Why did God command the Israelites to completely destroy the Midianites in Numbers 31:17?

The victory was complete, for God had ordered the battle. The kings of Midian were killed and every male including Balaam the soothsayer (vs.6-8) their cities and the army camps were burned. The women, however, were taken captive and the young children, and cattle, flocks and other possessions were taken as plunder (vs.9-11). Midian's name means "strife" and speaks of the spirit of quarreling and division, which must be judged by the people of God.

As they returned with the spoil Moses and Eleazar went out to meet them, with other leaders of the people (v.13). but immediately Moses' anger was aroused and he strongly rebuked them for sparing the women, reminding them that it was the women of Midian who had seduced the men of Israel through the counsel of Balaam (vs.14-16). Phinehas ought to have realized the significance of this, for he had before killed the woman of Midian as well as the man of Israel for their corrupt relationship.

Moses commanded them to kill both the young boys and all the women who had been intimate with a man, but allow the other girls to remain alive and be integrated into Israel (vs.17-18). Only in this way would any contamination be guarded against. How different is the truth of Christianity that deals in grace to lead the ungodly to judge themselves and be saved!

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 that it was surely a traumatic responsibility 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. At least the character of Jethro was not like Midian's character at this time.

We have here the closing scene of Moses' official life; as in Deuteronomy 34 we have the closing scene of his personal history. "And the Lord spake to Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered to thy people. And Moses spake to the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves to the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males" Verses 3-7.

This is a very remarkable passage. The Lord says to Moses, "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites." And Moses says to Israel, "Avenge the Lord of Midian." The people had been ensnared by the wiles of the daughters of Midian, through the evil influence of Balaam the son of Peor; and they are now called upon to clear themselves thoroughly from all the defilement which, through want of watchfulness, they had contracted. The sword is to be brought upon the Midianites; and all the spoil is to be made to pass either through the fire of judgement or through the water of purification. Not one jot or tittle of the evil thing is to be suffered to pass unjudged.

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 commerce with the uncircumcised. Hence, although Joshua, the son of Nun, had been duly appointed to succeed Moses, as leader of the congregation, we find no mention whatever of him in connection with this war. On the contrary, it is to Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, that the conduct of this expedition is committed; and he enters upon it "with the holy instruments and the trumpets."

Dr. C. complains of the destructive razzia against Midian. Midian had been the means of corrupting Israel, and leading them to idolatry, so as to lead to twenty-five thousand Israelites falling in the pestilence God sent; and that by the inexpressible wickedness of Balaam, who, when he could not curse Israel, recommended Balak to lead them into sin, and then God could not bless them. For this they were punished, and, as a settled nation there, destroyed. Dr. C. congratulates himself that he is not called on to believe it. But thus he must give up the entire Old Testament for his own notions; he must give up God's judging the world. God sent Abraham's seed down into Egypt because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. The whole history is a history of the judicial extermination of these races for their wickedness. It is a question, not of history, but of the whole ways and dealings of God in judgment. He will find it in the Psalms; he will find it in the Revelation. God presents Himself as a moral governor, and in this special case used human instruments to carry out His judgments, as He did afterwards against Israel, as He had warned them by the prophets. The whole establishment of Israel was founded on the principle rejected by Dr. C. all God's judgments are.

How evident the hand of Satan! Why should Balak seek intercourse with Israel whom we saw he hated and feared? Was it a human way of overcoming and causing their destruction? Nay, it was the wisdom of the serpent. Balaam, the emissary of the devil, instructed Moab in the art of seducing the people who were known as Jehovah's people; and he found in Israel fit material to work upon. For they were familiar with idolatry. Delivered from the land of the grossest idolatry, they carried the love of it in their hearts, and thus went back into Egypt (Num. 14:3; Acts 7:39). Now they join themselves to Baal-peor and sink lower in their idolatrous orgies than when they worshipped the golden calf at Horeb. The ignorant Moabites knew not the power behind the scenes — knew not the aim of Satan to ruin Israel? Did not Balaam know? This wretched man had gone back to his enchantments, and, after his experience of the controlling hand of God, had a more fatal knowledge of Satan's power and aim, and, in confirmed enmity against God and His people, surrendered himself a willing captive to the great enemy. He counselled Balak, and Israel fell before the seductive power of their enemy.

The daughters of Moab (Num. 25:1) drew the people to sacrifices of the idols of Moab, and so "Israel was joined to Baal-peor." In the 17th verse Jehovah said unto Moses, "Vex the Midianites, and smite them; for they vex you with their wiles wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor's sake." The Midianites seem to have been more prominent in the sin of Israel as this chapter shows. Balaam no doubt was a Midianite, and there was intimate connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At the first Balak consulted the elders of Midian, and the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the aid of Balaam and his sorceries. Midian may have been the larger section, as in this matter the more prominent. But Balak was king of both. Be this as it may, the judgment of Jehovah is here upon the Midianites. Moses says (Num. 31:15) after the slaughter of Midian, "Have ye saved all the women alive? behold these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor." But the daughters of Moab were also in the sin (Num. 25:1). Again, we hear the command, "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites." Why not of the Moabites? Then the destruction of Moab would, as that of Midian, have been complete. But God had said that Israel should not molest Moab (Deut. 2:9); and therefore judgment here does not fall upon Moab proper, but does fall unsparingly upon Midian. Is not this an instance of the discriminating judgment of God, Who will have mercy upon whom He will? And since Balaam, the Midianite, counselled the Moabite king, was not the judgment upon them most just?

War is commanded next by the Lord. The Lord said to Moses, "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites; afterward shalt thou be gathered to thy people." This is, therefore, the last thing in the official life of Moses. This war against Midian had been commanded before (25:16-18), the execution had been delayed. It was now to be carried out and the Midianites were to suffer for the wicked thing they had done to Israel by seducing them to the idolatrous worship of Baal Peor. Phinehas, the high priest, accompanied the army of 12,000 men. 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 unto him, for he remained in his wickedness.

The moral of all this is, at once, plain and practical. The Midianites furnish a type of that peculiar kind of influence which the world exerts over the hearts of the people of God — the fascinating and ensnaring power of the world used by Satan to hinder our entrance upon our proper heavenly portion. Israel should have had nothing to do with these Midianites; but having, in an evil hour — an unguarded moment — been betrayed into association with them, nothing remains but war and utter extermination.

So with us, as Christians. Our proper business is to pass through the world, as pilgrims and strangers; having nothing to do with it, save to be the patient witnesses of the grace of Christ, and thus shine as lights in the midst of the surrounding moral gloom. But, alas! we fail to maintain this rigid separation; we suffer ourselves to be betrayed into alliance with the world, and, in consequence, we get involved in trouble and conflict which does not properly belong to us at all. War with Midian formed no part of Israel's proper work. They had to thank themselves for it. But God is gracious; and hence, through a special application of priestly ministry, they were enabled, not only to conquer the Midianites, but to carry away much spoil. God, in His infinite goodness, brings good out of evil. He will cause the eater to yield meat, and the strong sweetness. His grace shines out, with exceeding brightness, in the scene before us, inasmuch as He actually deigns to accept a portion of the spoils taken from the Midianites. But the evil had to be thoroughly judged. "Every male" had to be put to death — all in whom there was the energy of the evil had to be completely exterminated; and finally the fire of judgement and the water of purification had to do their work on the spoil, ere God or His people could touch an atom of it.

In Numbers 31 we resume a little history. Moses was not to pass off the scene until the Midianites, which included Moab, were destroyed. The normal path of Israel was to pass peacefully through these peoples that dwelt in lands on the fringe of the land of promise, just as the normal path of a Christian is to be an inoffensive pilgrim on his heavenward way. But here were the people that had seduced Israel to fornication, which is a figure of that unholy intercourse and alliance with the world-system which is such a danger to the Christian. In our chapter, death fell upon every male and only the youngest females were allowed to live. Balaam died also. A portion of the spoil had to be offered to the Lord.

At the outset of his prophecy Balaam had declared the separation of Israel from all nations. Now comes the diabolical effort of this evil man to defeat his own words by seducing them into alliance with Moab. He did not succeed of course in defeating God's purpose, but he did seduce many, and so brought condign punishment upon them. There was a display of grief on the part of those not involved in the sin, as we see in verse 6, and of zeal for the glory of God, as displayed by Phineas. Not only did twenty-four thousand of the people die, but it brought a sentence of death on the Midianites at the hand of Israel.

Thus He "who has the sharp sword with two edges" said to Pergamos, "I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication" (Rev. 2:14). A fresh phase of the diabolical conspiracy of Balaam and Balak against Israel is here exposed. These men had zealously striven to array the forces of earth and Hell against the people of God, and their efforts had been turned to confusion by Israel's faithful Jehovah. The episode concludes in Num. 24:25 thus: "Balaam rose up and went and returned to his own place; and Balak also went his way." But before the soothsayer left his disappointed patron, he apparently made a vile suggestion to him. If Jehovah could not be turned away from His people, perhaps the people could be turned away from Jehovah! Balaam knew enough of God to be sure that if the people of Israel could be tempted into sin Jehovah's hand would come down upon them in judgment. Thus we read in Num. 25:1-2: "Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods." Balak was recommended by Balaam to bring out the women and girls of Moab, and thus cast a snare before the all too frail people of Jehovah! Moses became aware of this later, for he referred to it when reproving the people for sparing all the women after a campaign against Midian. "Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of Jehovah" (Num. 31:15-16). The record in Num. 25:1-9 is painfully solemn; a great lesson is here which we must not miss. As surely as Balaam sought to mingle the people of God with the ungodly in a by-gone age, the teachers of the doctrine of Balaam have laboured to mingle Church and world together in our own era and they have been sadly successful. History is continually repeating itself. Satan first endeavours to destroy, then, finding this impossible he seeks to corrupt, for a pure testimony for God in the earth is abhorrent to him.