratulate the victorious army, we see the duty which a nation owes to the men who risk their lives for the defence and independence of their country; and in the purifications and oblations of the conquerors, we see the duty of soldiers; they should purge themselves from every sin before they dare to approach the church of God.