Bird's-eye view
This chapter records the execution of a holy war, a formal act of covenantal judgment against the Midianites. This is not a simple border skirmish or a war for territory; it is described as "Yahweh's vengeance." The reason for this severe judgment is found in the preceding events, specifically the apostasy at Baal Peor (Numbers 25). There, through the wicked counsel of the prophet-for-hire Balaam, the Midianites successfully used their women to seduce the men of Israel into sexual immorality and idolatry, a tactic that brought a devastating plague upon God's people. This was a direct spiritual and cultural assault on the covenant community, a deliberate attempt to corrupt Israel from within. God, therefore, commands this war as a righteous and necessary act of retribution. It is a judicial sentence carried out by Israel as God's appointed instrument of wrath. The passage details the mustering of the army, the prominent role of Phinehas the priest, the total victory over the Midianite leadership, including Balaam himself, and the initial handling of the spoils of war. This is a stark and difficult passage for modern readers, but it is essential for understanding the gravity of idolatry, the holiness of God, and the principle of corporate responsibility.
We must be careful not to read this as a generic warrant for religious violence. This was a unique event in redemptive history, a direct command from God to a specific people for a specific sin at a specific time. Israel was acting as God's executioner, not as a nation pursuing its own geopolitical interests. The death of Balaam alongside the Midianite kings underscores the central issue: this was judgment on those who sought to curse and corrupt the people of God. The whole affair is a graphic illustration of the principle that God is not mocked; whatsoever a man, or a nation, sows, that shall he also reap.
Outline
- 1. The Execution of Yahweh's Vengeance (Num 31:1-12)
- a. The Divine Command for Vengeance (Num 31:1-2)
- b. Moses' Charge to the People (Num 31:3-6)
- c. The Execution of Judgment on Midian (Num 31:7-12)
- i. Every Male Killed (Num 31:7)
- ii. The Kings and Balaam Slain (Num 31:8)
- iii. The Women, Children, and Property Seized (Num 31:9-12)
Context In Numbers
Numbers 31 is the direct judicial consequence of the sin described in Numbers 25. The book of Numbers chronicles Israel's journey from Sinai to the plains of Moab, on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. This journey is marked by cycles of God's faithfulness, Israel's rebellion, and God's judgment and mercy. The incident at Baal Peor was one of the most severe rebellions. Israelite men "began to whore with the daughters of Moab" and "bowed down to their gods" (Num 25:1-2). This syncretistic treachery was instigated by the Midianites, acting on the counsel of Balaam, who, after failing to curse Israel prophetically, taught their enemies how to make them stumble from within (Rev 2:14). The plague that followed killed twenty-four thousand Israelites and was only stopped by the zealous action of Phinehas, who executed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman in the very act of their profane union. God promised to give Phinehas a covenant of peace and commanded that the Midianites be treated as enemies. This chapter is the fulfillment of that command. It is Moses' last major act before he is "gathered to his people," bringing this sordid affair to its just and violent conclusion.
Key Issues
- The Nature of "Yahweh's Vengeance"
- Holy War in the Old Testament
- Corporate Guilt and Judgment
- The Role of Phinehas
- The Execution of Balaam
- The Distinction Between Divine Command and Human Initiative
Vengeance Belongs to God
The central interpretive key to this passage is that the action described is "Yahweh's vengeance." The modern Christian rightly recoils from the idea of personal vengeance. We are taught to love our enemies and that vengeance belongs to the Lord (Rom 12:19). So what are we to make of this? We must understand that God executes His vengeance in two primary ways: directly, through supernatural acts, and indirectly, through delegated authorities. The civil magistrate is God's minister, an "avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil" (Rom 13:4). In the old covenant, the nation of Israel, in specific and limited circumstances, was constituted as that agent of wrath.
This was not a war driven by ethnic hatred or a lust for plunder. It was a judicial act. The Midianites were not just another pagan tribe; they had actively and maliciously sought to destroy Israel by striking at the heart of her covenant relationship with Yahweh. They weaponized sex and idolatry. This was high treason against the King of heaven, and Israel was the divinely appointed bailiff. The vengeance was not Israel's personal payback; it was the execution of a divine sentence. They were the sword in God's hand. To miss this is to misunderstand the entire chapter and to flatten the Scriptures into a moralistic handbook that fits our modern sensibilities. God is holy, and He judges sin, sometimes through the agency of men under His direct command.
Verse by Verse Commentary
1-2 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.”
The command comes directly from Yahweh. This is not Moses' idea. The war is initiated by God, defined by God, and for the purposes of God. The phrase "full vengeance" indicates a complete and total execution of the sentence. This is to be a final reckoning for the treachery of Baal Peor. The timing is also significant. This is to be Moses' last official act as the leader of Israel. Before he dies, he must see this justice done. It is a solemn and final duty, ensuring that the covenant community is purged and protected before the transition of leadership to Joshua and the entry into the land. The sin was a corporate sin against the "sons of Israel," and the vengeance is therefore on their behalf, but it is executed by God through them.
3 And Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute Yahweh’s vengeance on Midian.
Moses is a faithful mediator. He receives the word from God and delivers it to the people. He makes the nature of the mission crystal clear. They are to arm themselves "for the war," but the purpose is not conquest in the normal sense. The purpose is "to execute Yahweh's vengeance on Midian." He repeats the phrase to remove any ambiguity. The soldiers are not acting on their own authority or for their own glory. They are instruments of divine justice. This is a sobering task, not an opportunity for personal enrichment or glory. They are the executioners of a divine court order.
4-5 One thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.” So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
The selection of the army is orderly and representative. One thousand men from each of the twelve tribes. This ensures that the entire nation is corporately involved in this act of judgment. This is not one tribe settling a score with a neighbor; this is all Israel acting as a unified covenant body. The number twelve thousand is symbolic of the fullness and completeness of Israel. The relatively small size of the force, considering Israel's total population, also suggests that the victory to come would be the Lord's, not a result of overwhelming human strength. They were furnished, or delivered up, for the task, indicating a willing compliance from the tribes.
6 And Moses sent them, one thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
The presence of Phinehas is profoundly significant. He is not the military commander, but he is the spiritual head of this operation. It was his zealous act against the Midianite woman Cozbi that stayed the plague in chapter 25. His presence here is a living reminder of why this war is being fought. He represents the holiness of God and the need for purity in the camp. He carries the "holy vessels," the specific identity of which is debated but which certainly represent the presence and authority of God, and the silver "trumpets for the alarm." These trumpets were used to assemble the people and to sound the charge in battle (Num 10:9). Their use here emphasizes again that this is God's battle, a holy war, fought under His banners and with His sanction.
7 So they made war against Midian, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.
The obedience of the army is highlighted: they did "just as Yahweh had commanded Moses." The command for holy war, or herem, often involved the complete destruction of the enemy. Here, the initial action is the execution of every male. This was to remove the military and leadership structure of the Midianite coalition that had conspired against Israel. In the brutal logic of ancient warfare, this was a way of ensuring that the threat was permanently neutralized. This was not ethnic cleansing; it was the execution of a guilty party.
8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
The execution of the leadership is specified. The five kings are named, indicating the historical reality of the event and the completeness of the victory. Zur is identified in Numbers 25:15 as the father of Cozbi, the very Midianite woman slain by Phinehas, which brings the story full circle. But the most important name here is Balaam. The prophet who could not curse Israel with his mouth succeeded in cursing them with his counsel. He is found among the Midianites and is executed with them. He threw his lot in with the enemies of God for financial gain, and he perishes with them. His death by the sword is a just end for a man who wielded the word of God for wicked ends. He was a true prophet, but not a true man, and here he reaps the wages of his unrighteousness.
9 And the sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered.
Following the execution of the men, the army takes the women and children captive and seizes all the livestock and property. This was standard practice in ancient warfare. The spoils of war were considered the rightful possession of the victors. However, as we will see in the subsequent verses, this action was a point of failure. The army was supposed to be executing God's total judgment, but their decision to spare the women, the very instruments of the seduction at Baal Peor, was a partial and disobedient application of the command. They acted according to the customs of men rather than the specific requirements of this holy war.
10-12 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire. And they took all the spoil and all the loot, both of man and of beast. And they brought the captives and the loot and the spoil to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho.
The destruction of the Midianite infrastructure is complete. Their cities and camps are burned, wiping out their ability to regroup and pose a future threat. The army then returns with the vast spoils, including the human captives, to the main camp of Israel. They present it all to the leadership, both civil (Moses) and religious (Eleazar), and to the congregation as a whole. This indicates that the spoils belong to the nation, to Yahweh, and not to the individual soldiers. The process is orderly and accountable. However, this triumphant return is about to be met with a sharp rebuke from Moses for their failure to carry out the Lord's vengeance fully.
Application
We are not called to wage holy war with literal swords today. The sword of the church is the Word of God (Eph 6:17), and our battle is not against flesh and blood. But the principles underlying this chapter remain intensely relevant. The central lesson of Numbers 31 is that God takes the subversion of His people with utmost seriousness. The Midianites and Balaam did not attack Israel with swords and spears; they attacked with sexual temptation and idolatrous compromise. They sought to destroy Israel from the inside, by corrupting her worship and her covenant faithfulness.
This is precisely the strategy of the world, the flesh, and the devil against the church today. We are constantly tempted to compromise with the spirit of the age, to blend our worship with the idolatries of our culture, and to give ourselves over to the sexual chaos that surrounds us. The doctrine of Balaam is alive and well in churches that tolerate sexual immorality and teach that we can be friends with the world (Rev 2:14). This passage is a severe mercy, reminding us that such compromise is not a small thing. It is spiritual treason, and it invites the judgment of God.
Our response should not be to pick up stones, but to engage in the ruthless business of repentance. We must execute judgment on the Midianite allegiances in our own hearts. We must put to death the sins of the flesh and refuse to tolerate teaching that makes peace with wickedness. Phinehas is our model, not in his use of a literal spear, but in his zeal for the holiness of God and the purity of God's people. We are to be a people set apart, and when we see the church being seduced by the world, our hearts should burn with a holy indignation that drives us to our knees in prayer and to our feet in faithful proclamation of the whole counsel of God, without fear or favor.