Sermon Central
Numbers 31-33
Vengeance on the Midianites 1The LORD said to Moses,
2“Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.” 3So Moses said to the people, “Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the LORD ’s vengeance on them. 4Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel.
6Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling. 7They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. 9The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. 10They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. 11They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,
12and brought the captives, spoils and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho. 13Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.
14Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle. 15“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16“They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the LORD in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the LORD ’s people. 17Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
18but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. 19“Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives.
20Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.” 21Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is what is required by the law that the LORD gave Moses: 22Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead 23and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water.
24On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”
Dividing the Spoils 25The LORD said to Moses, 26“You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the community are to count all the people and animals that were captured. 27Divide the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. 28From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the LORD one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the LORD ’s part. 30From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the LORD ’s tabernacle.”
31So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 3372,000 cattle, 3461,000 donkeys
35and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.
36The half share of those who fought in the battle was: 337,500 sheep,
37of which the tribute for the LORD was 675;
3836,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the LORD was 72;
3930,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the LORD was 61;
4016,000 people, of whom the tribute for the LORD was 32.
41Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the LORD ’s part, as the LORD commanded Moses. 42The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men— 43the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep, 4436,000 cattle, 4530,500 donkeys 46and 16,000 people.
47From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the LORD commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the LORD ’s tabernacle. 48Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses 49and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.
50So we have brought as an offering to the LORD the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD .”
51Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles.
52All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the LORD weighed 16,750 shekels.
The Transjordan Tribes 1The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. 2So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, 3“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon— 4the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock.
5If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.” 6Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? 7Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the LORD has given them? 8This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. 9After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them. 10The LORD ’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 11‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— 12not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’
13The LORD ’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone. 14“And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the LORD even more angry with Israel.
15If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction.”
16Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children.
17But we will arm ourselves for battle
19We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.” 20Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle 21and if all of you who are armed cross over the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out before him—
22then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD . 23“But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD ; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
24Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.” 25The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We your servants will do as our lord commands. 26Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead.
27But your servants, every man who is armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the LORD, just as our lord says.” 28Then Moses gave orders about them to Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and to the family heads of the Israelite tribes. 29He said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites, every man armed for battle, cross over the Jordan with you before the LORD, then when the land is subdued before you, you must give them the land of Gilead as their possession.
30But if they do not cross over with you armed, they must accept their possession with you in Canaan.” 31The Gadites and Reubenites answered, “Your servants will do what the LORD has said.
32We will cross over before the LORD into Canaan armed, but the property we inherit will be on this side of the Jordan.”
33Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them. 34The Gadites built up Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35Atroth Shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran as fortified cities, and built pens for their flocks. 37And the Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh and Kiriathaim,
38as well as Nebo and Baal Meon (these names were changed) and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt.
39The descendants of Makir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it and drove out the Amorites who were there.
40So Moses gave Gilead to the Makirites, the descendants of Manasseh, and they settled there.
41Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, captured their settlements and called them Havvoth Jair.
Stages in Israel’s Journey 1Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron.
2At the LORD ’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages: 3The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians,
4who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had brought judgment on their gods.
5The Israelites left Rameses and camped at Sukkoth.
6They left Sukkoth and camped at Etham, on the edge of the desert.
7They left Etham, turned back to Pi Hahiroth, to the east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol.
8They left Pi Hahiroth
9They left Marah and went to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.
10They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.
11They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.
12They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.
13They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.
14They left Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.
16They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.
17They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.
18They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.
19They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.
20They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.
21They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.
22They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.
23They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.
24They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.
25They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.
26They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.
27They left Tahath and camped at Terah.
28They left Terah and camped at Mithkah.
29They left Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.
30They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.
31They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.
32They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.
33They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.
34They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.
35They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.
36They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh, in the Desert of Zin. 37They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the border of Edom. 38At the LORD ’s command Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor, where he died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt.
39Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
40The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev of Canaan, heard that the Israelites were coming.
41They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.
42They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.
43They left Punon and camped at Oboth.
44They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, on the border of Moab.
45They left Iye Abarim and camped at Dibon Gad.
46They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.
47They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, near Nebo. 48They left the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
49There on the plains of Moab they camped along the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim. 50On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the LORD said to Moses, 51“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. 53Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.
54Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans. To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one. Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes. 55“ ‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’ ”