Numbers 31:1-12

IV. THE LAST EVENTS IN TRANS-JORDAN (Numbers 31; Numbers 32; Numbers 33:1-42)

A. ATTACK UPON THE MIDIANITES vv. 1-12
TEXT

Numbers 31:1. 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 Isreal, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 31:1. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, Execute the full vengeance of the Children of Israel upon the Midianites; afterward, you shall be gathered unto your people. 3. And Moses spoke unto the people, saying, Arm men from among you for the conflict, and let them go forth against Midian and avenge the Lord on Midian. 4. You shall send to the war one thousand men from each tribe, throughout all the tribes of Israel. 5. So twelve thousand armed men were brought out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, for the battle. 6. And Moses sent them to the battle, a thousand from each tribe, they and Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to the battle, with the holy instruments and the trumpets and his hand to blow. 7. And they fought against Midian as the Lord had commanded Moses: and they killed all the males. 8. And they killed the kings of Midian, besides the others who were slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam, the son of Peor, with the sword. 9. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captive, along with their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods. 10. Then they burned all the cities where they lived, as well as their camps, with fire. 11. And they took all the loot, and all the prey, both of man and beast. 12. And they brought the captives and the prey and the loot to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.

COMMENTARY

God had earlier commanded the attack upon the Midianites (Numbers 25:17), citing their prostitution of Israel at Peor (Numbers 25:18). We have no way of determining exactly how long this interval had been, but in the meanwhile the census had been taken to establish the basis for Israel's army. When the attack was finally made, it seems to have been quite unexpected, and the victory was total. One thousand men from each of the tribes constituted the attacking army, and they were accompanied by Phinehas, the son of the high priest, who took with him certain holy instruments, whose identity is not known, along with the trumpets.

In the battle, all malesapparently the adultswere killed, along with the five kings or chiefs of Midian. Along with these five prominent men is mentioned the fact that Balaam, son of Beor, was a victim of the same attack. It would seem that Balaam had remained in the area, had attached himself unto the Midianites, and counseled the Midianites to tempt Israel into idolatry (Numbers 31:16). His death may have been the result of judicial execution rather than from the battle itself (see PC p. 400).

Following the overwhelming victory comes the matter of dividing the spoils of conquest. The women are taken prisoners, along with all children. The cattle, here meaning beasts of burden, and their domesticated flocks are confiscated, along with all of their goods. The cities were burned next. Since the Midianites were a nomadmic people, it is very possible that these cities had originally belonged either to the Moabites or the Amorites, and that they had been captured by Sihon. The KJ word castle is not justified in the text; the term means simply camps. The booty now was brought before Moses and Eleazar, as well as the congregation, in their camp in Moab for disposition. Since the battle had been ordered by the Lord, the warriors were not to look upon the occasion as one of personal exploitation of the victims. God Himself must guide this next important step.

Why was the annihilation of so great a number of the Midianites ordered? Not because they were the only idolatrous people with whom Israel came into contact; nor were the Israelites to become international moral policemen to enforce Divine laws of conduct. The reason, simply put, is that Midian had made an unprovoked, crafty, and successful attack upon God's people, and had brought thousands of them to a shameful death. The motive which prompted the attack upon them was not horror of their sins, nor fear of their contamination, but vengeance; Midian was smitten avowedly -to avenge the children of Israel-' (Numbers 31:2) who had fallen through Baal-Peor, and at the same time -to avenge the Lord-' (Numbers 31:3), who had been obliged to slay his own people, (PC, p. 403.) A final word is appropriate. We would be logically in error to apply twentieth-century, or even Christian, moral standards to the actions commanded at Moses-' time. The treatment of the Midianite women and children was, by the standards of his day, most merciful, and is a step toward that ethic God would have all men reach through His Sonto stir a national conscience against atrocities and, ultimately and ideally, to eliminate war altogether. If men fail to reach this goal, it is due not to a failure in God's plan or a lowering of His goals, but to the continuing rebellious and inhumane attitudes and acts of His rebellious creature.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

558.

What was the basic reason for God's ordering the attack upon the Midianites?

559.

Why had He not done similarly to the Moabites or the Amorites?

560.

Who accompanied the army, and with what implements?

561.

Tell who was killed in the ensuing battle.

562.

Who were spared initially?

563.

Why had the cities probably not been built originally by the Midianites?

564.

Discuss the ethical question of the annihilation of the Midianites. Why is it a fallacy to apply contemporary standards of the actions here?