What I Noticed Today (Numbers 31-32)
Numbers 31
Numbers 31 describes the Holy war directed by God between Israel and Midian.
In verses 1-6, the Lord told Moses to execute vengeance for the Israelites against the Midianites. This would be Moses’ last campaign; afterward, he would die.
- Moses ordered 1,000 men from each tribe, 12,000 total to prepare for war.
- The soldiers went with Phineas, son of Eleazar, who had the Lord’s holy objects and signal trumpets.
Note: The army was led into battle by Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the priest, and vessels from the sanctuary. In this way the Lord was going in front, leading the army into battle.
In verses 7-12, the men engaged in battle with the Midianites:
- 1,000 men from each tribe went up against the Midianites and conquered them all.
- Along with the list of kings that were killed, Balaam the prophet was singled out. Balaam, the man who had just a short time before, had God speak through him, had ultimately decided to reject God!
- The Israelites took the Midianite women and children captive, plundered their flocks and property, and burned all the cities.
In verses 13-18, Moses and Eleazar went to meet the returning Israelite soldiers:
- Moses was angry with the commanders of the army because they let the Midianite women live.
- He reminded them that it was the Midianite women who had acted treacherously and led many of their men away from God. This had brought God’s judgment in the form of the plague that killed 24,000 people (Numbers 23-24).
- Moses ordered all the male children and women who had had sexual relations killed. The young virgin women were allowed to live.
In verses 19-24, the men and spoils of war had to be cleansed:
- All of the men who had killed a person or touched a dead body were ceremonially unclean and must remain outside the camp for seven days and be purified. All their garments, leather, and articles of wood also had to be purified before they could be allowed back inside the camp.
- Eleazar instructed the soldiers to pass all the metals (gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead through the fire and it would be clean. It was then to be purified with the purification water.
- Anything that cannot withstand the fire must be washed, and it will be clean.
In verses 25-47, the spoils of war are distributed amongst the tribes:
- The spoils of war were divided up according to a precise formula determined by the Lord.
- Half of the spoils were to go to the army and half to the people.
- From the army, one in every 500 animals and people were to be the Lord’s, and from the people’s share, one in 50 were to be the Lord’s.
In verses 48-54, when the commanders realized not one of the Israelites had been killed in the battle, they recognized God’s protection and brought a freewill offering of gold and other jewelry.
- Moses and Eleazar received the offering, and it amounted to 420 pounds of gold.
- They brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial before the Lord for His faithfulness and blessing upon the Israelites.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- There are those that no matter what we do or say will reject God. Balaam witnessed his donkey speaking, saw the angel of the Lord, and had God himself speak through him, yet he remained resolute in his unbelief. We cannot control someone else’s decision to believe in and follow our Lord and Savior. We can, however, make sure they hear the Word and have the opportunity to come to a saving knowledge of Christ!
Numbers 32
Numbers 32 describes the conversation between the leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and Moses. The people of Reuben and Gad like the land of Jazer and Gilead because it is suitable for all their cattle, and persuade Moses to let them have this land as their inheritance.
In verses 1-5, the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, Eleazar, and the Israelites leaders asking that the land they were in (the Transjordan) be given to them as an inheritance.
Note: the places described in Numbers 32:3 all lie between the Arnon River in the south and the Jabbok River in the north.
In verses 6-15, at first Moses accused them of not wanting to go to war to help their brothers take the Promised Land and sinning like their forefathers by discouraging others from taking the land the Lord had promised them.
In verses 16-32, the Gadites and Reubenites promised to help all the other tribes settle in their territory first and then return to their land. They would build pens for their livestock and place their families in the fortified cities and then help their brothers take the Promised Land.
- Moses agreed with their plan on the condition that they help the rest of the tribes gain their possession. He told Eleazar that if they helped the Israelites take possession of Canaan, they could have the land east of the Jordan, but if they did not then, they must accept land in Canaan.
In verses 33-38, Moses allotted to Gad Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh the land west of the Jordan River that had belonged to the Amorite kings Sihon and Og:
- The Gadites occupied the area that had belonged to Sihon.
- The half-tribe of Manasseh occupied the land north of the Gadites.
- The Reubenites occupied the land to the south of Gad.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
