Week 56, Day 1: Midian Punished
Today’s Reading: Numbers 31:1-54
Some thoughts from today’s reading…
God directs Moses to send out 12,000 men to go and destroy Midian because of their actions in getting Israel to sin by worshipping their idols. Note that only 12,000 men were sent. We are not told how many people were in Midian but this number sounds small. They did not need to send out all of the army because God was with them. Among those killed are Balaam (vs 8). We are also told that it was through his counsel that Midain caused the sons of Israel to sin at peor (vs 16). So even though Balaam had not cursed Israel outright, he told Midian how they could get Israel in trouble with God. I have wondered at times if Midian and Moab would of had any trouble from Israel if they had just let them pass. I can understand being worried that Israel was there to conquer everything but we know that Israel was not after the land Midian now possessed. It was only after they made themselves a thorn in Israel’s side that they were destroyed.
The amount of booty that Israel gathered from destroying Midian was enormous. It is impressive that the leaders of the army didn’t see a problem with bringing back the women even though these were the very women who had invited them to sin at Peor and brought such trouble on Israel. It makes you wonder if they simply liked the looks of the women are were trying to avoid killing them. A very self serving motive instead of remembering the reason for why they were taking vengence on Midian. Too often people allow the appeal of the looks of things to persuade them to get close to sin. They are enticed by how inviting something looks and don’t think about the implications of their actions. What back could come from being close to certain actions or going to certain places. Moses chided the commanders and told them to kill all the women who had “known” a man. Only the young and innocent were spared. Thus Israel purged out the influence that might come from these people.
Question: Can you think of a time in the past few years where you did something without really thinking about whether it would have a negative effect on your dedication to God? Did you learn any lessons that could help you be on your guard better in the future? How can brethren help someone avoid engaging in activities that could be detrimental to your relationship with God?
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