Vengeance on the Midianites
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
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. A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”
So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 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. And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.
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. They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast.
Return from the War
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. And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 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.
And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? 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. Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”
Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses: Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”
Division of the Plunder
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Count up the plunder that was taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord. And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, seventy-two thousand cattle, sixty-one thousand donkeys, and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately. And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; and the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two. The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one. The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons. So Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.
And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought— now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, thirty-six thousand cattle, thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, and sixteen thousand persons—and from the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 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. 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.” So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.”
God is giving Moses his last assignment: destroy the Midianites who have seduced the Israelites into Baal worship. Per usual, the Israelite scribes are busy keeping accurate records of the Midianite leaders and warriors killed and the booty. David Guzik tells us, “The name of Zur is of some interest. He was the father of Cozbi (Numbers 25:15), the Midianite woman who so flagrantly drew an Israelite man into immorality and idolatry at the very tabernacle itself and was killed with a spear by Phinehas. Cozbi, coming from such a powerful family, was probably something of a priestess of Baal.” (David Guzik, Enduring Word Commentary) Rather than returning home, Balaam has remained as an advisor to the Midianites and dies for that poor decision. Balaam should have listened to God and remained at home in the first place.
Moses has a daunting task: dealing with an enormous amount of spoil that could completely corrupt the Israelites. Without restrictions, this victory could turn into spiritual disaster. The amount of booty is staggering, especially since God has preserved the Israelites so that they have not lost any soldiers. The soldiers even make an extra offering in gratitude for God’s protection. Notice that the booty is divided among the fighting men, the congregation, and the Lord. The sexually active women must be killed so they won’t seduce the Israelites back into Baal worship. The male children must be killed so that they will not preserve the Midianite culture and take vengeance on the Israelites when they are grown.
Any items that can pass through fire for purification must do so. Any items that cannot stand fire must be washed with water. The fighting men must remain outside the camp for seven days and then wash and purify themselves because they have touched dead bodies. The people and animals given to Eleazar, the high priest, will find a place in the work of the Tabernacle.
APPLICATION: This slide is borrowed from an excellent teaching on this chapter. The question raised here is fundamental: “How are you careful to not allow the things of this world to drag you away from holiness?” Perhaps we also need to ask another question first: How committed to holiness are we in the first place? If we truly love God and want to please Him, we will try to live holy lives, avoiding the stains of the world. This does not mean that we retreat into some remote location, for temptations can find us wherever we go.
I love to do white water kayaking. Running rapids challenges kayakers and canoeists to find the best route with the safest water. One of the first lessons I learned was to look at the river and not at the rocks. If you watch the rocks, you will wind up on them! Sometimes the safe channel might only be the width and depth of the kayak, but that small strip of water will carry you safely past obstacles that could wreck your boat and kill you. In the same manner, focusing on the temptations will land you in temptation. It’s far safer to fix your eyes on God and His perfect Will. Proverbs 23:4-5 tells us, “Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away like an eagle toward heaven.” Today, ask God to help you live a holy life pleasing to Him. He will gladly do so.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to look to You and not to any wealth or success for our satisfaction. Help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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