Num 31:1-12 | KingComments | STEP | Moses gets his last task here. Before the people can take possession of the blessings of the land, the people must take the LORD’s vengeance on Midian. The evil connections with these enemies must be broken, otherwise the blessing cannot be enjoyed. These connections are wicked in God’s eye and form an obstacle to His blessing. God does not allow His servant Moses to leave the world until he has seen the full revenge. We also see here that a servant is not taken away until after his task has been completed. Midian is a brother people. He also descends from Abraham, but his mother is Ketura ( ). They are neighbors of Moab and have connected themselves with them to destroy Israel ( ). On that basis God has pronounced His judgment on them ( ) and now let it be executed by His people. It is good to say again that the people of God have different kinds of struggles to fight. One of those kinds is the struggle against Amalek. This is a defensive struggle that takes place in the wilderness. This struggle represents for us the daily struggle against which surrounds us in the world in which we live. Another kind of struggle is against the Canaanites. This is a struggle of attack, which takes place in the land to conquer it. This struggle represents the struggle we have to fight to master the spiritual blessings God has given us. Here it is the struggle against Midian. This is a struggle of attack, which takes place in the wilderness. But there is a difference with the fight against Amalek. The fight against Amalek is inevitable. The one against Midian could have been prevented, but has become necessary because of the people’s own unfaithfulness. The people had connected with that enemy as a result of the teachings of Balaam. It does happen that we have become enemies of the world because we have maintained friendly relationships with her. That friendship has become a trap for us. Nevertheless, God gives us a complete victory as soon as we start to regard the world as hostile. However, everything that has seduced us must be completely destroyed, without compromise. This is what we also find in professing Christianity, for example when a Christian does not reside in the world as a stranger, but mixes with it, often with nice but unbiblical motives. We can have fun with the people of the world. But where is the limit? When we become aware that we have gone too far, we notice how much effort it takes to get rid of it. If we have gone into something where we don’t belong, it requires struggle to get out of it. That would not have been necessary if we had remained faithful.

‏ Numbers 31:1-12

Command to Take Vengeance on the Midianites

Moses gets his last task here. Before the people can take possession of the blessings of the land, the people must take the LORD’s vengeance on Midian. The evil connections with these enemies must be broken, otherwise the blessing cannot be enjoyed. These connections are wicked in God’s eye and form an obstacle to His blessing. God does not allow His servant Moses to leave the world until he has seen the full revenge. We also see here that a servant is not taken away until after his task has been completed.

Midian is a brother people. He also descends from Abraham, but his mother is Ketura (Gen 25:1-2). They are neighbors of Moab and have connected themselves with them to destroy Israel (Num 22:4 ; Num 25:1-15). On that basis God has pronounced His judgment on them (Num 25:16-18) and now let it be executed by His people.

It is good to say again that the people of God have different kinds of struggles to fight. One of those kinds is the struggle against Amalek. This is a defensive struggle that takes place in the wilderness. This struggle represents for us the daily struggle against which surrounds us in the world in which we live. Another kind of struggle is against the Canaanites. This is a struggle of attack, which takes place in the land to conquer it. This struggle represents the struggle we have to fight to master the spiritual blessings God has given us.

Here it is the struggle against Midian. This is a struggle of attack, which takes place in the wilderness. But there is a difference with the fight against Amalek. The fight against Amalek is inevitable. The one against Midian could have been prevented, but has become necessary because of the people’s own unfaithfulness. The people had connected with that enemy as a result of the teachings of Balaam.

It does happen that we have become enemies of the world because we have maintained friendly relationships with her. That friendship has become a trap for us. Nevertheless, God gives us a complete victory as soon as we start to regard the world as hostile. However, everything that has seduced us must be completely destroyed, without compromise.

This is what we also find in professing Christianity, for example when a Christian does not reside in the world as a stranger, but mixes with it, often with nice but unbiblical motives. We can have fun with the people of the world. But where is the limit? When we become aware that we have gone too far, we notice how much effort it takes to get rid of it. If we have gone into something where we don’t belong, it requires struggle to get out of it. That would not have been necessary if we had remained faithful.

Who Should Go to the War

The LORD speaks of the vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites (Num 31:1). When Moses speaks of it, he speaks of the LORD’s vengeance (Num 31:3). A small part of the people must fight the enemy so that it is clear that God has given them victory (cf. Jdg 7:2). The whole people, every part of them, must have a share in that struggle. Each tribe furnishes the same number of men.

The leader is not Joshua but Phinehas, the priest. The circumstances of the failure of the people require that. A priest is the leader of this battle because this battle must work the cleansing of the defilement that has come over Israel through the connection with Midian. Phinehas leads the battle because he has already distinguished himself before in the battle against Midian (Num 25:7-8). He has already used his sword once to judge Midian. If we let ourselves be carried away, away from God, and we want to go back, then Phinehas must be in front, with the sword. He is the man who knows the holiness of God.

Phinehas knows that the victory must come from the LORD. Therefore he has the trumpets with him, that the LORD may hear them (Num 10:9). Priests can sound the alarm and seek God’s help in this necessary battle. By “the holy vessels” are probably meant the trumpets. The fact that they are mentioned after mentioning the holy vessels means that “the trumpets” are a more detailed description of these holy vessels. It seems unlikely that “the holy vessels” mean for example the Urim and the Thummim (Exo 28:30), because Phinehas was not yet high priest.

The Battle and Its Outcome

All men are killed. That not all the people have been killed we see later, when Midian is again a formidable enemy of the people (Jdg 6:1-3). The five kings are heads of Midian tribes. In Numbers 25 Zur is called “head” (Num 25:15), and in Joshua 13 speaks of “chiefs” (Jos 13:21).

Also Balaam cannot escape judgment. His name is associated with that of the five kings. It seems that he was their advisor. He falls with the enemies of God’s people with whom he has joined. He has wished to die the death of the upright (Num 23:10), but he has continued to live in his wickedness. He did not want to join the people of the righteous. What he is separated from in his life, he is separated from in his death and will remain so forever.

In His grace God gives His people a great victory with much spoil. He fights for His people, because His honor is involved. If we are dragged along by false influences, it also involves God’s honor.