CHAPTER XXXI _The command of the Lord to make war on the Midianites_, 1, 2. _One thousand men are chosen out of each of the twelve tribes_, _and sent with Phinehas against the Midianites_, 3-6. _They slay all the males_, 7; _their five kings and Balaam_, 8. _They take all the women captives, w... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:2. _GATHERED UNTO THY PEOPLE._] Where? Not in the _grave_ surely. Moses was gathered with _none of them_, his burial-place no man ever knew. "But being gathered unto one's people means dying." It does _imply_ dying, but it does not _mean_ this only. The truth is, God considers all... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:3. _AVENGE THE LORD OF MIDIAN._] It was God's _quarrel_, not their _own_, that they were now to take up. These people were idolaters; idolatry is an offence against GOD; the _civil_ power has no authority to meddle with what belongs to Him, without especial directions, certified in... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:6. _A THOUSAND OF EVERY TRIBE_] Twelve thousand men in the whole. _And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar_; some think he was made general in this expedition, but this is not likely. The ark and its contents must proceed to this battle, because the battle was the Lord's, and he dwelt bet... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:8. _BALAAM - THEY SLEW WITH THE SWORD._] This man had probably committed what St. John calls _the sin unto death _- a sin which God punishes with temporal death, while at the same time he extends mercy to the soul. Numbers 24:25.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:17. _KILL EVERY MALE AMONG THE LITTLE ONES_] For this action I account simply on the principle that God, who is the author and supporter of life, has a right to dispose of it _when_ and _how_ he thinks proper; and the Judge of all the earth can do nothing but what is _right_. Of the... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:23. _THE WATER OF SEPARATION_] The _water_ in which the _ashes of the red heifer_ were mingled; Numbers 8:7, Numbers 8:7; _"_Numbers 19:2_"_, c. Garments, whether of cloth or skins, were to be _washed_. Gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead, to pass through the _fire_, probably t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:28. _AND LEVY A TRIBUTE UNTO THE LORD - ONE SOUL OF FIVE_ _HUNDRED, C._] The _person_ to be employed in the Lord's service, under the Levites-the _cattle_ either for sacrifice, or for the use of the Levites, Numbers 31:30. Some monsters have supposed that _one_ out of every _five hu... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:32. _THE BOOTY_] It appears from the enumeration here that the Israelites, in this war against the Midianites, took 32,000 female prisoners, 61,000 asses, 72,000 beeves, 675,000 sheep and small cattle; besides the immense number of _males_ who fell in battle, and the _women_ and _ch... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Numbers 31:50. _WE HAVE - BROUGHT AN OBLATION FOR THE LORD_] So it appears there was a great deal of booty taken which did not come into the general account; and of this the soldiers, of their own will, made a very extensive offering to God, because he had preserved them from falling in battl... [ Continue Reading ]