And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
After the plague at Peor stops, the Lord speaks to Moses again. Now the subject is not Israel's sin but Midian, the nation that led Israel into it.
Midian was not a stranger nation. Its link with Israel ran back to Abraham, yet its record against Israel was long.
Midian was a descendant of Abraham, and in that way related by nature to Israel, as many of these peoples were. But from an early day they had shown themselves the enemies of God's people. It was they who, with the Ishmaelites, carried Joseph down into Egypt and sold him into slavery there. God freed the nation from that slavery, and they were nearing their inheritance. Then the Midianites, together with Moab, first tried to get the curse of God upon them through Balaam. When that failed, they succeeded instead in defiling them. Israel shared in the sinful rites of Baal Peor, so God's afflicting hand came on them. For this reason, God commanded Israel to "harass the Midianites."
Moab shared in this sin, yet the sentence falls on Midian. Commentators explain why: Midian took the leading role, and a separate word from God spared Moab.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite, and there was a close connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At first Balak consulted the elders of Midian. Then the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the help of Balaam and his sorceries… Again we hear the command, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites." Why not on the Moabites? Then the destruction of Moab would have been as complete as that of Midian. But God had said that Israel should not attack Moab, so judgment here does not fall on Moab, but falls without mercy on Midian. Is this not an example of God's discriminating judgment — He will have mercy on whom He will? And since Balaam the Midianite advised the king of Moab, was the judgment on them not entirely just?
Balak's approach to Israel looked friendly. One writer explains what was behind it.
How clear the hand of Satan is! Why should Balak seek friendly contact with Israel, whom we saw he hated and feared? Was it a human way of overcoming them and causing their destruction? No, it was the wisdom of the serpent. Balaam, the agent of the devil, taught Moab the art of seducing the people known as the Lord's people. And he found in Israel fit material to work on.
The Lord gives the order here, but Israel does not march yet.
Because of this deceit of Midian, the Lord told Moses that Israel was to harass and attack the Midianites (vv. 17-18). But this did not happen at once. Other matters came first, dealing with Israel's relationship to God. Chapter 31:1-11 records the actual attack against Midian. God's rights must be recognized first; then the enemy is punished.
One writer points to the order God kept, and to the task it left Moses.
Note well what came first. Before the Lord said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the people of Israel… The New Testament says that judgment must begin at the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). So God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way. It is a divine principle… The Lord put honour on Moses. He commanded him to defend His name in Israel first, and then against the Midianites. This was his last great act.
Midian's name carries its own lesson.
The word Midian means "strife." Midian pictures the world, which opposes God and stands apart from Him… The world and the flesh always work together to enslave God's people and rob them of their blessings.
The census that follows counts the cost.
Simeon has shrunk from 59,300 to 22,200 — a little more than a third of his strength at the start. A prince of this tribe led the offence at Baal Peor, and judgment fell on him at once. What Balak's efforts at cursing could not achieve, mixture with the Midianites did, in measure. Reuben's sin was rebellion, and it did not leave his tribe as weak as mingling with strange people left Simeon. How many of God's people have proved the same as Simeon here! Mixture with the world saps their strength and destroys their spiritual prosperity.
- Deceit, not war. Cursing failed, so Midian turned to seduction dressed as friendship — and that worked.
- Deceit met at home first. God judged Israel's own sin before He sentenced the tempter. Judgment begins at the household of God.
- Deceit met later abroad. Israel carries out this command only in chapter 31, after God settles His rights among His own people.
- Deceit still costs. What no curse could do, mixing did. Simeon falls to a third of his numbers — a warning that friendship with the world drains strength.
Harass the Midianites, and smite them,
God tells Moses to treat Midian as a settled enemy, straight after the judgment at Baal-peor. Why Midian and not Moab, whose daughters began the seduction — and why war on a people who fought with seduction, not the sword?
Midian was no stranger nation. One writer traces their record against their own relatives, and what their name means.
Midian was a descendant of Abraham, and in that way related by nature to Israel, as were many of these peoples. But from an early day they had shown themselves the enemies of God's people. It was they who, with the Ishmaelites, carried Joseph down into Egypt and sold him into slavery there. The nation came out of that slavery. As they neared their inheritance, the Midianites, together with Moab, first tried to get the curse of God upon them through Balaam. Failing in this, they succeeded in defiling them, and brought God's afflicting hand on them, because they took part in the unholy rites of Baal-peor. Because of this, God had commanded Israel to "harass the Midianites." … Midian means "strife," a fitting name for that spirit of the world which brings the strife of desires into the soul.
The chapter opens with the daughters of Moab, yet the sentence falls on Midian. One writer untangles the two peoples and shows why Moab escapes.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite. The Moabites and the Midianites were closely connected. At first Balak consulted the elders of Midian. Then the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the aid of Balaam and his sorceries… But God had said that Israel should not harass Moab (Deut. 2:9). So judgment here does not fall on Moab proper. It falls unsparingly on Midian. And since Balaam, the Midianite, advised the Moabite king, was the judgment on them not most just?
Curses could not touch Israel, so the attack changed shape.
God held Balaam's lips and forced him to speak blessings instead of curses, in spite of himself. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." When the devil comes as an adversary, he has no power. The secret of his power lies in coming in as a tempter and seducer. Satan could not get the LORD to curse Israel. So he seduced them into wickedness, leading them "to eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." Then how could the holy God bring them in?
Balaam's plan worked against his own prophecy, and the cost fell on both sides.
At the outset of his prophecy Balaam had declared the separation of Israel from all nations. Now comes the devilish effort of this evil man to defeat his own words. He seduced Israel into alliance with Moab. He did not defeat God's purpose, of course, but he did seduce many, and so brought heavy punishment on them… Twenty-four thousand of the people died, and the sin brought a sentence of death on the Midianites at the hand of Israel.
God struck Israel before He told Israel to strike Midian. The order matters.
But mark this well. Before the LORD said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the people of Israel… The New Testament says that judgment must begin at the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). And so God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way. It is a divine principle. As it marks God's way here, so it marks His true servant…
The command came here; the attack came later.
This did not happen at once. There were other matters to take care of first, to do with Israel's relationship to God. Chapter 31:1-11 records the actual attack against Midian.
Commentators read Midian as a picture of something believers still meet.
The Midianites are a picture of the special influence which the world exerts over the hearts of the people of God. It is the fascinating, ensnaring power of the world, which Satan uses to hinder our entrance into our proper heavenly portion. Israel should have had nothing to do with these Midianites. But an evil hour — an unguarded moment — betrayed them into association with Midian. Now nothing remains but war and utter destruction.
Another writer draws the lesson for our own dealings with the world.
How often we must act the part of enemies with the world! It is because we sought to deal with them as friends, and they were a snare to our souls. But God gives complete victory as soon as we treat them as foes. Only, we must wholly destroy all that seduced us. There must be nothing spared, no concession.
- Kinship: Midian came from Abraham, as Israel did, yet fought God's people from the selling of Joseph on. The name means "strife."
- Wiles: Satan could not curse Israel, so he tempted them. Seduction won where sorcery failed.
- Selection: Midian, not Moab, bears the sentence. Balaam's people led in the sin, and God had told Israel to leave Moab alone.
- Order: God avenged Himself on Israel first, then commanded vengeance on Midian. Judgment begins at home.
- No concession: Midian pictures the world's ensnaring power. Once we join ourselves to it, only war is left, and we spare nothing.
for they have harassed you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of the plague because of the matter of Peor.
God gives the reason for war in this verse. Midian had not beaten Israel in battle. They had tricked them — first at Peor, then through Cozbi, a Midianite chief's daughter killed on the day of the plague. So why does the sentence fall on Midian and not on Moab, and why is a trick treated as an act of war?
One writer weighs Midian's part against Moab's.
The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel, as this chapter shows. Balaam was no doubt a Midianite. There was a close connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At the first, Balak consulted the elders of Midian. The elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the help of Balaam and his sorceries. The judgment of the Lord here falls on the Midianites… Again we hear the command, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites." Why not on the Moabites? Then the destruction of Moab would have been complete, as Midian's was. But God had said that Israel should not attack Moab (Deut. 2:9). Is this not an instance of the discriminating judgment of God, Who will have mercy on whom He will? And since Balaam the Midianite advised the Moabite king, was not the judgment on them most just?
The word "wiles" marks a change in the enemy's method.
Balaam is again the instrument of Satan. He could not curse, but he could seduce. Here is the cunning of the old serpent. Before, he was like the roaring lion seeking to devour Israel; now he is the crafty serpent. When he roars as a lion, the believer turns to God as a refuge and a strong tower. When the cunning serpent hides his venom, the snare is sure to catch the unwatchful believer… For Christ's sake the blessing stood fast. Judgment followed Israel's sin, but nothing could reverse God's word of grace once spoken.
Another writer looks at what the seduction was meant to achieve.
Israel was caught in the snare of those friendly advances. Behind them stood the enemy's purpose: to destroy the character of God's people, called to "dwell alone," in separation to God… No doubt the seduction aimed to strip Israel of her distinctive position and favour with God, which Balaam had been forced to proclaim. God's thought was that His people should be separate from all the abounding evil of the nations. Balaam's doctrine was that a mixture should be made between them. Fleshly lusts and false religious activities were the instruments used.
The order of events matters.
Because of this deceit of Midian, the Lord told Moses that Israel was to harass and attack the Midianites (vv. 17-18). This did not happen at once. There were other matters to take care of first — Israel's relationship to God. Chapter 31:1-11 records the actual attack against Midian. God's rights come first; the enemy's punishment comes after.
The same writer sees a principle in that order.
Before the Lord said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the people of Israel… The New Testament says that judgment must begin at the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17). And so God began with Israel. To begin at home is the true and right way. It is a divine principle… The same holy principle appears in the Lord's word: begin with yourself before trying to correct others. Take the log out of your own eye before looking for the speck in another's.
One writer starts from the meaning of the name Midian.
The word Midian means "strife." Midian is typical of the world in its opposition to and separation from God. Midian and Moab are often seen together. Both picture the world as the enemy of God… Amalek represents the flesh with its lusts. The world and the flesh always combine to enslave God's people and rob them of their blessings.
Another writer draws the lesson for Christians.
Our proper business, as Christians, is to pass through the world as pilgrims and strangers. We have nothing to do with it except to be patient witnesses of the grace of Christ… But we fail to keep up this strict separation. We let ourselves be drawn into alliance with the world. As a result we get involved in trouble and conflict that does not belong to us at all. War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it.
- Wiles — Midian is judged for a trick, not an invasion. The enemy who could not curse Israel turned from lion to serpent.
- Aim — the friendliness aimed to end Israel's separation and mix them with the nations.
- Order — God judged the sin inside Israel first, then sentenced Midian. Judgment begins at home.
- Picture — Midian means strife and pictures the world. The world and the flesh combine to rob God's people of their blessings.
- Warning — Israel had themselves to thank for this war. Yet nothing could reverse God's word of blessing over them.