What is the meaning of Numbers 31:15? Have you Numbers 31:14 tells us Moses “was angry with the officers of the army.” His first words, “Have you…,” call those commanders to account. They had been entrusted with the Lord’s explicit directive (31:2) and could not act on personal preference. • Exodus 32:21 shows Moses using the same probing approach after the golden calf, emphasizing continual accountability. • Romans 14:12 reminds every believer that “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” As then, so now, God-given orders are not suggestions; they are to be carried out fully. Spared To “spare” implies withholding the judgment God had commanded. Earlier, Israel was told to “leave alive nothing that breathes” among certain peoples so that idolatry would not corrupt them (Deuteronomy 20:16-18). • When Saul later “spared” King Agag and the best livestock (1 Samuel 15:9), the prophet Samuel declared partial obedience to be rebellion (15:22-23). • Proverbs 19:18 warns against a false mercy that ultimately harms. Moses understood that mercy contrary to God’s stated will is not mercy at all; it is disobedience. All the women? Why single out the women? Numbers 25:1-3 records that Midianite women had seduced Israel into both immorality and Baal worship, bringing a deadly plague. • Balaam’s counsel behind that scheme is recalled in Numbers 31:16 and Revelation 2:14. • Deuteronomy 7:3-4 forbids intermarriage precisely because it leads hearts astray. • 1 Corinthians 15:33: “Bad company corrupts good character.” By sparing those most responsible for earlier spiritual compromise, the soldiers risked repeating the same disaster. He asked them Moses does not assume; he questions. Good leadership surfaces issues so they can be dealt with. • In Exodus 16:28 the Lord asks, “How long will you refuse to keep My commandments?”—a model Moses echoes. • Jesus likewise queried His disciples (“Why are you afraid?”—Matthew 8:26) to expose unbelief and correct it. The question forces reflection: If God said one thing and we did another, why? summary Numbers 31:15 is a sharp checkpoint on obedience. Moses’ question exposes the danger of redefining God’s commands by human sentiment. Sparing the very people who had led Israel into sin threatened the nation’s purity and future. The verse reminds believers that partial obedience is disobedience, that misplaced compassion can oppose God’s holiness, and that faithful leaders must lovingly confront any lapse before it spreads. |
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