In what ways can Numbers 31:18 guide our understanding of God's holiness today? The passage at hand “But spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.” (Numbers 31:18) Setting the scene • Midian had led Israel into idolatry and sexual immorality at Baal-peor (Numbers 25:1-3). • God ordered Israel to execute justice on Midian (Numbers 31:2) so that His covenant people would not be spiritually corrupted again. • The command to preserve the virgin girls protected a remnant and placed them under Israel’s laws, giving them covenant‐community security rather than pagan exploitation. What this reveals about God’s holiness • Holiness involves separation from sin. God’s people could not coexist with practices that had provoked His wrath (Deuteronomy 7:6). • Holiness demands judgment on persistent rebellion. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). • Holiness guards life. By keeping the innocent girls alive, God showed He distinguishes between perpetrators and those not yet complicit (Genesis 18:25). • Holiness operates under divine sovereignty. Only the Lord has the right to give or take life (Deuteronomy 32:39). Guidance for believers today − Sin must be taken seriously • “Pursue…holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14) • Spiritual compromise spreads; decisive action against it protects the whole community (1 Corinthians 5:6-7). − Purity matters to God • Sexual immorality still defiles the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:18-20). • Guarding one’s heart and body remains a vital expression of honoring His holiness (Psalm 24:3-4). − God judges but also preserves • Even amid judgment, God makes room for mercy and future inclusion (Isaiah 56:3-7). • The spared Midianite girls could later know Yahweh; today, the gospel calls former enemies to become family (Ephesians 2:12-14). − Holiness now is pursued spiritually, not militarily • Our warfare is “not against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:12). • We battle idolatry of the heart through repentance, truth, and love (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). − Christ fulfills and intensifies God’s holiness standard • At the cross, judgment fell on Jesus so mercy could reach sinners (Isaiah 53:5). • “Be holy in all you do, for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:15-16) Putting it into practice • Examine areas of personal compromise; remove influences that lure you from wholehearted devotion. • Cultivate purity—of thought, relationships, media intake—out of reverence for God. • Extend the gospel to those once opposed to God, embodying mercy amid holiness. • Remember that God’s holiness is both a warning and an invitation: a warning against sin’s deadly seriousness, an invitation into the joy of a life set apart for Him. |
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