This is a challenging chapter because it describes God’s command to the Israelite men to virtually destroy a people group called the Midianites. The Midianites were one of two groups that had caused great sin in the camp of the Hebrews. We find in this story of their destruction one of the rare occasions when God displayed His judgment within human history. Although there are only a handful of similar encounters in the Old Testament, each one is sobering and should make us pause and consider our own standing before God Almighty.<\/p>\n
God is the God of both mercy and<\/em> justice. Throughout much of Scripture we see His mercy at work. That doesn\u2019t mean the seriousness of sin or its consequences are lessened, but it is usually His mercy that we see being poured out. So when we encounter what seems to be more justice and judgment than mercy, like the Midianites, it\u2019s shocking. There are many long and detailed philosophical discussions on the moral and ethical issues this kind of historical judgment by God raises, but at the end of each argument is a finger pointing back to our own personal guilt before a holy God. As Paul said, \u201cThere is none righteous, no, not one\u201d (Rom. 3:10).<\/p>\n This must disturb any rational, thinking person because the fact is we are all<\/em> guilty of sin against God. We all deserve the kind of destruction the Midianites received, and yet we are offered mercy. If we refuse that mercy, refuse to surrender our lives to God, then we will face His justice and the judgment for rejecting His free gift of life. \u201cFor the wages of sin is death\u201d (Rom. 6:23). But our great hope, our only hope, is Jesus. He was the perfect sacrifice, and as John tells us, \u201cwhoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life\u201d (John 3:16). And even though the wages of sin are<\/em> death, \u201cthe gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord\u201d (Rom. 6:23). All we have to do is come to Him, believe in Him, and throw ourselves on His grace.<\/p>\n “LORD, we throw our lives on You and confess our sins here and now so that You can extend mercy to us now and into eternity.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n =============================================================<\/p>\n\n\n\n Numbers 31 KJV<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spake unto Moses, saying,\u00a02<\/sup>\u00a0Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.\u00a03<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the\u00a0LORD\u00a0of Midian.\u00a04<\/sup>\u00a0Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.\u00a0\u00a05<\/sup>\u00a0So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of\u00a0every\u00a0<\/em>tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.\u00a06<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of\u00a0every\u00a0<\/em>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<\/sup>\u00a0And they warred against the Midianites, as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.\u00a08<\/sup>\u00a0And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain;\u00a0namely\u00a0<\/em>, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.\u00a09<\/sup>\u00a0And the children of Israel took\u00a0all\u00a0<\/em>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.\u00a010<\/sup>\u00a0And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.\u00a011<\/sup>\u00a0And they took all the spoil, and all the prey,\u00a0both\u00a0<\/em>of men and of beasts.\u00a012<\/sup>\u00a0And 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\u00a0are\u00a0<\/em>by Jordan\u00a0near\u00a0<\/em>Jericho. 13<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.\u00a014<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host,\u00a0with\u00a0<\/em>the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.\u00a0\u00a015<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?\u00a016<\/sup>\u00a0Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the\u00a0LORD\u00a0in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the\u00a0LORD.\u00a017<\/sup>\u00a0Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.\u00a0\u00a018<\/sup>\u00a0But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.\u00a019<\/sup>\u00a0And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify\u00a0both\u00a0<\/em>yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.\u00a020<\/sup>\u00a0And purify all\u00a0your\u00a0<\/em>raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats\u2019\u00a0hair\u00a0<\/em>, and all things made of wood.\u00a0 21<\/sup>\u00a0And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This\u00a0is\u00a0<\/em>the ordinance of the law which the\u00a0LORD\u00a0commanded Moses;\u00a022<\/sup>\u00a0Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,\u00a023<\/sup>\u00a0Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>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.\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp. 25<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spake unto Moses, saying,\u00a026<\/sup>\u00a0Take the sum of the prey that was taken,\u00a0both\u00a0<\/em>of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:\u00a0\u00a027<\/sup>\u00a0And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:\u00a028<\/sup>\u00a0And levy a tribute unto the\u00a0LORD\u00a0of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred,\u00a0both\u00a0<\/em>of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:\u00a029<\/sup>\u00a0Take\u00a0it\u00a0<\/em>of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest,\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>an heave offering of the\u00a0LORD.\u00a030<\/sup>\u00a0And of the children of Israel\u2019s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the\u00a0LORD.\u00a0\u00a031<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the\u00a0LORDcommanded Moses.\u00a032<\/sup>\u00a0And the booty,\u00a0being\u00a0<\/em>the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,\u00a033<\/sup>\u00a0And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,\u00a034<\/sup>\u00a0And threescore and one thousand asses,\u00a035<\/sup>\u00a0And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.\u00a036<\/sup>\u00a0And the half,\u00a0which was\u00a0<\/em>the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:\u00a037<\/sup>\u00a0And the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.\u00a038<\/sup>\u00a0And the beeves\u00a0were<\/em> thirty and six thousand; of which the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0tribute\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>threescore and twelve.\u00a039<\/sup>\u00a0And the asses\u00a0were<\/em> thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0tribute\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>threescore and one.\u00a040<\/sup>And the persons\u00a0were\u00a0<\/em>sixteen thousand; of which the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0tribute\u00a0was\u00a0<\/em>thirty and two persons.\u00a041<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses gave the tribute,\u00a0which was\u00a0<\/em>the\u00a0LORD\u2019S\u00a0heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0commanded Moses.\u00a042<\/sup>\u00a0And of the children of Israel\u2019s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,\u00a043<\/sup>\u00a0(Now the half\u00a0that pertained unto\u00a0<\/em>the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand\u00a0and<\/em> seven thousand and five hundred sheep,\u00a044<\/sup>\u00a0And thirty and six thousand beeves,\u00a045<\/sup>And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,\u00a046<\/sup>\u00a0And sixteen thousand persons;)\u00a047<\/sup>Even of the children of Israel\u2019s half, Moses took one portion of fifty,\u00a0both\u00a0<\/em>of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the\u00a0LORD; as the\u00a0LORD\u00a0commanded Moses. 48<\/sup>\u00a0And the officers which\u00a0were<\/em> over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:\u00a049<\/sup>\u00a0And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which\u00a0are<\/em> under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.\u00a0\u00a050<\/sup>\u00a0We have therefore brought an oblation for the\u00a0LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the\u00a0LORD.\u00a0\u00a051<\/sup>\u00a0And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them,\u00a0even\u00a0<\/em>all wrought jewels.\u00a052<\/sup>\u00a0And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the\u00a0LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.\u00a0\u00a053<\/sup>\u00a0(For\u00a0<\/em>the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)\u00a054<\/sup>\u00a0And 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,\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>a memorial for the children of Israel before the\u00a0LORD.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is a challenging chapter because it describes God’s command to the Israelite men to virtually destroy a people group called the Midianites. The Midianites were one of two groups that had caused great sin in the camp of the Hebrews. We find in this story of their destruction one of the rare occasions when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5780"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5780"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15992,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5780\/revisions\/15992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/packinghouseredlands.org\/devotional\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}