and they said to Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war who were under our hand, and there is not one man of us lacking.
Twelve thousand men went out against Midian, and when the fighting ended their officers counted heads and found the number unchanged. This verse is their report — and what they concluded from it matters as much as the miracle itself.
Commentators note how unlikely their report was.
The officers of the army came together to Moses (v.48). They told him they had taken a count of all the men of war who went to the battle, and found that there was not a man missing. Out of 12,000 men who had killed a tremendous number in battle, not one was lost. It was so unusual that the officers could only recognise that it was the Lord who had preserved them in the way.
The army was small, and every tribe had a share in it.
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 on the Midianites, and the tribes would share it between them equally… Twelve thousand armed men were a small body compared with a formidable people.
The unbroken ranks look even more striking once you ask why this war happened at all.
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By right, the people ought not to have had any occasion 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 those outside the covenant.
So the unbroken ranks were not a reward for good behaviour. They were kindness to people who had brought the trouble on themselves. The same writer takes it further: God let them come home loaded with spoil.
But God is gracious… so 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 here. He even stoops to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites.
Nobody told the officers to give anything. The count itself moved them, and what they brought was gold taken from the enemy.
They returned without a gap in their ranks, a striking proof of God's special goodness. The officers numbered the people and saw the mercy shown to them. So, of their own accord, they presented an offering from the spoil: 16,750 shekels in weight of gold, to make atonement for their souls before the Lord. (Num. 31:50.) They wanted to acknowledge that their lives were in God's hand, and that they owed their preservation from injury and slaughter to His care. If they had shared in this remarkable favour without acknowledging it, they might rightly have feared God's displeasure… As men, they were no better than the Midianites whom they had slain. By this action they owned it.
There is a further reason the officers reached for an offering. Under the law, every census required each man to pay a ransom price.
The occasion was "when you number them." Counting brought each man, as it were, individually before God. This was the exact moment chosen to remind them of their condition, and of their consequent need of redemption… The object is "that there be no plague." As has been said, if God notices the sinner in his sins, it must be for judgement, unless he is under the protection of atonement.
The ordinary ransom price was half a shekel of silver. Here the officers brought gold instead.
On one occasion a striking deliverance kept the people safe from the dangers of war. When they counted the men, not one was lacking. So they offered gold instead of silver for the ransom money. (Num. 31:49-54.) The apostle therefore combines the two in contrast with, or as a type of, the blood of Christ… The half shekel of silver was a plain figure of the blood of Christ. So we learn that it is that precious blood alone that can meet our responsibility to God as sinners.
- Cause — this war was not one of the wars of Canaan. It grew out of Israel's own unfaithfulness.
- Gift — twelve thousand men fought a formidable enemy, and not one was missing. The officers could only credit the Lord with keeping them.
- Counted — a census brought each man before God. God notices the sinner for judgement, unless atonement shelters him.
- Owned — no one asked them to give. They brought gold from the spoil, admitting that their lives were in God's hand.
- Ransom — the ransom money, silver or gold, was a plain figure of the blood of Christ. That blood alone meets our responsibility to God as sinners.
So we present the offering of Jehovah, that which each one hath found, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before Jehovah.
Israel's twelve thousand men have come home from the war with Midian. Their officers count them and find that not one soldier is missing. So they hand over the gold they took as plunder, and they call it an atonement for their souls.
The spoil in this verse came out of a failure. One writer sees God's kindness in what He then does with it.
War with Midian was no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil. He will make the eater give food, and the strong give sweetness. His grace shines out brightly here: He even stoops to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be judged thoroughly. 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.
A roll call produced this gift. The officers counted their men, and the numbers left them one conclusion.
After the spoil had been divided as the Lord decided, the officers of the army came together to Moses. They told him they had taken a count of all the men of war who went to the battle, and found that not a man was missing. Out of 12,000 men who had killed a tremendous number in battle, there were no casualties. That was so unusual that the officers could only recognise that the Lord had preserved them on the way.
In Israel a census always called for ransom money.
The occasion was "when you number the people." The count brought each man, as it were, individually before God. This was the exact moment chosen to remind them of their condition, and of the need of redemption that came with it. As long as sin is not dealt with, God cannot come into contact with men as they are without taking account of their guilt. His very holiness requires it. So He made this gracious provision.
The money also answered a different question from a sin offering.
This had nothing to do with sin, but with ransom, so that there might be no plague — a recognition that they belonged to God all alike, and could have no human boast in numbers, as David showed later when he brought the plague on Israel.
The wording of the offering shows what these men thought of themselves.
They wanted to acknowledge that their lives were in God's hand. They owed their preservation from injury and slaughter to His care. If they had taken this remarkable favour without acknowledging it, they would have had good reason to fear God's displeasure. God accepted their offering, and so all fear of His judgment was gone. As men, they were no better than the Midianites whom they had killed. By this action they owned it, but by it made atonement for their souls.
The same self-assessment is what lifts the gift above a thank-you present.
The blow falls — swift, unstoppable, decisive. The children of the wicked are cut off, while not a man of the Lord's host falls. They themselves, as saved sinners, recognise this in their offering. They bring it not as a mere gift out of what He had given them, but as atonement for their souls.
The usual ransom was silver. Here it is gold — armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and beads. Commentators read the change as a statement about worth.
In days of old, silver pictured the price of redemption. On one occasion gold took the place of silver. These are the two most precious metals, and they signify that the redemption of the soul is precious — that is, beyond price.
Yet the metal marked a limit too. It bought lives spared on earth, and no more.
A half shekel of silver was enough to ransom each one of the children of Israel in relation to earthly things, so that there should be no plague among them. The captains of Israel offered gold as an atonement for the sparing of the warriors' lives in their war against Midian. But neither silver nor gold could redeem a soul from eternal judgment. This called for a sacrifice of infinite value.
- Counted. A roll call put every man individually before God, and in Israel that always raised the question of a ransom.
- Kept. Twelve thousand went out; twelve thousand came back. The officers read that as God's doing, not their own skill.
- Owned. They confessed they were no better than the Midianites they had killed. Being spared called for atonement, not congratulation.
- Given. Gold replaced the usual silver, marking how costly the ransom of a soul is.
- Limited. Gold and silver could cover lives spared on earth. Only a sacrifice of infinite value reaches eternal judgment.
And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, all manner of wrought jewels.
Israel's army came home from the war with Midian without losing a single man. The officers then handed over the gold they had taken, and this verse records Moses and Eleazar the priest receiving it. Why could plunder from an enemy come near to God at all? And what did the officers think their gold was doing for them?
One writer explains how Israel came into this war, and why God still let them come home rich.
War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had brought it on themselves. But God is gracious. Through a special application of priestly ministry, they were able not only to conquer the Midianites, but also 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, since He consents to accept a portion 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, before God or His people could touch any of it.
Moses does not receive the gold alone. Eleazar the priest stands with him. One writer explains why this scene puts a priest, and not a soldier, at the centre.
All this is clearly marked. The priest is the prominent person, and the holy vessels are the prominent means. The point is to wipe away the stain left by their sinful link with the enemy. So instead of a general with sword and spear, it is a priest with holy vessels who stands 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 same man who first carried out judgement on the very evil that has to be avenged here.
The officers themselves said what the gold was for: to make atonement for their souls. That is surprising language from men who had just won. One writer sets out what they had seen and what they feared.
They returned without a gap in their ranks, a striking proof of God's special goodness. So, of their own accord, the officers counted their men and saw the mercy shown to them. Then they presented an offering from the spoil: 16,750 shekels in weight of gold, to make atonement for their souls before the Lord. They wanted to acknowledge that their lives were in God's hand. They owed their escape from injury and death to His care. If they had shared in this remarkable favour without acknowledging it, they would have had good reason to fear God's displeasure. By their offering, which God accepted, all fear of judgement was removed. As men, they were no better than the Midianites whom they had killed. By this action they owned it, but by it made atonement for their souls.
Here the ransom money is gold, where silver was the usual metal. One writer explains what that change signifies.
Silver was used as a picture of the price of redemption in earlier days (Ex. 30:11-16), and on one occasion gold was given in the place of silver (Num. 31:48-54). These are the two most precious metals, and they are used to signify that the redemption of the soul is precious — that is, beyond price. It is on this account that Peter contrasts the redemption pictured by silver and gold with the precious blood of Christ.
The verse speaks of "all crafted articles" — worked ornaments, not raw metal. Once received, they did not stay in Moses' hands.
So they brought a voluntary offering to the Lord of gold ornaments, armlets, rings and necklaces that they had taken from Midian. Since this was offered to the Lord, Moses and Eleazar brought it into the tabernacle as a memorial.
Another writer notes the same outcome, adding that the men found the preservation of the whole company to be miraculous:
When the officers returned they discovered to their great joy that they had not lost a single man. God's power had been with them and kept them in a miraculous way. They brought a magnificent offering. The gold they offered was brought into the tabernacle for a memorial.
- Failure — the Midian war was never part of Israel's proper work. They brought it on themselves, yet God brought good out of it.
- Mercy — not one man was missing, and the officers took that unbroken count as proof of God's special goodness.
- Offering — they gave the gold freely. It owned that their lives were in God's hand, and that they were no better than the men they had killed.
- Price — gold takes the place of silver here. The redemption of a soul is precious, beyond any price.
- Memorial — Moses and the priest received the gold together, and it went into the tabernacle to stay there as a reminder.
And all the gold of the heave-offering that they offered to Jehovah was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, from the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds.
This gold came from the officers of an army that had just fought Midian and come home without losing a man. The record gives its exact weight and calls it an offering to make atonement for their souls. Why would men who had just won a battle need atonement?
The gold followed a headcount taken after the fighting. The commanders drew the only conclusion they could.
After the spoil had been divided as the Lord decided, the officers of the army came together to Moses. They told him they had taken a count of all the men of war who went to the battle, and found that there was not a man missing. It was so unusual to have no casualties out of 12,000 men who had killed a tremendous number in battle. So the officers could only recognise that it was the Lord who had preserved them in the way.
Nobody commanded this gift. The officers gave it because they saw their survival as mercy.
God accepted an offering, freely given to Him, to make atonement for the warriors of Israel. They had gone out to war with Midian by God's direction. They had prospered by God's help. They returned without a gap in their ranks, a striking proof of God's special goodness... the officers presented an offering from the spoil of 16,750 shekels in weight of gold, to make an atonement for their souls before the Lord. They wanted to acknowledge that their lives were in God's hand, and that they owed their safety from injury and death to His care. If they had shared in this remarkable favour without acknowledging it, they would have had good reason to fear God's displeasure. God accepted their offering, and that removed all fear of judgment. As men, they were no better than the Midianites, whom they had slain. By this action they owned it, but by it made atonement for their souls.
The usual price of redemption was silver. Here the metal is gold.
Silver pictured the price of redemption in days of old (Ex. 30:11-16), and on one occasion gold was given in the place of silver (Num. 31:48-54). These are the two most precious metals. They were used to show that the redemption of the soul is precious — that is, beyond price. For "those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches... Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life... that he should live on forever and never see the pit." (Ps. 49:6-9.) This is why Peter contrasts the redemption pictured by silver and gold with the precious blood of Christ.
The gold did real work — it covered lives spared in a particular battle. It did not reach further than that.
A half shekel of silver was enough to ransom each one of the children of Israel in relation to earthly things (Ex. 30:12-13), so that there should be no plague among them. The captains of Israel offered gold as an atonement for the sparing of the warriors' lives in their war against Midian (Num. 31:48–54). But neither silver nor gold could redeem a soul from eternal judgment. That needed a sacrifice of infinite value.
The officers kept none of what they gave.
God's power had been with them and kept them in a miraculous way. They brought a magnificent offering. The gold they offered was brought into the tabernacle for a memorial.
Israel brought this war on itself. The gold in this verse came out of a fight that was never Israel's business.
War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had to thank themselves for it. 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. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil... His grace shines out with great brightness here, since He consents to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be thoroughly judged.
- Counted — Twelve thousand men went out, twelve thousand came back. The officers could only credit the Lord.
- Confessed — The men who were spared owned that they were no better than those they had killed. The gift said it for them.
- Costly — Gold replaces the usual silver here. The redemption of a soul is beyond price.
- Not Enough — Metal only ever covered danger in this life. Redeeming a soul from eternal judgment took a sacrifice of infinite value.
- Kept — The gold stayed in the tabernacle as a memorial: mercy received, owned, and not forgotten.
(The men of war had taken spoil each one for himself.)
Numbers 31 ends with the accounting after a campaign against Midian. This short line notes that the ordinary soldiers each kept what they took, while their officers handed gold to the Lord. Why was there plunder at all? Who did it belong to? And what separates the man who keeps from the man who gives?
Commentators note that this campaign was not one Israel should ever have had to fight. The spoil in the soldiers' hands came out of a conflict they brought on themselves.
Now, this war was what we may call abnormal. By right, the people ought not to have had any occasion 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 those outside God's people.
The same writer applies this to Christians today. A believer who drifts into alliance with the world ends up in battles that were never his to fight.
Our proper business is to pass through the world as pilgrims and strangers... But we fail to keep up this strict separation. We let ourselves be drawn into alliance with the world. As a result, we get caught up in trouble and conflict that does not really belong to us at all. War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had themselves to thank for it.
Each man had taken his own share, but no one helped himself on his own terms.
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 that might arise about favouritism or dishonesty.
God brought good out of Israel's failure, but He did not overlook the evil behind it.
God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil... His grace shines out with remarkable brightness here: He consents to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be thoroughly judged... and finally the fire of judgement and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil, before God or His people could touch a scrap of it.
One writer reads the sharing of this spoil as a picture of how the Lord rewards service today.
Everyone will share in all that has been gained in the Church by warfare for the Lord. 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. The Lord too will have His place of true recognition. He gave the victory, and He alone enables His saints for every work for Him. Yet He delights to share the spoils with all who love Him.
Why did the officers give when the soldiers kept? One writer points to what they found when they counted their men after the battle.
They returned without a gap in their ranks, a striking proof of God's special goodness. So the officers acted of their own accord. They counted the men and saw the mercy God had shown them. Then they presented an offering from the spoil — 16,750 shekels in weight of gold — to make atonement for their souls before the Lord. They wanted to acknowledge that their lives were in God's hand. They owed their safety from injury and death to His care... As men, they were no better than the Midianites whom they had killed. By this action they owned it, and by it made atonement for their souls.
In Israel, ransom money was silver. Here the officers brought gold instead, and one writer treats the change as deliberate.
In days of old, silver was a symbol of the price of redemption. On one occasion gold was given in the place of silver (Num. 31:48-54). These are the two most precious metals, and they therefore signify that the redemption of the soul is precious — that is, beyond price... This is why Peter contrasts symbolic redemption by silver and gold with the precious blood of Christ.
- Cause. Israel's mixing with Midian caused this war. The plunder in every soldier's hand came from trouble that "formed no part of Israel's proper work."
- Cleansing. Fire and water had to do their work first. God accepts spoil from the enemy, but never spoil He has not judged.
- Share. Moses, Eleazar and the leaders oversaw the division, so no one grabbed. It pictures a reward the Lord delights to share with all who love Him.
- Gift. The officers counted their men and found none missing. They gave their gold as an offering, owning that their lives were God's mercy.
- Grace. Gold stands where silver once stood. It marks a redemption beyond price, which Peter later sets against the precious blood of Christ.
And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the children of Israel before Jehovah.
The gold Moses and Eleazar carried into the tent of meeting came off a defeated enemy, handed over by the officers who had led the fight. Why did battle spoil belong inside God's dwelling, and why is it called a memorial rather than a trophy?
The ornaments came from the campaign against Midian, and the record pauses to weigh them.
So they brought a voluntary offering to the Lord — gold ornaments, armlets, rings and necklaces that they had taken from Midian (vv. 49-50). When they weighed it, it came to 16,750 shekels — about 700 pounds or a little over… They offered it to the Lord, so Moses and Eleazar brought it into the tabernacle as a memorial.
The gift followed a headcount, and the number startled the officers.
After they had divided the spoil as the Lord decided, the officers of the army came together to Moses (v. 48). They told him they had counted all the men of war who went to the battle, and not a man was missing. Out of 12,000 men who had killed a tremendous number in battle, there were no casualties. This was so unusual that the officers could only recognise that the Lord had preserved them in the way.
The officers did not treat their survival as luck. Their gold had a stated purpose: atonement for their souls before the Lord.
They wanted to own that their lives were in God's hand, and that His care had kept them from injury and death. If they had taken this remarkable favour without acknowledging it, they would have had good reason to fear God's displeasure. God accepted their offering, and that removed every fear of judgment. As men, they were no better than the Midianites, whom they had slain. By this action they owned it, but by it made atonement for their souls.
Another writer marks what the offering was not.
The seed of the wicked is cut off, while not a man of the Lord's host falls. They themselves, as saved sinners, recognised this in their offering. They gave it not as a mere gift out of what He had given them, but as atonement for their souls.
In Israel the ransom price was normally silver. This once, gold took its place.
Silver was used as a type of the price of redemption in days of old (Ex. 30:11-16), and on one occasion gold was given in the place of silver (Num. 31:48-54). These were the two most precious metals. They were used to show that the redemption of the soul is precious — that is, beyond price.
Yet the gold had a limit.
The captains of Israel offered gold as an atonement for the sparing of their warriors' lives in the war against Midian (Num. 31:48-54). But neither silver nor gold could redeem a soul from eternal judgment. That needed a sacrifice of infinite value.
The spoil now entering the sanctuary came out of a war Israel need never have fought.
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, 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 actually agrees to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be thoroughly judged.
Later in Israel's history, another leader gathered gold for a memorial. It ended very differently.
Gideon did not covet these things as Achan did, when Achan's coveting brought judgment on Israel. He was noble-hearted and unselfish, and wished to make good use of the gold. But he was impressed with a sense of his own importance, and wanted to set up a memorial of his victory at Ophrah, his native town. This memorial was to be an ephod — part of the clothing the priest wore when he stood before God for the people. Alas! all Israel looked on this ephod as a means of approach to God, and went and bowed down before it. Even Gideon and his house fell into the snare.
- Victory — God's hand won the war against Midian. The spoil proved His goodness, drawn out of a war Israel need never have fought.
- Count — twelve thousand men went out and not one was missing. Only the Lord's care could explain it.
- Confession — their gold owned that they were no better than the men they had killed. Their lives were in God's hand.
- Memorial — the gold went into the sanctuary, before the Lord. It did not become a monument in anyone's home town, where it would have turned into a snare.
- Christ — gold in place of silver marks redemption as beyond price. Yet no metal could ransom a soul. That took a sacrifice of infinite value.