Numbers 31:25-54

Numbers 31:25-54

[25] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses,  saying,  [26] Take  the sum  of the prey  that was taken,  both of man  and of beast,  thou, and Eleazar  the priest,  and the chief  fathers  of the congregation:  [27] the prey  into two parts;  between them that took  the war  upon them, who went out  to battle,  and between all the congregation:  [28] And levy  a tribute  unto the LORD  of war  which went out  to battle:  one  soul  of five  hundred,  both of the persons,  and of the beeves,  and of the asses,  and of the sheep:  [29] Take  it of their half,  and give  it unto Eleazar  the priest,  for an heave offering  of the LORD.  [30] And of the children  of Israel's  half,  thou shalt take  one  portion  of fifty,  of the persons,  of the beeves,  of the asses,  and of the flocks,  of all manner of beasts,  and give  them unto the Levites,  which keep  the charge  of the tabernacle  of the LORD.  [31] And Moses  and Eleazar  the priest  did  as the LORD  commanded  Moses.  [32] And the booty,  being the rest  of the prey  which the men of  war  had caught,  was six  hundred  thousand  and seventy  thousand  and five  thousand  sheep,  [33] And threescore and twelve  thousand  beeves,  [34] And threescore  and one  thousand  asses,  [35] And thirty  and two  thousand  persons  in all,  of women  that had not known  man  by lying  [36] And the half,  which was the portion  of them that went out  to war,  was in number  three  hundred  thousand  and seven  and thirty  thousand  and five  hundred  sheep:  [37] And the LORD'S  tribute  of the sheep  was six  hundred  and threescore and fifteen.  [38] And the beeves  were thirty  and six  thousand;  of which the LORD'S  tribute  was threescore and twelve.  [39] And the asses  were thirty  thousand  and five  hundred;  of which the LORD'S  tribute  was threescore  and one.  [40] And the persons  were sixteen  thousand;  of which the LORD'S  tribute  was thirty  and two  persons.  [41] And Moses  gave  the tribute,  which was the LORD'S  heave offering,  unto Eleazar  the priest,  as the LORD  commanded  Moses.  [42] And of the children  of Israel's  half,  which Moses  divided  that warred,  [43] (Now the half  that pertained unto the congregation  was three  hundred  thousand  and thirty  thousand  and seven  thousand  and five  hundred  sheep,  [44] And thirty  and six  thousand  beeves,  [45] And thirty  thousand  asses  and five  hundred,  [46] And sixteen  thousand  persons;)  [47] Even of the children  of Israel's  half,  Moses  took  one  portion  of fifty,  both of man  and of beast,  and gave  them unto the Levites,  which kept  the charge  of the tabernacle  of the LORD;  commanded  Moses.  [48] And the officers  which were over thousands  of the host,  the captains  of thousands,  and captains  of hundreds,  came near  unto Moses:  [49] And they said  unto Moses,  Thy servants  have taken  the sum  of war  which are under our charge,  and there lacketh  not one man  [50] We have therefore brought  an oblation  for the LORD,  what every man  hath gotten,  of jewels  of gold,  chains,  and bracelets,  rings,  earrings,  and tablets,  to make an atonement  for our souls  before  the LORD.  [51] And Moses  and Eleazar  the priest  took  the gold  of them, even all wrought  jewels.  [52] And all the gold  of the offering  that they offered up  to the LORD,  of the captains  of thousands,  and of the captains  of hundreds,  was sixteen  thousand  seven  hundred  and fifty  shekels.  [53] of war  had taken spoil,  every man  for himself.) [54] And Moses  and Eleazar  the priest  took  the gold  of the captains  of thousands  and of hundreds,  and brought  it into the tabernacle  of the congregation,  for a memorial  for the children  of Israel  before  the LORD. 

What does Numbers 31:25-54 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

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" share1/500 went to the priests and from the congregation"s share1/50 went to the Levites (cf. Numbers 18:26).
The32virgins 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." [1]
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. [2]