And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
Numbers 31 opens with a fresh word from God to Moses, and this one carries the last assignment of his working life. What God says next reaches back to an old score with Midian, and it also reveals how He treats a servant who is about to die.
God had given this command once before, and the time had come to carry it out.
The Lord commands war next. He said to Moses, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people." This is, therefore, the last thing in the official life of Moses. The Lord had commanded this war against Midian before (25:16-18), but the carrying out of it was delayed. Now it was to be done. The Midianites were to suffer for the wicked thing they had done to Israel: they had seduced Israel into the idol worship of Baal Peor.
Before God moved against the nation that corrupted Israel, He had already dealt with Israel itself.
But let us mark well that before the LORD said, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites," He had avenged Himself on the children of Israel. By His command Moses said to the judges, "Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor." … 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. It marks God's way here, and it marks His true servant too. That is true whether the aim is closer communion with Him, greater zeal in active service, or, as in Israel's case, vengeance upon God's enemies.
God calls the war vengeance for His people. Moses passes the order on, and calls it vengeance for God.
"Avenge," says the LORD, "the people of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people." … "And Moses spoke to the people, saying, 'Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian.'" Is this not perfection? When the LORD spoke, He told His servant to take vengeance for the people of Israel on the Midianites. But when Moses spoke, he told them to take vengeance for the LORD on Midian. How exactly the LORD secures His own glory, and in grace to His people! The LORD thought of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel would think of the LORD. It was one common interest — the LORD and Israel had at heart one and the same thing.
Moses had family ties to Midian, which makes his response worth noticing.
The Midianites had been guilty of seducing Israel, and God required that account to be settled. This was the last charge laid upon Moses before his death (v.2). His own father-in-law was a Midianite (Ex. 3:1). So it was surely a painful responsibility for Moses to command Israel to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. Yet there is no sign that he even hesitated. He had learned that the word of the Lord is absolute, and he would not question it at all.
The aim was not only to punish Midian but to strip every trace of Midian off Israel.
The schemes of the daughters of Midian had trapped the people, through the evil influence of Balaam … Now they are called to clear themselves completely from all the defilement they had contracted through lack of watchfulness. The sword is to fall on the Midianites. All the spoil must pass either through the fire of judgment or through the water of purification. Not one bit of the evil thing may pass unjudged.
This episode pictures a danger that still faces believers.
Moses was not to pass off the scene until the Midianites, which included Moab, were destroyed. Israel's normal path was to pass in peace through these peoples who lived on the fringe of the promised land. In the same way, the normal path of a Christian is to be an inoffensive pilgrim on his heavenward way. But these were the people who had seduced Israel into sexual sin. That sin is a picture of the unholy mixing and alliance with the world-system that is such a danger to the Christian.
- Unfinished business. God gave this order once before, and it waited. He does not forget an account He has said He will settle.
- Home first. God judged the guilty in Israel before He judged Midian. Judgment begins at the household of God, and the same order marks a true servant.
- One interest. God calls it vengeance for Israel. Moses calls it vengeance for God. The honour of the Lord and the good of His people are one cause.
- Obedience without hesitation. Moses had Midianite family ties, yet he passed the command on, treating God's word as absolute.
- Nothing unjudged. Every item taken had to pass through fire or water. No trace of the evil that had seduced Israel could survive.
Avenge the children of Israel upon the Midianites; afterwards shalt thou be gathered unto thy peoples.
Israel had sinned with Midian in the plains of Moab, and God settles that account in the last order He ever gives Moses. So the verse ties together two things that seem unrelated: a war against a neighbouring people, and the end of a man's life.
The command closes Moses' public work, and it revives an order given earlier but never carried out.
This, then, is the last thing in the official life of Moses. God had already commanded this war against Midian (25:16-18), but it had been put off. Now the time had come to carry it out, and the Midianites were to suffer for the wicked thing they had done to Israel: they had seduced Israel into the idol worship of Baal Peor.
The war comes first, and the death second. Kelly reads that order as grace toward a servant about to leave the scene.
God could not let His servant pass away before he saw this disgrace completely wiped out… It would not have suited the grace of God toward His servant to leave a painful thought on his heart now that he was about to be gathered to his fathers, or fall asleep.
God tells Moses to avenge the people of Israel. Moses, passing the order on, tells them to avenge the Lord. The difference is not an error.
Isn't this perfection? When the LORD spoke, He told His servant to avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. But when Moses spoke, he told them to avenge the LORD on the Midianites. How precisely the LORD secures His own glory, and in grace to His people! The LORD thought of the people of Israel, and the people of Israel would think of the LORD. It was one common interest.
The sin had looked as though it must break the bond between God and His people. Kelly's point is the reverse: God tied that link tighter still, never to be broken.
Midian had not fought Israel in open battle. Midian had seduced them. So this war was never meant to happen at all.
By right, the people ought not to have had any occasion to encounter it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unholy dealings with people outside God's covenant.
Notice who leads this campaign: not a general, but Phinehas the priest, carrying the holy instruments and the trumpets. He is the same man who had already carried out judgment on this very sin.
The man told to strike Midian had a Midianite family by marriage.
His own father-in-law was a Midianite (Ex. 3:1). So it was surely a hard thing for Moses to command Israel to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. Yet there is no indication that he even hesitated. He had learned the word of the Lord is absolute and he would not at all question it.
Grant adds that Moses' father-in-law was not like the Midian of that day.
Moses had once failed to honour God before Israel, and that failure kept him out of the land. One writer sees this last assignment as a kindness to him.
The LORD, whose great servant he was, gave him the joy of cleansing the worshippers of the one true God by judgment on the guilty. The gods of Moab had attacked those worshippers. Wasn't this sweeter to him than even entering the good land? It was surely more to the glory of the LORD. This was his last great act. What a privilege, what grace to a man who had once failed to treat God as holy before Israel!
Gaebelein sees this war pointing forward to a judgment still ahead.
There is another day of vengeance coming which will fall heavily upon the Gentile world. The Lord will avenge His people Israel and judge the nations for the sin they committed against them. Of this the prophetic Word speaks often. That day is closely linked with Israel's restoration to the land. Then the true King-Priest will appear, like Phinehas, who was with the army of Israel (Isaiah 63:1-6; 2 Thess. 1:7-9).
- Seduction — Midian's crime was not war but temptation. It pulled Israel into idol worship, and God now settles that account.
- Vengeance — a wrong against Israel is a wrong against God. He calls it avenging His people; Moses calls it avenging the Lord.
- Cleansing — Israel's own unfaithfulness brought this war on. It need never have happened, and a priest, not a general, led it.
- Obedience — Moses struck the people his own father-in-law came from. He did not hesitate, because God's word is absolute.
- Honour — God cleared the stain before Moses was gathered to his people, so his last task became his greatest. It points on to a coming day of reckoning under the true King-Priest.
And Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm from amongst you men for military service, that they go against Midian to execute Jehovah's vengeance upon Midian.
God's last command to Moses before his death is a war order. Moses passes it on with one striking change of wording. God speaks of avenging Israel; Moses speaks of executing the Lord's vengeance. That shift, the small size of the force, and the man chosen to lead it carry the meaning of the chapter.
God and Moses describe the same campaign from opposite sides, and one writer treats this as the heart of the passage.
When the LORD spoke, He told His servant to avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. But when Moses spoke, he told them to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian. Is this not perfection? How exactly the LORD secures His own glory, and in grace to His people! The LORD thought of the people of Israel, and the people of Israel would think of the LORD. It was one common interest — the LORD and Israel had at heart one and the same thing. This was truly the mighty grace of God, completely reversing what the sin of man had done. As they fell under the power of the snare, it might have seemed that they must be separated from the LORD. But no; the bond had to be fastened tight, never to be broken.
The women of Midian had drawn Israel into idol worship. The war now ordered is the price of that.
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By right, the people ought not to have had any occasion to fight it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unholy dealings with the uncircumcised.
One writer applies the same lesson to believers today. Friendship with the world creates battles that were never part of the journey.
If we fall into idolatry, if we commit fornication with the world by yielding to its bait, if in any way at all we make friends with the world in the desert, we make wars for ourselves. We gain no spiritual ground from such warfare. God is obliged to make our relations with the world change completely. If we had not formed close ties with them, we would not have had that trouble. But since they deceive us as our friends, we must become enemies. Having no relations with them at all is our proper and peaceful position.
The order does not call up the nation. The restraint is deliberate.
The expedition did not need a great force. There was no question of calling up all Israel now. A small body would be enough. It had to be a select company, not the bravest chosen as such, but some of every tribe had to have a part in it. It is a question of executing the LORD's vengeance on the Midianites, and the tribes would share it between them equally. Anything that brought in Israel as a whole would give the people prominence. That would defeat this identification with His name, even if it did not look like national feeling or personal revenge.
Joshua was Moses' chosen successor, yet he is nowhere in this campaign. The man sent out is Phinehas the priest.
The priest is the prominent person; and the holy instruments, the prominent means. It is a question of wiping away the stain caused by their unholy association with the enemy. So instead of a general with sword and spear, it is a priest with holy instruments who appears in the foreground. True, the sword is here; but it is not the prominent thing. And that priest is the same man who first carried out judgment on the very evil that has to be avenged here.
The order was not an easy one for the man who had to give it.
His own father-in-law was a Midianite (Exodus 3:1). So it was surely a painful responsibility for Moses to command Israel to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. Yet there is no sign that he even hesitated. He had learned that the word of the Lord is absolute and he would not question it at all.
One writer takes the words about the Lord's vengeance as pointing far beyond Midian.
The key is found in the third verse: the men are to go against Midian to execute the vengeance of the LORD upon Midian. There is another day of vengeance coming which will fall heavily upon the Gentile world. The Lord will avenge His people Israel and judge the nations for the sin they committed against them.
- Cause. Israel's own unfaithfulness caused this war. It "was not one of the wars of Canaan."
- Grace. God calls it Israel's wrong; Moses calls it the Lord's. Sin tried to separate them; grace binds them together in one shared cause.
- Reach. A share from every tribe, no more: the force stays small so the glory rests on God's name, not Israel's strength.
- Holiness. Not a general but a priest leads, carrying holy instruments. Holiness removes the stain of compromise, not military skill.
- Result. The vengeance carried out here casts a shadow of a greater day, when God will judge the nations for what they did to His people.
Of every tribe a thousand, of all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.
Israel's last campaign in the wilderness opens with a draft notice: one thousand men from each of the twelve tribes, and no more. That small, even force raises two questions. Why fight this war at all? And why did God want every tribe in it?
The fight with Midian was not part of the journey God had planned. Israel's own unholy dealings with Midian brought it on. The sword now had to clear away the stain. Commentators note that this campaign stands apart from the battles for Canaan:
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By right, the people ought not to have had any occasion to encounter it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unhallowed dealings with the uncircumcised. So although Joshua had been properly appointed to succeed Moses as leader of the people, we find no mention of him at all in connection with this war.
Friendship with the world costs more than it ever pays:
But if we fail — if we fall into idolatry, if we commit immorality with the world by giving in to its lures, if we form a friendship with the world in the desert in any way at all — we make wars for ourselves. And we gain no spiritual ground by such warfare. God has to change our relations with the world completely. If we had not formed close ties with them, we would not have had that trouble. But since they deceive us as our friends, we must become enemies.
Moses passed the order on, but he did not repeat it word for word:
When the Lord spoke, He told His servant to take vengeance for the children of Israel on the Midianites; but when Moses spoke, he told them to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. See how exactly the Lord secures His own glory, and in grace to His people! The Lord thought of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel would think of the Lord. It was one common interest — the Lord and Israel had at heart one and the same thing.
The number is small on purpose — twelve thousand men in all. They are not picked for being the bravest, but for the tribe each one represents. Every tribe carries the same share:
The expedition did not need any great force. There was no question of calling out all Israel now. A small body would be enough. It had to be a select company — not the bravest chosen as such, but some of every tribe had to take part in it. This is about taking vengeance for the Lord on the Midianites, and the tribes would share it equally between them. Anything that brought in Israel as a whole would give them prominence, and that would defeat this identification with His name — even if it did not look like national feeling or personal vengeance.
The corruption had touched the whole nation, so no tribe could stand at a distance from the answer to it:
Everything shows the character of what is done: it is Israel's vengeance, yet the Lord's none the less… Each tribe furnishes its quota and takes its part. The blow falls, swift, irresistible, decisive.
Israel's appointed leader plays no part here. The men go out under Phinehas the priest:
The priest is the prominent person, and the holy instruments the prominent means. This is about wiping away the stain caused by their unholy association with the enemy. So instead of a general officer with sword and spear, a priest with holy instruments appears in the foreground. True, the sword is here, but it is not the prominent thing. It is the priest with the vessels of the sanctuary — and that priest is the very man who first carried out judgment on the same evil that now has to be avenged.
The priest's role covers more than mercy:
Priestly work is generally connected with grace and intercession. But the holiness of priesthood also needs firm judgment of evil. So Phinehas was the right leader in this case.
In God's hands, the war Israel should never have fought became a source of gain. But fire or water had to do its work first:
But God is gracious. So, through a special application of priestly ministry, they were able not only to defeat the Midianites but to carry away much spoil… His grace shines out very brightly in the scene before us, since He actually agrees to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be judged thoroughly. In the end, the fire of judgment and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil, before God or His people could touch any part of it.
- Cause. The Midian war was self-made — the bill for friendship with the world, not a battle God had planned for Israel.
- Claim. God calls it Israel's vengeance; Moses calls it the Lord's. One interest, held in common between God and His people.
- Quota. A thousand per tribe gives all twelve an equal share. The stain touched everyone, so judging it belonged to everyone.
- Command. Not Israel's appointed leader but Phinehas the priest leads, with the holy instruments in front of the sword.
- Consequence. God turns a war they should never have fought into spoil He is willing to share — after fire and water have done their work.
And there were levied out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand by tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
Israel's last campaign under Moses does not begin with a march into Canaan but with a reckoning with Midian. Why such a small force, why the same quota from every tribe, and why this war at all?
This battle was not part of the plan. Israel's own dealings with Midian brought it on them. And the man who led it was not the one you would expect.
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By right, the people ought not to have had any occasion to encounter it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own dealings with people outside the covenant. Because of this, Joshua is never mentioned in connection with this war, though he had already been properly appointed to succeed Moses as leader of the people. The expedition is given instead to Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and he sets out with the holy instruments and the trumpets.
The command is not worded the same way twice. Watch what that difference says about the bond between God and His people.
When the Lord spoke, He told His servant to avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. But when Moses spoke, he told the people to avenge the Lord on Midian. How exactly the Lord secures His own glory, and in grace to His people! The Lord thought of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel would think of the Lord. It was one common interest — the Lord and Israel had at heart one and the same thing. They had fallen into the snare. It might have seemed that they must be separated from the Lord. But no; the link must be riveted, never to be broken.
The muster is small and even-handed on purpose. The reason lies in whose name the war is fought.
A small body would be enough. It must be a select company, not the bravest chosen as such, but some of every tribe must have part in it. It is a question of avenging the Lord of the Midianites, and the tribes would share it between them equally. Bringing in all Israel would give the nation prominence. That would spoil this identification with His name, even if it never looked like national feeling or personal revenge. Neither of those may have a place here. Everything must be done in holiness in His name. It must be the Lord's vengeance, so it is ordered in a sacred way. It was a small body to send against such a formidable people.
Another writer sees a larger judgment pictured here:
Before Israel finally takes the land, judgment will clear the way for peace. In the same way, here, before Israel crosses the Jordan, judgment falls on Midian, the sons of strife. It is the shadow of that final judgment. Everything shows the character of what is done: it is Israel's vengeance, yet the Lord's none the less. The blow falls, swift, irresistible, decisive.
The force that set out came home intact.
Now fresh victory awaited Israel in the expedition against Midian. Twelve thousand went out to war. Twelve thousand returned victorious. Not a man was lost. Yet the five kings of Midian were killed, and every Midianite as well, along with Balaam the son of Beor.
Writers apply all of this to believers today.
Suppose we fail. We fall into idolatry. We commit fornication with the world by yielding to its bait. Or in any way at all we make friends with the world in the desert. Then we make wars for ourselves, and this kind of warfare gains us no spiritual ground. God is obliged to make our relations with the world undergo a total change. If we had not formed close ties with them, we should not have had that trouble. But since they deceive us as our friends, we must become enemies. Having no relations with them at all is our proper and peaceful position.
Yet God turned the whole episode to profit.
War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it. But God is gracious. Through a special application of priestly ministry they were able to conquer the Midianites and even to carry away much spoil. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil.
- Cause. The campaign was self-inflicted. It was not one of the wars of Canaan, but the fruit of Israel's own unfaithfulness with Midian.
- Claim. God calls it avenging Israel; Moses calls it avenging the Lord. One interest, shared between God and His people.
- Company. Every tribe has a part, and no tribe takes the glory. The name honoured is His, not Israel's.
- Care. Twelve thousand marched out and twelve thousand came back. A small band faced a formidable people, and not a man was lost.
- Consequence. Friendship with the world creates wars we were never meant to fight. Yet God brings good out of evil and sends His people home with spoil.
And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand by the tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, and the holy instruments, even the alarm-trumpets in his hand.
Midian's women had lured Israel into idolatry, and the Lord now told Moses to settle accounts with Midian before he died. Moses sends out a priest to lead the war, not a soldier — and the priest carries the sanctuary's vessels and the trumpets.
This campaign stands apart from the conquest that lay ahead.
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By rights, they should never have had to face it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unholy dealings with the uncircumcised.
The wording of the chapter shifts. God speaks of avenging Israel; Moses speaks of avenging the Lord. (The ESV puts Moses' words as "to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian.")
This is a very remarkable passage. The Lord says to Moses, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites." And Moses says to Israel, "Avenge the Lord of Midian." The daughters of Midian had trapped the people by their schemes, through the evil influence of Balaam. Now they are called to clear themselves completely of all the defilement they had taken on through lack of watchfulness.
The choice of commander looks strange for a military campaign.
One thousand men from each tribe were recruited for this attack (v.5). But it was not a warrior like Joshua who led them, but "Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest" (v.6). He had shown himself faithful to the Lord. He quickly killed a man of Israel and a Midianite woman who had openly come together in the middle of Israel (Num. 25:6-8). Priestly work is usually connected with grace and intercession. But the holiness of priesthood also needs firm judgment of evil. So Phinehas was the right leader in this case.
Israel's real problem was a stain, and that shapes the whole scene.
The priest is the main figure here, and the holy instruments are the main means used. The point is to wipe away the stain caused by their unholy association with the enemy. So instead of an army officer with sword and spear, it is a priest with holy instruments who stands in the foreground. The sword is here, true, but it is not the prominent thing. It is the priest with the vessels of the sanctuary. And that priest is the very same man who first carried out judgment on the very evil that must now be avenged.
The trumpets in Phinehas' hand are not military signals only. They reach back to an earlier instruction and its attached promise.
The sons of Aaron — the priests — were to blow. And it was promised that on war in the land, God would, when the alarm was sounded, remember them and save them from their enemies.
Some see the scene reaching forward beyond Midian.
There is another day of vengeance coming which will fall heavily upon the Gentile world. The Lord will avenge His people Israel and judge the nations for the sin they committed against them. Of this the prophetic Word speaks often. That day is closely linked with Israel's restoration to the land. Then the true King-Priest will appear, like Phinehas, who was with the army of Israel (Isaiah 63:1-6; 2 Thess. 1:7-9).
The Midianites picture a danger closer to home than an army.
We fail to keep strict separation from the world. We let ourselves be drawn into alliance with it. As a result we get involved in trouble and conflict that is not really ours at all. War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it. But God is gracious. Through a special use of priestly ministry, He enabled them not only to conquer the Midianites, but to carry away much spoil.
- Cause. This war came from Israel's own unfaithfulness. It was not one of the wars of Canaan, but trouble they brought on themselves.
- Leader. The issue was defilement. So the leader is not Joshua the soldier but Phinehas the priest, who had already judged this very evil.
- Instruments. The vessels of the sanctuary, not sword and spear, stand in the foreground. Holiness comes before military strength.
- Trumpets. A priest blows them, and they carry God's promise to remember His people and save them from their enemies.
- Outcome. Grace turned a war they should never have needed into victory and spoil. Some writers see here a coming day when the true King-Priest appears.
And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah had commanded Moses, and slew all the males.
Midian never beat Israel in battle; Midian beat Israel by charm. This verse is God's answer to that, and it raises a hard question — why this war, and why so complete?
Israel's appointed wars lay ahead, in Canaan. So where did this one come from?
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By rights, the people should never have had to face it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unholy dealings with the uncircumcised.
The same thing happens when God's people make friends with the world.
Suppose there is failure. Suppose we fall into idolatry, or commit fornication with the world by yielding to its baits, or in any way at all make friends with the world in the desert. Then we make wars for ourselves, and we gain no spiritual ground by this kind of warfare. God must then change our relations with the world completely. If we had not formed close ties with them, we should not have had that trouble. But since as our friends they deceive us, we must become enemies. Having no relations with them at all is our proper and peaceful position.
These people stand for something wider than one desert tribe.
The Midianites picture a particular kind of influence the world has over the hearts of God's people. It is the fascinating, ensnaring power of the world, used by Satan to keep us from entering our proper heavenly portion. Israel should have had nothing to do with these Midianites. But in an evil hour, an unguarded moment, they were trapped into joining themselves to them. Now nothing remains but war and complete destruction.
The army went out under a priest, not a soldier.
The priest is the prominent person, and the holy instruments are the prominent means. It is a question of wiping away the stain caused by their unholy association with the enemy. So instead of a general officer with sword and spear, it is a priest with holy instruments who appears in the foreground. True, the sword is here; but it is not the prominent thing.
The man chosen had already dealt with this evil once before.
It was not a warrior like Joshua who led them, but "Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest." A man of Israel and a Midianite woman had brazenly come together in the middle of Israel, and Phinehas promptly killed them. That showed he was faithful to the Lord. Priestly work is usually linked with grace and intercession. But the holiness of priesthood also needs firm judgment of evil, so Phinehas was a fitting leader here.
The verse credits the result to God's command, and the dead include one name worth noticing.
The victory was complete, for God had ordered the battle. Israel killed the kings of Midian and every male, including Balaam the fortune-teller… Midian's name means "strife." It speaks of the spirit of quarreling and division, which God's people must judge.
The last words of the verse are the hardest. Commentators take them as a measure of how completely the evil had to go.
But God is gracious. Through a special application of priestly ministry, they were able not only to conquer the Midianites, but to carry away much spoil. In His infinite goodness, God brings good out of evil… But the evil had to be judged completely. "Every male" had to be put to death. Everyone who carried the energy of that evil had to be wiped out. And in the end the fire of judgment and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil, before God or His people could touch any of it.
For us the victory comes with a condition.
God gives a complete victory as soon as we treat them as foes: only, all that seduced must be utterly destroyed. There must be nothing spared, no concession.
- Cause. The war was avoidable. Israel fought Midian only because Israel had first befriended Midian.
- Character. Midian pictures the ensnaring pull of the world. It wins by charm, not by force, and keeps God's people from their heavenly portion.
- Leader. A priest led the army, not a soldier. Holiness in priesthood includes firm judgment of evil.
- Completeness. "Every male" died, Balaam among them. Everything carrying the energy of that evil had to go — nothing spared, no concession.
- Outcome. God ordered the battle, so the victory was total. In His goodness He brought good out of the evil itself, giving spoil to the people who had caused the trouble.
And they slew the kings of Midian, besides the others slain, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; and Balaam the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
This is a battle report. Five kings of Midian fall, and one more name closes the list: Balaam, the man hired to curse Israel. Why does the prophet who could not curse God's people die by their sword, among their enemies?
Earlier, an angel had blocked Balaam's road with a drawn sword. He pushed past it anyway.
The angel who confronted him held a drawn sword in his hand. The sword blocked his way, so you would think the meaning was impossible to miss. Yet clearly Balaam was blind to it, and he went forward to his doom, as it finally turned out. He never returned to his native land. The wealth and honour, if he ever got them, he never lived to enjoy. He fell by the sword. It was not the angel's sword, which had barred his way to Moab at the start. It was the sword of the very people he tried to curse against God's purpose, as recorded in Numbers 31:8.
After his last speech, Balaam went back "to his place." That place was not home.
When his speeches were finished, Balaam went away "to his place." This does not mean he returned to his own land. We know this because Revelation tells us that he was the one who stirred up the evils of the next chapter, and we soon find that when Moab and the Midianites were destroyed he died among them.
Where he died says something about how he had lived.
His end is noted by the Holy Spirit. When the five kings of the Midianites were slain in battle, Balaam perished with them (Num. 31:8). He was a long way from home at that tragic moment. But death found him among the bitter enemies of the people of God, and still seeking Israel's harm.
Balaam had once prayed for a good death: "Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!" Older translations say "the death of the righteous," which is how the writers below quote it. This verse answers that prayer.
Balaam hoped to die the death of the righteous. But like many others who want the same thing, he prefers to live the life of the wicked, and that is not the way to get it. He went up on purpose, for a little shameful gain, to curse a whole nation into misery and disaster — people who had never wronged him. When God turned his curse into a blessing, he whispered a cruel plot to destroy them in the king's ear, halfway through pronouncing it. But he died the death of the wicked, among the enemies of God and by the sword of judgment.
Writers put the reason for the refusal plainly: nothing had changed in him.
They were victorious and slew the kings of Midian; Balaam also was slain (verse 8). His wish, "let me die the death of the righteous," was not granted to him, for he remained in his wickedness.
Balaam's name appears with the Midianite kings because his advice brought Midian and Israel together.
Unable to help Balak destroy the people of God by curses, he taught him how to bring about their fall by corruption. Forced to speak God's mind about Israel, he had said, "Behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations!" It was this separation between Israel and the world that Balaam set out to break down. Mixing with the world in its Moabite character is the doctrine of Balaam.
This battle is more than a border war. It sets a pattern for how God deals with those who corrupt His people.
In the conquest of the Midianites we have a foreshadowing of the victories in Canaan. We also have a hint of the judgment that will fall on all who corrupt the people of God, as well as on His open enemies. Phinehas, who carried out God's judgment earlier, is fittingly the leader of the avenging army here. Balaam, the false prophet, falls here with the enemies he had advised in their corruption of Israel.
- Counsel. Balaam could not curse Israel, so he taught Balak to break down its separation from the nations. That advice is why his name is on this casualty list.
- Company. He died far from home, among Midian's kings, still working for Israel's harm. Where he died shows where his heart already lived.
- Sword. The blade he brushed past in the angel's hand met him at last in the hands of the people he tried to curse.
- Prayer. He asked for the death of the righteous and got the death of the wicked. God did not grant it, because he never left his wickedness.
- Shadow. The fall of Balaam and the five kings pictures a wider judgment on all who corrupt God's people. Phinehas, who had carried out God's judgment before, leads the army.
And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took for a spoil all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods;
Israel's army has beaten Midian. Now the soldiers gather the survivors and the property. Was that victory complete? And what had to be done with goods taken from the very people who had led Israel into sin?
This campaign was not part of Israel's journey to Canaan. One writer calls it an interruption Israel brought on itself, and notes who was put in charge of it:
This war was, we might say, not a normal one. By rights, the people should never have had to fight it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unholy dealings with people outside God's covenant. So although Joshua, the son of Nun, had been properly appointed to take Moses' place as leader of the people, he is not mentioned at all in connection with this war. Instead, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, is given charge of the expedition, and he goes out with the holy vessels and the trumpets.
Another writer draws out why friendship with such a people ends in fighting them:
Suppose we fail. Suppose we fall into idolatry. Suppose we commit fornication with the world by giving in to its bait. Suppose that in any way at all we make friends with the world while we are in the desert. Then we make wars for ourselves, and we do not even gain any spiritual ground by this kind of fighting. God then has to change our whole relationship with the world. If we had never become close to them, we would not have had that trouble. But since they deceive us while they are our friends, we have to become their enemies. Having nothing to do with them at all is our proper and peaceful position.
Israel killed every male, then gathered the survivors and the property. One commentator calls the victory complete, and finds a warning in the meaning of Midian's name:
The victory was complete, for God had ordered the battle. Israel killed the kings of Midian and every male, including Balaam the fortune-teller, and burned their cities and their army camps (vs. 6-8)… Midian's name means "strife," and it speaks of the spirit of quarreling and division — something the people of God must judge.
Sparing the women looked like mercy. It was the one thing Moses would not allow:
Moses grew angry at once. He rebuked them sharply for sparing the women, and reminded them that it was the women of Midian who had seduced the men of Israel by the advice of Balaam (vs. 14-16). Phinehas should have seen what this meant, for he had already killed the woman of Midian, and the man of Israel with her, for their corrupt relationship.
One writer states the rule that governs the whole chapter:
But God gives complete victory as soon as we treat them as enemies. The one condition is that everything that did the seducing must be completely destroyed. Nothing may be spared, and no concession made.
The cattle, flocks and goods of verse 9 could not simply join Israel's own property. Everything brought home had to pass through judgment first:
The people had been trapped by the tricks of the daughters of Midian, through the evil influence of Balaam. Now they are called to clear themselves completely of all the defilement they had picked up through lack of watchfulness. The sword must fall on the Midianites, and all the spoil must pass either through the fire of judgment or through the water of purification. Not the smallest part of the evil thing may be allowed to pass unjudged.
The two methods were matched to what each object could survive. One writer sets out the rule Eleazar gave, and what the two means stood for:
Eleazar commanded, by the word of the Lord: "Everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water." Fire and water, then, were the two means of purification.
Israel had no right to this war, yet they came home richer than they went. One writer sees God's kindness in that, and in His willingness to accept a share of what was taken:
But God is gracious. So, through a special work of priestly service, they were able not only to defeat the Midianites but to carry away much spoil. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil… His grace shines out very brightly in the scene before us, because He even stoops to accept a share of the spoil taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be judged completely… In the end, the fire of judgment and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil, before God or His people could touch a scrap of it.
- Cause. The war was not on Israel's route to Canaan; it grew out of their own alliance with Midian.
- Enemy. Midian means "strife," and stands for what must be judged rather than kept.
- Compromise. The captives spared in this verse were the very ones who had seduced Israel, and Moses refused them.
- Cleansing. Whatever came home had to pass through fire or water; nothing crossed into the camp unjudged.
- Grace. God turned a war Israel caused into gain for them, and even accepted a share of the spoil.
and all their cities in their settlements and all their encampments they burned with fire.
The war with Midian ends here, in smoke. Israel burns the settled towns and the camps alike. Two questions follow. Why was Israel fighting Midian at all? And why did nothing of Midian survive for Israel to use?
God Himself ordered this battle, and the victory was complete. Verse 10 turns from the fighters to the places — their towns and their camps. Even the name Midian points to what was under judgment.
The victory was complete, for God had ordered the battle. Israel killed the kings of Midian and every male, including Balaam the soothsayer (vv. 6-8), and burned their cities and army camps. The women, however, they took captive, along with the young children, and they carried off cattle, flocks and other possessions as plunder (vv. 9-11). Midian's name means "strife," and speaks of the spirit of quarrelling and division, which the people of God must judge.
The order comes twice, and the wording changes. God calls it Israel's vengeance. Moses calls it the Lord's. Behind both lies one aim: Israel must be clear of everything Midian had left on them.
This is a very remarkable passage. The Lord says to Moses, "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites." And Moses says to Israel, "Execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian." The people had been trapped by the tricks of the daughters of Midian, through the evil influence of Balaam son of Peor. Now they are called to clear themselves completely from all the defilement they had picked up through lack of watchfulness.
Israel had no business fighting Midian at all. Their proper place was to have nothing to do with them. These burning towns show what that friendship cost — and why nothing of Midian could be spared.
But if there is failure, if we fall into idolatry, if we commit fornication with the world by giving in to its bait, if in any way at all we make friends with the world in the desert, we make wars for ourselves. Such fighting does not even gain us any spiritual ground. God is obliged to make our relations with the world undergo a total change. If we had not formed close ties with them, we would not have had that trouble. But they deceive us as our friends, so we must become their enemies. Having no relations whatever with them is our proper and peaceful position. However, God gives a complete victory as soon as we treat them as enemies: only, everything that seduced us must be utterly destroyed. There must be nothing spared, no concession.
The towns burned to the ground, yet Israel did not come home empty-handed. Flocks, goods and captives came back with them — though Israel could not touch any of it yet.
War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it. But God is gracious; and so, through a special use of priestly ministry, they were able not only to conquer the Midianites, but to carry away much spoil. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil… But the evil had to be thoroughly judged. "Every male" had to be put to death. Everyone in whom the energy of the evil lay had to be wiped out. Then the fire of judgment and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil, before God or His people could touch a scrap of it.
The timing matters. This judgment falls just before Israel crosses the Jordan — and some writers see in it a picture of a greater judgment still to come.
One day, before Israel takes final possession of the land, judgment will clear the way of peace and destroy the "sons of tumult." In the same way here, before Israel crosses the Jordan, judgment falls on Midian, the sons of "strife" — the shadow of that final one… The blow falls, swift, unstoppable, decisive. The seed of the wicked is cut off (Ps. 37:28), while not one man of the Lord's army falls.
- Strife. Midian means "strife." These burning towns are God's answer to a people who drew Israel into sin.
- Snare. Midian's daughters trapped Israel first. The whole chapter is about clearing away every trace of that defilement.
- Sword. Israel never needed to fight this war. Friendship with the world turns friends into enemies we must fight.
- Fire. Cities, camps and spoil all passed through judgment. Nothing that seduced Israel was spared.
- Spoil. God still brought good out of Israel's failure. They carried plunder home — but only after fire and water had done their work.
And they took all the booty, and all the prey, of man and of cattle;
Verse 11 is the moment Israel's soldiers gather up everything left in Midian — people, animals and goods — and carry it back to camp. That one line raises the two questions the chapter answers: why was there a war here at all, and what may God's people do with what they take from it?
This battle was not part of Israel's calling. It grew out of their own failure.
Now this war was what we may call abnormal. By rights the people should never have had to face it at all. It was not one of the wars of Canaan. It was simply the result of their own unfaithfulness — the fruit of their own unholy dealings with the uncircumcised.
That also explains who led the campaign.
Although Joshua had been appointed to succeed Moses as leader of the people, we find no mention of him at all in connection with this war. Instead, this expedition is given to Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and he goes into it carrying the holy vessels and the trumpets... It is a question of wiping away the stain caused by their unholy association with the enemy. So instead of a general with sword and spear, it is a priest with holy vessels who stands in the foreground.
Mackintosh reads Midian as a picture of something that still works on believers today.
The Midianites are a picture of the special kind of influence the world has over the hearts of the people of God. It is the fascinating, ensnaring power of the world, used by Satan to keep us from entering on our proper heavenly portion. Israel should have had nothing to do with these Midianites. But once an unguarded moment drew them into that association, nothing remains but war and complete destruction.
The same pattern repeats in the Christian life.
Our proper business, as Christians, is to pass through the world as pilgrims and strangers... But we fail to keep that separation. We let ourselves be drawn into alliance with the world, and as a result we get involved in trouble and conflict that does not properly belong to us at all.
The plunder of verse 11 is wealth Israel would never have had if they had stayed faithful. Yet God does not waste it.
But God is gracious. Through a special use of priestly ministry, they were able not only to conquer the Midianites but to carry away much plunder. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil... His grace shines out with great brightness in the scene before us: He actually stoops to accept a portion of the plunder taken from the Midianites.
The plunder does not go straight into Israel's tents. First Israel has to deal with the defilement behind the war.
The people had been trapped by the tricks of the daughters of Midian, through the evil influence of Balaam. Now they are called on to clear themselves completely from all the defilement they had picked up through lack of watchfulness. The sword is to fall on the Midianites. All the plunder must pass either through the fire of judgment or through the water of purification. Not the smallest trace of the evil thing may pass unjudged.
The spoil never becomes private property, and the soldiers were not the only ones with a claim on it.
The Lord lays down very healthy principles about the division of the spoil... The people who had not fought were to have their share as well as those who had. It was left for David to decide that they must all share alike. That rule waited for another day. Here it was not the full grace of that day. It was a season of goodness, and nothing more.
Who supervised it, and why?
The soldiers did not take the plunder as they pleased, for it belonged to the Lord. He gave instructions to Moses that he, Eleazar and the chief fathers of the congregation should oversee how the plunder was shared. This would guard against any charge of favouritism or dishonesty.
- Cause. This war "was not one of the wars of Canaan." Israel fought it only because they had let themselves be drawn into unholy association.
- Character. Midian pictures the ensnaring pull of the world. Once it entangles a believer, nothing will do but thorough judgment.
- Grace. God brings good out of evil. Israel carries wealth home from a battle they should never have fought, and He stoops to accept a share of it.
- Cleansing. Nothing from verse 11 could be touched until the fire of judgment or the water of purification had done its work.
- Sharing. The plunder belonged to the Lord, not the soldiers. Moses and the leaders oversaw the division, and those who never fought received a share too.
and they brought to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the assembly of the children of Israel, the captives and the prey and the booty, to the camp in the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan of Jericho.
The army comes back from Midian and unloads everything it has taken in front of Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the whole assembly. The camp sits by the Jordan, across from Jericho. Why is the plunder brought to a priest? And what must happen to it before Israel may touch any of it?
Israel made this war for itself. The trouble grew out of its own friendship with Midian.
But suppose we fail. Suppose we fall into idolatry, or commit immorality with the world by taking its bait, or in any way at all make friends with the world in the desert. Then we make wars for ourselves, and this kind of fighting wins us no spiritual ground at all. God must then change our relations with the world completely. If we had not formed close ties with them, we would not have had that trouble. But they deceived us as our friends, so now we must become enemies.
The spoil is brought to a priest as well as to Moses and the people. Mackintosh says that detail explains the whole scene.
All this is clearly marked. The priest is the leading figure, and the holy instruments the leading means. The point is to wipe away the stain left by their unholy association with the enemy. So a priest with holy instruments stands in the foreground, not a general with sword and spear. The sword is here, true, but it is not the main thing.
Israel earned this war. It did not earn the plunder it brought home.
But God is gracious. So through a special use of priestly ministry, they were able not only to conquer the Midianites but to carry away much spoil. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil… His grace shines out here with amazing brightness, because He actually consents to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be judged thoroughly.
Arriving at the camp is not the same as entering it. The verse brings the spoil before the whole assembly, and two rules follow: one for using it, one for sharing it.
We also see that Jehovah lays down very healthy principles for dividing the spoil. A certain part is held back. The principle is this: Israel could use nothing that had not gone through the fire. Everything for them must pass through the searching judgement of God. Besides, the people who had not fought were to have their share as well as those who had.
Victory did not leave the soldiers clean. It left them exposed.
Israel needed purification because of the great victory God gave them over Midian. What a reminder for us today! If God has used us to do real work for Him, this is no reason for self-satisfaction, but the opposite. We then need the purification of true self-judgment by the Word of God. That keeps us from the pride that attacks soon after any victory.
The verse mentions captives. Among them were the women of Midian.
As they returned with the spoil, Moses and Eleazar went out to meet them, along with other leaders of the people (v.13). But Moses' anger was stirred at once. He rebuked them sharply for sparing the women. He reminded them that the women of Midian had seduced the men of Israel through the advice of Balaam.
Midian is more than an old enemy. It pictures something believers still meet.
The Midianites are a picture of the particular influence the world has over the hearts of God's people. It is the fascinating, trapping power of the world, used by Satan to stop us entering our proper heavenly portion. Israel should have had nothing to do with these Midianites. But in an evil hour — an unguarded moment — they were betrayed into association with them. After that, nothing remains but war and complete destruction.
- Snare. Israel's own friendship with Midian started this war. Ties never formed would have meant a battle never fought.
- Priest. The spoil goes to a priest, not a general. The issue is defilement, not conquest.
- Grace. God brings good out of an evil Israel caused. He lets them carry plunder home and even accepts a share of it.
- Fire. Nothing enters the camp unexamined. Everything passes through God's searching judgement first.
- Share. Those who stayed behind get a share too. The victors are the ones who most need cleansing from pride.