Numbers 31:1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 31:2 Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.
We know that scripture declares that vengeance belongs to the LORD…
Romans 12:19 “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
…but sometimes He uses men to accomplish that vengeance. As the Creator of all life, He alone has the right to take someone’s life.
This chapter opens with the LORD telling Moses that he was to oversee and ensure that the actions of Midian against the children of Israel were avenged. After this was accomplished, he would join the other saints of old that had preceded him in death.
Numbers 31:3 And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.
Numbers 31:4 Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.
Numbers 31:5 So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
Numbers 31:6 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.
Moses told the people to prepare for war against Midian as agents of God’s vengeance. Each tribe was to send 1000 men to form an army of 12,000 men armed for war. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, would lead the army to battle with the “holy instruments” and the trumpets (in recognition that God was their true leader).
Numbers 31:7 ¶ And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
Numbers 31:8 And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.
They did just as Moses commanded and attacked the Midianites. They killed all the males, including the five kings of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. They also killed Balaam the son of Beor. (Testimony to the fact that he had returned to Midian and was the instigator behind the strategy of luring the Israelites to idolatry by using their women to seduce the men of Israel as noted in chapter 25 and affirmed by Moses in the following verses.)
Note: King Zur was the father of the Midianite woman that was killed along with Zimri.
Numbers 25:15 “And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.”
Numbers 31:9 And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.
Numbers 31:10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
Numbers 31:11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.
Numbers 31:12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.
The army of Israel took all the women and little ones of Midian as captives. They also took possession of all their cattle, flocks and goods; but they burned down all their cities and fortresses. They took all the spoil of both man and beast. They brought all the captives, prey and spoil to Moses and Eleazar and to the congregation of the people that were camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River near the city of Jericho.
Numbers 31:13 ¶ And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
Numbers 31:14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
Numbers 31:15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.
Numbers 31:17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
Numbers 31:18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Moses, Eleazar and the seventy appointed leaders of the congregation went to meet the returning army outside the camp. Moses was very angry with the officers in charge because they had not killed all the women. He reminded the officers that it was the women of Midian that had lured the people to trespass against the LORD according to the counsel of Balaam. This had resulted in the plague that had killed so many.
Moses then instructed the officers to kill every male child and every woman that was not a virgin. The virgins could be kept alive for their own possession.
Jewish Study Bible: “Only young girls who are virgins are left alive and presumably taken captive. Since lineage was determined patriarchally, they do not pose the danger of producing Midianite sons who can avenge their fathers.”
The NIV Commentary made a pertinent observation regarding the killing of the women and male children: “The only way to understand such a ghastly command is to realize what was at stake in the story of Baal Peor. Numbers 25 records an altogether new type of sin and rebellion—one that bears within itself the threat of the doom of the nation as a whole. It was this very type of evil that finally destroyed the Hebrew kingdoms in the land. Objectively, the destruction of the women and the boys was an act of God’s mercy—for Israel. Divine judgment is sure for the nations who are a threat to the existence of God’s people or who have rejected his grace.”
I also liked David Guzik’s observation: “Christians are often tripped up by things that were a threat but they did not see them as a threat. Though most Israelites thought these women were safe, they were more dangerous to Israel than an army of mighty warriors. Israel could overcome mighty warriors if they were spiritually strong; but if they were seduced into immorality and idolatry, they would certainly fall. We often think of many things as dangerous to us as Christians - hostile government, secular humanism, academic attack, and so forth. But the things we accept in our midst as Christians that open the door to immorality and idolatry can do far more real damage than any of those other things.”
New Bible Commentary: “The wrath and vengeance of God are offensive ideas to many modern people, largely because they assume that God’s wrath and vengeance is irrational, capricious, out–of–control. But Scripture teaches that God’s wrath is revealed against man’s sin (Rom. 1:18), and, ‘vengeance is mine, I will repay’ says the Lord (Rom. 12:19). His wrath and ‘vengeance’ manifest his righteous indignation, and are not the result of bad temper.”
Numbers 31:19 And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.
Numbers 31:20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.
After all had been done according to the command of the LORD as instructed by Moses, they were to abide outside the camp for seven days—this specifically applied to anyone that had killed a person or touched a dead body. They were to purify themselves and their captives on the third and seventh days according to the established process. They were to purify all their clothing, everything made of skins and goat hair, and everything made of wood by water.
Guzik had another good observation on this section: “This is a valid principle for us to observe when Christians want to ‘plunder’ things from the world and use them for the cause of the gospel, such as music, media, and other things. But some things cannot be cleansed, and must be done away with; other things can be cleansed, and may be used by the people of God for the glory of God.”
Numbers 31:21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;
Numbers 31:22 Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
Numbers 31:23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
Numbers 31:24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.
Eleazar went on to instruct the soldiers as to the LORD’s command to Moses regarding gold, silver, brass, iron, tin and lead. Items made of these metals were to be purified by fire and with the water of separation. Anything not fireproof was to be purified with water only.
On the seventh day they were to wash their clothes, and they would then be allowed to come back into the camp.
Numbers 31:25 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Numbers 31:26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:
Numbers 31:27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
Numbers 31:28 And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:
Numbers 31:29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.
Numbers 31:30 And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.
The LORD then instructed Moses to take an inventory of all that had been taken as the spoils of war. Moses, Eleazar and the seventy leaders were to divide the spoil into two parts; one part for the men that went to war and one part for the congregation.
They were then to levy a tribute of the portion set aside for the men of war as follows: one out of every 500 people, cattle, asses and sheep. The tribute was to be given to Eleazar as a heave offering to the LORD.
For the portion assigned to the people, the tribute included: one out of every 50 people, cattle, asses, flocks and any other animals. This tribute was to be given to the Levites that took care of the tabernacle.
Numbers 31:31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 31:32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,
Numbers 31:33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,
Numbers 31:34 And threescore and one thousand asses,
Numbers 31:35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.
Moses and Eleazar did as the LORD had commanded. The total of the spoils of war included:
670,500 sheep
72,000 cattle
61,000 asses
32,000 virgin women
Numbers 31:36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:
Numbers 31:37 And the LORD’S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.
Numbers 31:38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and twelve.
Numbers 31:39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’S tribute was threescore and one.
Numbers 31:40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’S tribute was thirty and two persons.
Numbers 31:41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The half that went to the men of war included:
337,500 sheep - 675 of which were tribute to the LORD
36,000 cattle – 72 of which were tribute to the LORD
30,500 asses – 61 of which were tribute to the LORD
16,000 virgin women – 32 of which were tribute to the LORD
All the tribute was given to Eleazar as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Numbers 31:42 And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,
Numbers 31:43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,
Numbers 31:44 And thirty and six thousand beeves,
Numbers 31:45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,
Numbers 31:46 And sixteen thousand persons;)
Numbers 31:47 Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.
The half that went to the people of the congregation included:
337,500 sheep – 6,750 of which were tribute to the LORD
36,000 cattle – 720 of which were tribute to the LORD
30,500 asses – 610 of which were tribute to the LORD
16,000 virgin women – 320 of which were tribute to the LORD
All the tribute was given to the Levites as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Numbers 31:48 ¶ And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:
Numbers 31:49 And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.
Numbers 31:50 We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.
Numbers 31:51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.
Numbers 31:52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.
Numbers 31:53 (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)
Numbers 31:54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
The officers presented themselves to Moses and told him that they had accounted for every single man that had gone to war and not one of them was missing. In gratitude they had brought an offering to the LORD from the jewelry they had plundered. Moses and Eleazar accepted the offering of gold and jewels and brought it into the tabernacle as a memento of the people’s gratitude to the LORD. The offering totaled: 16,750 shekels or about 420 pounds of gold.
I think it is saying that the soldiers they had commanded had received a portion of the spoil that was not included in this offering.
Numbers 32:1 ¶ Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;
Numbers 32:2 The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,
Numbers 32:3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
Numbers 32:4 Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:
Numbers 32:5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.
The children of Israel knew that they were preparing to take possession of the land of Canaan. The people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, however, saw that the land on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead was a great place for raising livestock. So the leaders of Gad and Reuben came to Moses, Eleazar and the seventy leaders pointing out that fact. Because the land was such a good fit for them, they wanted to be given the land of Gilead as their possession.
I think it is important to note that in presenting their petition to Moses these men knew that they were actually petitioning the LORD since Moses was His delegated authority over the people.
Numbers 32:6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?
Numbers 32:7 And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?
Numbers 32:8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.
Numbers 32:9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
Moses basically said, “Do you expect your brothers to have to fight for possession of the land without you?” Don’t you know that this would discourage the rest of the tribes from taking possession of the land that the LORD had promised them? This is exactly what your fathers did when they spies came back with their report that discouraged the people from trusting the LORD to give them the land.
Guzik made a good application from this section: “Moses’ fear had a foundation. If you want to press on with the things of the Lord and go deeper and further with Him, there is a sure way to discourage that desire - start hanging around believers who are content with where they are, and who don’t want to press on with the Lord. Complacency is contagious.“
Numbers 32:10 And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,
Numbers 32:11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:
Numbers 32:12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.
Numbers 32:13 And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.
Numbers 32:14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.
Numbers 32:15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
Moses continued (my words): Because of their lack of trust in Him, the LORD was very angry with the people and swore that none of the men that were twenty years and older that had come out of Egypt would get to enjoy the inheritance that God had promised to give the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Only Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite and Joshua the son of Nun would be allowed to enter the land because they had evidenced complete faith that the LORD would empower them to take the land. Because of their unbelief, that generation was doomed to wander in the wilderness for forty years until they had all died. Now you are following in their footsteps and once again daring to invoke the LORD’s anger towards Israel. Nothing is to keep Him from destroying this generation as well if they respond with the same unbelief.
Numbers 32:16 ¶ And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
Numbers 32:17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
Numbers 32:18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
Numbers 32:19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.
The men from Gad and Reuben assured Moses that was not their intent. They would like to build and/or repair enclosures for their livestock and cities for their families; however, the men would arm themselves and join the rest of the tribes in taking possession of Canaan. They would leave their families in fenced cities as a protection against invaders, and they would not return to their families until the rest of the tribes had taken possession of the land. They just wanted to have their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan.
This was actually a great statement of faith. They were basically testifying that they knew that if they were given the promise of this land as their inheritance, they could trust the LORD to protect their families until they returned.
Numbers 32:20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
Numbers 32:21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
Numbers 32:22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
Numbers 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Numbers 32:24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
Upon hearing their answer, Moses agreed to their proposal. Their inheritance, however, was conditional. If they did as they promised before the LORD, they would be guiltless before Him and the land would be given them as requested. If they did not, they could be sure that “your sin will find you out.” (This is just one of many popular sayings that find their origin in scripture.)
Coffman adds some insight: “The meaning here is not, ‘Be sure your sins will be found out, or discovered,’ but that your sin will get to you and punish you.”
So Moses gave them permission to build the cities for their families and enclosures for their sheep.
Numbers 32:25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
Numbers 32:26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:
Numbers 32:27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.
The leaders of Gad and Reuben promised to do as Moses had commanded. They would leave their children, wives, flocks and cattle in the cities of Gilead; but the men would arm themselves and join the other tribes to fight and take possession of the land of promise.
Numbers 32:28 ¶ So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:
Numbers 32:29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:
Numbers 32:30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
Moses then commanded Eleazar and Joshua and the leaders of the tribes of Israel to give the land of Gilead to the children of Gad and Reuben if they kept their promise to help the other tribes take possession of Canaan. If, however, they did not keep their promise, they would have to accept an inheritance on the west side of Jordan. (Moses gave them this instruction because he knew he would not be around to take part in assigning the land to the different tribes.)
This is a little bit confusing to me, since it implies that these two tribes would receive an inheritance even if they did not join the other tribes in fighting to take possession of the land.
Numbers 32:31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
Numbers 32:32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.
Numbers 32:33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
The leaders of Gad and Reuben promised to do as they had promised before the LORD. They would fight with their brethren in Canaan and take their possession on the east side of Jordan. So Moses gave the tribes of Gad, Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh the kingdoms of Sihon the Amorite king and Og the king of Bashan as well as the cities on their borders and in the surrounding countryside.
It seems that half of the people of Manasseh wanted their inheritance on the east side of Jordan as well and were recognized as being represented by the leaders of Gad and Reuben.
Numbers 32:34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
Numbers 32:35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,
Numbers 32:36 And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.
Numbers 32:37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,
Numbers 32:38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
Numbers 32:39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.
Numbers 32:40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
Numbers 32:41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.
Numbers 32:42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
This section identifies the cities that were eventually built by the tribes that would take possession on the east side of Jordan. It is noted that their cities were fenced and included enclosures for the livestock.
It is also noted that Gilead was given to Machir, the son of Manasseh. The other two sons of Manasseh that inherited on the east side of Jordan were Jair and Nobah.