and sixteen thousand human persons,)
Numbers 31 closes with an inventory of the spoil taken from Midian, and a count of captive people closes the list of the congregation's share. Commentators ask why God wanted the plunder counted at all, and what became of these sixteen thousand people.
One writer reads the campaign and its division of goods as a picture of something still ahead:
Next, in the conquest of the Midianites, we have a foreshadow of the victories in Canaan, and also a hint of the judgment that will fall on all corrupters of the people of God as well as on His open enemies... The spoil is divided. What wealth comes to the saints of God in connection with the judgment on their enemies!
The spoil came from a war Israel should never have had to fight:
War with Midian was no part of Israel's proper work. They had to thank themselves for it. But God is gracious; and so, through a special application 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 with exceeding brightness in the scene before us, since He actually stoops to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be thoroughly judged.
The soldiers who captured these people and herds had no say in what happened to them:
The soldiers did not take the plunder as they pleased, for it belonged to the Lord. He told Moses that he, Eleazar, and the chief fathers of the congregation should supervise how the plunder was shared. This would guard against any charge that might arise about favouritism or dishonesty.
Two rules governed the division. Nothing could enter Israel's use untested. And the men who never marched still received a share.
Further, we see that Jehovah lays down most wholesome principles about the division of the spoil. A certain reserve is made. The principle is this, that nothing could be used by Israel which did not go through the fire. All for them must pass through the searching judgment of God. Besides, the people who had not fought were to have their share as well as those who had. It was reserved for David to decide that they must all share alike. That rule waited for another day. But here it was not according to the full grace of that day. It was a season of goodness, and nothing more.
This count of captives belongs to the half that went to Israelites who never marched to war. Commentators read that as a pattern for how the Lord shares out the results of all service:
All that has been gained in the Church by warfare for the Lord will be shared by all. Those who are foremost in the battle — apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and so on — will receive a full reward. Those less prominent will not be forgotten. And the Lord too will be given His place of true recognition. He gave the victory, and He alone enables His saints for every work for Him. But He delights to share the spoils with all who love Him.
One in every fifty of the congregation's share — people and animals alike — passed to the men who guarded the tabernacle, God's tent of worship. One writer traces a group of later temple servants, the Nethinim, back to that transfer:
The word would seem to mean "those that are given"; and it has been concluded that they were of another race, but had been given originally to the Levites for their service... And traces of such are found in two Scriptures. In Numbers we read, about the spoil taken from the Midianites, "From the people of Israel's half Moses took one of every fifty, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses."
- Victory — the war wiped out the people who had corrupted Israel. It pictures a judgment still to fall on all corrupters and open enemies of God's people.
- Grace — Israel should never have needed this war. God accepted a share of its plunder, bringing good out of their own failure.
- Tested — nothing counted here could be used until it passed through fire. God's searching judgment came before any enjoyment.
- Shared — those who stayed home received as much as those who fought. The Lord shares the fruit of service with all who love Him, prominent or not.
- Given — one in fifty of this half, these captives included, went to the men who guarded the tabernacle. Former enemies became "given ones" in God's house.
... of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, of man and of cattle, and gave them to the Levites who kept the charge of the tabernacle of Jehovah; as Jehovah had commanded Moses.
Israel has come home from the war with Midian, and the plunder is split in two — half for the soldiers, half for everyone who stayed behind. Out of the people's half Moses takes one of every fifty and gives it to the Levites, which raises a question: why do men who never drew a sword get a share?
Commentators trace this plunder back to Israel's own failure with Midian. The remarkable thing is not the victory but what God does with the proceeds.
But God is gracious; and so, through a special application 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 very brightly here, because He consents to accept a share of the spoil taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be fully judged... the fire of judgement and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil first. Only then could God or His people touch an atom of it.
God takes a slice out of each half before anyone keeps anything. The soldiers gave up one in five hundred; the people gave up one in fifty.
The plunder was to be divided in two parts, one for those who went to battle, the other for the rest of the congregation. From the share given to the men of war, a tribute was to be taken: one of every 500 persons, and the same of the cattle, donkeys and sheep. It went to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord.
The two deductions are not a tax for religious overheads. Both portions go to men whose whole life was the service of the tent of God, and that is how God's own share is expressed.
He chooses whom He will for the war, and He honours them. But He will also honour, in their place, those He has left behind by His sovereign will. They faithfully carried out the task given to them — perhaps a less demanding one — and they did it according to His will. God Himself is also recognised there in the Levites and the priests.
The verse gives both people and animals to the Levites. One writer sees in this the origin of a class of temple servants named later in Israel's history, whose very name means gift.
The word would seem to mean "those that are given;" and it has been concluded that they... were of another race, but had been given originally to the Levites for their service, even as the Levites — only these by divine command, and in the place of the firstborn of Israel — had been given to Aaron for the Lord's service in His tabernacle. And traces of such are found in two scriptures... We also find that Joshua said to the Gibeonites, "Some of you shall always be slaves, cutting wood and drawing water for the house of my God."
Half the spoil went to people who had not fought. Commentators note that this generosity still stopped short of the rule a later king would lay down.
Besides, the people who had not fought were to have their share as well as those who had. David was the one who later decided that they must all share alike. That rule waited for another day. But here it was not according to the full grace of that day. It was a season of goodness, and nothing more.
The verse ends by tying the whole division back to the Lord's command.
The soldiers did not take the plunder as they pleased, for it belonged to the Lord. He instructed Moses that he, Eleazar and the chief fathers of the congregation should supervise how the plunder was shared. This would guard against any charge of favoritism or dishonesty.
This division of spoil says something about reward for service today.
All that has been gained in the Church by warfare for the Lord will be shared by all. Those who are foremost in the battle — apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and others — will receive a full reward. Those less prominent will not be forgotten. The Lord too will be given His place of true recognition. He gave the victory, and He alone enables His saints for every work for Him. But He delights to share the spoils with all who love Him.
- A shared failure — the war came out of Israel's own unfaithfulness. God still brought good out of it, and took a portion of the spoil for Himself.
- A judged share — nothing could be shared until fire and water had done their work. Grace never skips the judging of evil.
- The Lord's share — a tribute came off each half: one in five hundred from the soldiers, one in fifty from the people. In the priests and Levites, God Himself took His place.
- The servants' share — the men who guarded the tabernacle lived off a victory they never fought for. People and animals were "given" to them.
- Everyone's share — those who stayed behind still received. Full equality waited for David, and today reward reaches the quiet worker as well as the foremost.