Audio readings: Psalm 40:1-8 Luke 8:40-56, Luke 9:1-9 Numbers 31:25-54, Numbers 32
NUMBERS 31 and 32
“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19, quoting Deuteronomy 32:35). When we read about acts of God’s vengeance in the Old Testament particularly, it has a strange ‘feel’ to it, so ingrained are we Christians about not retaliating. Jesus himself made it a key part of the Sermon on the Mount. So why is it OK here in Numbers 31 then?
If you re-read the first sentence (above), it speaks for itself: we must not take revenge on our own account because we get in the way of God’s perfect justice – it is rather like causing a commotion from the public gallery in a courtroom – it disrupts the orderly process of justice. God is the perfect judge who knows all the facts and the motives behind them; he alone in all the universe can be judge and jury, prosecutor and defence – all rolled into one. When he dispenses full judgment with its proper penalty, he does so dispassionately and impartially, taking everything into account and not taking things ‘personally’. None of us can do any of that. Therefore the only time we take part in an act of vengeance is on God’s behalf and at his command. Israel did just that.
This vengeance was in response to Numbers 25:1-3 and 8-19. We realise that Moab and Midian were acting together in attempting to entice Israel to worship other gods – by means of their women inviting some of Israel’s men to indulge in sexual immorality with them. We also learn that Balaam was responsible for putting them up to this plan and, later on, God held him responsible; what he failed to do by divination, he succeeded by a more basic method! So a token 1000 men from each tribe went into battle with the Midianites and absolutely routed them, killing every man. No-one from Israel’s side was killed at all – which is the kind of thing that can occur when the Lord is for you!
The virgin women captives were allowed to live (presumably they were no threat and they had not taken part in the earlier temptation of Israel. The remainder of the nation were put to death – which seems very harsh to our cosseted Western minds; an Eastern viewpoint would take the opposite line: to let them off without punishment would have been a gross injustice! The remainder of the spoils were divided equally, whether or not a soldier had actually fought that day; offerings were made to the Lord, followed by some freewill offerings by those soldiers who realised that their lives had been completely in God’s hands that day.
Chapter 32 describes the sudden decision by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, to claim territory on the East of the Jordan river; this land was not part of the inheritance promised previously to Israel by the Lord. This passage reminds me of the account of Lot, many hundreds of years earlier, who had chosen his new homeland simply by what seemed pleasing to the eye. We need to learn the lesson that God’s plans for us are best and are made with hidden future advantages in mind. Big decisions of this type must always be referred to God, and his guidance taken to heart – if we know what is good for us! In the case of these ‘Transjordan Tribes’, as they are now called, they left themselves in a much more exposed position from a military point of view – by not having the River Jordan as a defensive barrier.
Moses was more concerned that the withdrawal of many thousands of men would precipitate a mass rebellion amongst the whole of Israel, just as the ‘Spies’ debacle had done 40 years previously. He therefore got their assurance that the men would fight alongside their tribal brothers until all the land was subdued – before returning to their Transjordan territories. As a concession, they were first permitted to fortify some towns for their women and children. These lands were the captured territories of Og, king of Bashan, Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the land of Gilead. But all this still seems to be settling for second best! It didn’t do them any good, and it won’t do us any good either!
The Big Picture 