Numbers 31:3

"“Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”"

Key Reflection

In Numbers 31:3, Moses instructs the Israelite warriors to take vengeance on the Midianites for their role in leading many Israelites into idolatry (Numbers 25). This command comes at a time when the Israelites are encamped near the territories of Midian after their victory over the Amorites. The verse underscores both the military and religious motivations behind this mission, as well as Moses' own impending death, indicated by his instruction that the warriors should "afterward be gathered to your people," suggesting that these events would mark a significant transition in leadership and national identity for Israel.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Avenge the Lord of Midian -The war against the Midianites was no ordinary war. It was indeed less a war than the execution of a divine sentence against a most guilty people. Doubtless there were many among the Midianites who were personally guiltless as regards Israel. But the rulers deliberately adopted the counsel of Balaam against Israel, and their behests had been but too readily obeyed by their subjects. The sin therefore was national, and the retribution could be no less so. But the commission of the Israelites in the text must not be conceived as a general license to slay. They had no discretion to kill or to spare.

More from Numbers 31

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