311 Then the Lord spoke to Moses , saying , 2 " Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites ; afterward you will be gathered to your people ." 3 Moses spoke to the people , saying , "Arm men from among you for the war , that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord'S vengeance on Midian . 4 "A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war ." 5 So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel , a thousand from each tribe , twelve e thousand armed for war . 6 Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe , to the war , and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest , to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand .
7 So they made war against Midian , just as the Lord had commanded Moses , and they killed every male . 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain : Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba , the five kings of Midian ; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword . 9 The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones ; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered . 10 Then they burned all their cities where they lived and all their camps with fire . 11 They took all the spoil and all the prey , both of man and of beast . 12 They brought the captives and the prey and the spoil to Moses , and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the sons of Israel , to the camp at the plains of Moab , which are by the Jordan opposite Jericho .
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the congregation went out to meet them outside e e the camp . 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army , the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds , who had come from service in the war . 15 And Moses said to them, "Have you spared all the women ? 16 " Behold , these caused the sons of Israel , through the counsel of Balaam , to trespass e against the Lord in the matter of Peor , so the plague was among the congregation of the Lord . 17 " Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones , and kill every woman who has known man intimately e .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 31:1-17
Commentary on Numbers 31:1-6
(Read Numbers 31:1-6)
All who, without commission from God, dare to execute private revenge, and who, from ambition, covetousness, or resentment, wage war and desolate kingdoms, must one day answer for it. But if God, instead of sending an earthquake, a pestilence, or a famine, be pleased to authorize and command any people to avenge his cause, such a commission surely is just and right. The Israelites could show such a commission, though no persons now can do so. Their wars were begun and carried on expressly by Divine direction, and they were enabled to conquer by miracles. Unless it can be proved that the wicked Canaanites did not deserve their doom, objectors only prove their dislike to God, and their love to his enemies. Man makes light of the evil of sin, but God abhors it. This explains the terrible executions of the nations which had filled the measure of their sins.
Commentary on Numbers 31:7-12
(Read Numbers 31:7-12)
The Israelites slew the Kings of Midian. They slew Balaam. God's overruling providence brought him thither, and their just vengeance found him. Had he himself rightly believed what he had said of the happy state of Israel, he would not have thus herded with the enemies of Israel. The Midianites' wicked wiles were Balaam's projects: it was just that he should perish with them, Hosea 4:5. They took the women and children captives. They burnt their cities and castles, and returned to the camp.
Commentary on Numbers 31:13-18
(Read Numbers 31:13-18)
The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting others; it teaches us to avoid all occasions of evil, and to give no quarter to inward lusts. The women and children were not kept for sinful purposes, but for slaves, a custom every where practised in former times, as to captives. In the course of providence, when famine and plagues visit a nation for sin, children suffer in the common calamity. In this case parents are punished in their children; and for children dying before actual sin, full provision is made as to their eternal happiness, by the mercy of God in Christ.