March 8: Numbers 31-32

March 8, Numbers 31-32

Numbers 31. Again, God speaks to Moses and tells him to avenge the Israelites and go after the Midianites, then Moses will die and be gathered to his people. God gives him a war strategy, including Phinehas (the guy that was jealous for God - that is a good thing). They went to war against Midian and killed all the men including the kings and Balaam (who wanted to curse the Israelites because he was afraid of them). The Israelites brought the captives and the plunder to Moses and Moses was mad at the officers because they didn't fully obey. They were supposed to have wiped out the Midianite's, because they were the people group that had caused the Israelites to fail and disobey God. Moses further instructs them to kill any woman that had a part in seducing the Israelites and also all the males, including the boys - in essence, there would never be a Midianite people. 

The plunder was of a great amount and God only asks for a little bit of what He gave them, to take care of the Levites. It is the same with us - God gives us everything and only asks that we give him a little bit for His Kingdom. 

Numbers 32 seems a bit strange at first glance, as it seems that history is repeating itself. The people of Reuben and Gad wanted to stay in the land of Jazer, because it was at an elevation of about 2500’ and apparently that is really good for cattle grazing. They had a lot of animals, which takes up a lot of room and you need sufficient feed for them. They came to Moses with their request and Moses said that if they did not go into the Promised Land with the other tribes, that God would destroy all the people. So, here was the compromise: They build homes for their families and pens for their animals, and when Israel goes to war - the able men will go with them. Then they would not return to their new land, until all Israel was settled. 

To sum it all up:

• In our culture, it can be difficult to read about wars and killings and plundering, when we are all about equal rights and comfort. But, let us not forget that God is not to be made a fool of, and if a people group causes His people to stumble or suffer - God will take vengeance. God will not take our sins lightly when it goes against what it is that He wants to accomplish.
• God’s ways are greater than our ways and God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts - Here we see what seems like a compromise, is God’s Sovereignty, as we will see more about this later.