Numbers 31:25-54

The warriors shared the booty equally with the Israelites who remained in the camp. They were no privileged class nor did they receive a special reward for their actions. They simply served one function and the other Israelites served another in carrying out the will of God (cf. 1 Samuel 30:24-25). From the warriors’ share 1/500 went to the priests and from the congregation’s share 1/50 went to the Levites (cf. Numbers 18:26).

The 32 virgins that the priests received (Numbers 31:40) probably became servants in the tabernacle (cf. Exodus 38:8; 1 Samuel 2:22).

Not one Israelite soldier died in this battle (Numbers 31:49). God gave His people a complete victory. This unusual record makes sense in part because the Midianites were not a warring people. They were nomads who normally moved on when they encountered trouble. Apparently they were not ready to defend themselves against the attacking Israelites. However there is a more important reason for Israel’s success.

"There is a clear line that runs from Numbers 31:1-24 to the conquest of Jericho according to Joshua 6, 7. For in fact that city fell not by military violence but by the force of Israel’s obedient faith. And the same thing is true of the conquest of Midian described in Judges 7 : it was not the military might of Gideon’s band that was decisive but rather the power of faith. In all three cases the stories have about them something unnatural, something unreal, something exaggerated, and in all three it was obedience to God’s command that turned the tide." [Note: Maarsingh, p. 107.]

The officers brought a large gift to the Lord to recompense Him for the lives of the Israelite soldiers He had granted Israel in this victory, (Numbers 31:50). This payment was an "atonement" (ransom) in that it replaced the Israelite lives that God had spared. The officers realized that He could have taken many of the Israelites’ lives in the battle. The gift consisted of a large quantity of gold jewelry that the soldiers had captured. Midianite traders had a great love for gold jewelry (cf. Judges 8:26). The people made this gift a memorial of this victory and kept it in the tabernacle (Numbers 31:54).

In this chapter we have a basic model for Israel’s battles with the Canaanites in the land. This battle with the Midianites was a preparation for those later encounters. It was also a great encouragement to the Israelites as they looked forward to more battles like this one. [Note: On Israel’s policy of completely annihilating the Canaanites, see John W. Wenham, The Goodness of God, especially ch. 8.]