I read Numbers 31
for my daily quiet time through the Book of Numbers. God commanded the
Israelites to go to war against Midian to execute God's wrath against
her, for the Midianites, on the advice of Balaam, had sent Midianite
women to seduce Israelite males and to influence them to worship the
Midianite gods. The Israelites defeated the Midianites and killed every
human being of Midian, except for the female virgins. The Israelites
also took plunder, which Eleazar the priest (appealing to a law that God
commanded to Moses) required to be purified. The LORD also had
requirements regarding the distribution of the plunder: the warriors
were to get half of it and donate 1/500th of it to the LORD, while the
other Israelites got the rest and donated 1/50th to the Levites. In
addition, Israelite commanders gave golden items to the LORD for the
purpose of atonement.
I have two thoughts on this:
1. My
first thought will be rather negative. My problem with this story is
that the Israelites themselves were complicit in sin, for, while the
Midianites tempted them with their women and their gods, the Israelites
said "yes" to that temptation. So how were the Israelites in any moral
position to get high and mighty and to fight the Midianites, when the
Israelites had a role in their own sin? One could argue that the
Israelites were not in any moral position to do so----that they were not
fighting out of their own sense of outrage and self-righteousness, but
rather to execute God's wrath on God's behalf. They were instruments of
God, who was in a moral position to punish the Midianites.
Okay, but the Israelites still got to profit off of the whole situation
by taking plunder. In my opinion, that (among other things) tends to
sully the whole operation. I think that the rituals of cleansing,
donations, and atonement were intended in this case to add a measure of
solemnity to the whole enterprise----so that the Israelites wouldn't pat
themselves on the back as if they were righteous but would remember
that they were fighting for God and that they themselves were guilty
because they had acceded to the Midianites' temptations. But I question
whether the rituals were enough for that. It reminds me of a person who robs the bank and tries to make himself feel better by giving some of the money to charity. It just doesn't sit right
with me, I'll say that!
2. I do try to get something edifying
from the text, and that's what I'll do in this second item. Many of you
may see my attempt as rather weak or a stretch from the text, and
that's your right.
I feel that I need to remind myself on a
continual basis of the importance of letting God be the judge. I know
that I often want to be the judge. But the fact is that we're all
imperfect, and God knows what we deserve and what we need. I may want
for God to punish certain people, but God knows where those people are
coming from and what makes them tick, and God may choose to be merciful
to them. Meanwhile, I am aware that I myself am far from perfect, and
there are people who love to sit in judgment of me. In the case of
Numbers 31, yes, Israel was guilty, but God realized that Midian put a
stumblingblock in front of Israel's path, and God decided to avenge
that. Moreover, I find it rather comforting that, although Israel had
made a serious mistake, she could still have a future before God.
I
won't lie, though: I wish that God in the story also showed some degree
of love and mercy towards Midian, since one could argue that Midian
only did what she did because she was insecure and feared Israel, and it
would have been nice had God recognized that. But I still try to take
comfort in the notion that God knows all of our hearts and shows us
justice and mercy when they are needed. For me, that's better than me
being the judge of others.