Scripture: Numbers 31.
Other names: Vengance on
the Midianites and Moabites.
Campaign: Wilderness
Bible Timeline: Red Sea Crossing – Wilderness –
crossing into Canaan.
Geography: Midian, Western Arabia, east of the
Gulf of Aqaba.
Belligerents:
Israel
Midian
Forces an leaders:
Israel: Moses; Phineas, priest of
the Army of Israel.
Midian: kings Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba; sorcerer Balaam.
Biblical personalities: Eleazar the priest of Israel.
The events leading up to the war on Midian (Numbers
22-30) are actually complex and take up quite a narrative in
Scripture.
BALAAM'S PROPHECIES
After the campaign east of the Jordan King Balak’s kingdom
was the last obstacle before the Promised Land. They were terrorized by the
Hebrews due to their victories and their sheer numbers. Balak sent for Balaam,
a Midianite sorcerer to put a curse on Israel. Prophets for hire was quite
common in antiquity. Whether in house or from outside, these men were brought
in for regents to understand the will of their own gods and to curse enemies,
particularly treaty breakers. God showed up to Balaam in the middle of this
process and persuaded him not to and to bless them instead.
Paradoxically, Balaam can be considered a true prophet in
the traditional Biblical sense despite his initial intentions.
In a series of messages Balaam then prophecied the
destruction of: Moab, Sheth, Edom, Seir, Amalek, the Kenites by Ashur. He also
predicted invasion by powers from the Mediteranean sea which would at first be
victorious against Ashur and Eber, but which would eventually also be defeated.
It seemed
God was showing that whoever settled in this promised land would be destroyed
by
(a) Israel,
(b) by each
other or
(c) by
forces from far away lands.
The land of
Canaan was reserved, set aside, holy, (and wholly) for the Hebrews and so it
would be. As Israel was poised to finally invade Canaan, the future boundaries
for the land were determined.
(Deuteronomy 3:8-29)
With these
reports from Balaam, King Balak returned home.
ISRAEL GONE SOUTH
While in Shittim, The Israelites returned to
the depravity of worshiping Baal and sexual sin. They were in sin with the
Midianite women which were sent by Balaam. The sexual contact was a point of contact
for Satan in the guise of Baal of Peor (the local deity). Another point of contact
was the eating of meat sacrificed and dedicated to that deity.
The spiritual rebellion resulted in Moses
purging of a great part of the camp and then a plague that killed off 24,000
people.
God then instructed Moses to recruit fighters
against Midian in holy revenge because they had shown themselves to be enemies.
The instructions were specific to wipe them out.
The NEW ARMY of ISRAEL
The Army was ready and
better than ever its strength in number was maintained while its
fighting ability was no doubt better. The previous generation had come running
out of
Egypt.
This generation had come fighting into the wilderness
which had served as an anvil to forge a
formidable fighting force. This, however, was not a testament to the success of
the people but only to God’s grace. The previous generation was to take Canaan
with minimal force but cowered under bad reports from spies (Hormah). This generation was worthy for War because
the destiny ahead of it was war, but this was not God’s preferred destiny.
Nevertheless,
here they were and the last bastions before Canaan was ready to be
toppled.
The priest
Eleazar instructed the men to clean themselves before returning to the camp
following the provisions in Leviticus.
AFTERMATH
Moses told the people to split the plunder they
had taken from the Midianites. The wealth was to be distributed to the people
and soldiers. A portion to be turned over to Eleazar as a tax to God and
another part to the Levites, who were the priests in charge of the Tabernacle
and, altar, the temple.
The plunder taken by the Israelites was: 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000
donkeys and 32,000 virgins women.
This was the last main task God had for Moses
before his death. Moses was loyal until the end. Even after his great letdown
of being barred from Canaan and God having refused his further pleas, Moses was
still obedient to the end. Moses died and was buried at Mount Nebo.
One of the general rules of war is that one
wins by destroying the enemy, not by taking territory. Taking enemy positions
are only valuable insofar as they serve to ultimately accomplish the final
destruction of one’s enemy.
Disregarding the Lord’s instructions, the
people failed to destroy all the Midianites at first but then settled on
killing all the Midianite women who had slept with the Hebrew men. The rest
they were allowed to keep for themselves. This was not God’s initial wish. The
fact that Israel had control of the land did not matter in the long run as
Midian would continue to be a thorn in nation’s flesh years later.
After the battle a tithe from the huge plunder collected from the
officers and brought into the tent.
The Hebrews had not even invaded Canaan, they
had not even began their official history, and we already see this pattern
where, at some point after a victory, they go back to where they had come from.
Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.
42 years earlier they had been at the entry
point to the promised land, where God had originally intended for them to
invade, and they grumbled and wanted to return to Egypt. Now, after the
resulting 42 years sojourn in the wilderness,
they were again at another entry point into Canaan. God wanted them to
clear their past before moving forward.
The people were seduced by the Midianite
worshippers, partially because of Balaam but it was always their choice. This
happened during a period when they were being edified by further instruction
which God was proclaiming through Moses. It was, in a way, a period of
repentance. Just as they crawled out of the last hole they willingly went into,
Satan, relentlessly led the Hebrews into sexual depravity. When God works on
one end, Satan often works on the other, especially when he knows that the
people can be turned, as was unfortunately often the case with the Hebrews. If
only the people had not given into their flesh the Devil would never win.
CLEANING HOUSE
After the cleaning of the camp by Moses’ there
was disease that attacked the people. It seems like those who did not keep holy
had to die before entering the Promised Land.
This had happened before the wilderness, when
the spies had been sent out. When the people had rebelled they had to die out
in the wilderness before the new generation was allowed into the promised land.
Before that, in Egypt, the people that did not
show themselves ready for the exodus and disregarded Moses’ instruction
regarding the Angel of Death also suffered.
It is clear that while God does not send
calamity on to his people, He Will not take them into the next level if they do
not show themselves approved and are not prepared for it.
The Midianites were very far south and far away
from even the future frontiers of Israel. Their existence could not,
militarily, consistute an enemy threat behind the lines. The fact that God had
the clear intention in wiping out Midian shows His great priority in keeping
any unholiness far from his chosen people
GOD is the SAME YESTERDAY
On looking
at the results of the second census, it is remarkable to see that there is but a negative 0.3% change in total.
The Levis were not counted. Perhaps if they were the change may have even been
0%. This statistic is a testament to God’s grace. In the natural it would be impossible
to appreciate these results any other way. God effectively waited until the
number of people were replenished to the original level that was intended to
cross into Canaan.
The
leadership too did not remain vacant. Since Moses had disqualified himself from
entering into the land (because of the Waters of Meribah), God made sure the new generation
had a new leader in Joshua.
God’s
promises cannot be reversed. He will wait as long as it takes for them to come
to pass, even if we are the reason they don't. He has all the time in the
world. He created time.
If a person
does not take up the mantle given to them God always finds someone who does. In
this case He found an entire new generation to replace the previous one and a
new leader for it. God looks at the heart, not at the outside (1 Samuel 16:7). He prioritizes faith,
not people (Romans 2:11).
HALF the BATTLE
God could have ordered the destruction of the
Midianites at any point but He didn’t. It was not until they proved a real
threat to His people that he commanded them to attack. God does not condone
excess of zeal in conquest but He will not tolerate the pollution of the
holiness He has commanded His people to keep by an outside population under the
influence of Satan through Baal.
It is said
that there is no such thing as half a battle won. By not eradicating the
Midianites completely, Israel once again left the door open to social and
military grief later in their history. Half obedience is disobedience. This was
the same attitude King Saul later had which was an early sign of his downfall.
The men had fought their enemy, Midian. Many
had fought for victory. By not carrying through with the completion of their
strategic objective the survivors had dishonoured:
a)
The Lord their God.
b)
Their fallen comrades.
c)
Their country.
Moses was great military leader because he
followed orders. He used his natural abilities the best way he knew but he had
always left the overall strategy to the Father.
The SPIRIT of the OFFERING
As Christians we
fully expect God to return to us what we give. Our own offering is a part of
the blessing we have inherited from Abraham because it:
(a) affirms that we are in the blessing and
(b) initiates the process by sowing seed.
We had nothing to give God in return for his
sacrifice of Jesus except our worst: our sin. God loved us so much that he gave
his only son for nothing except for us. The application is that we should give
to God what is precious to us. When we do that we trust God and we have faith.
For someone with $10 to give $5 is precious. Incidentally, although giving up a
habitual sin is not an offering the principle is similar. We give up a sin
trusting God that we will have something fart better in return.
ON LOCATION
Wilderness of Paran facing East. Mount Seir range visible, beyond which the Israelites marched southward to attack the Midianites.
Military
outpost near Jordanian border just north of Eilat. A few kilometres beyond the plateau was Joshua’s axis of advance
Port of Aqaba in Saudi Arabia (Midian) with oil tanks visible beyond the first mountain range.
TIMELINE
All timeline dates prior to 664 BC are based on Rohl’s New Chronology. Refer to our chapter “Chronological Discrepancies” for clarification.
