Why did Moses question the Israelites' actions in Numbers 31:15 regarding the women? Setting the Scene: Israel’s War Against Midian • After the idolatry at Peor, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites’” (Numbers 31:2). • Israel defeats Midian, killing every male (31:7); they capture women, children, livestock, and plunder (31:9). • The soldiers return, assuming they followed the LORD’s directive adequately. The LORD’s Explicit Standard for Judgment • The Midianites had deliberately led Israel into sexual immorality and Baal worship: “Israel settled in Shittim, and the people began to commit sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab” (Numbers 25:1). • The LORD’s wrath brought a plague that killed 24,000 Israelites (25:9). • Deuteronomy 7:2–4 and 20:16–18 later reaffirm the principle of removing idolatrous nations to prevent spiritual corruption. Moses’ Confrontation Numbers 31:15–16: “Have you spared all the women? he asked them. ‘Behold, these women were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.’” Why Sparing the Women Was a Grave Error • They were the very agents of previous spiritual seduction; to keep them alive risked repeating the sin. • The soldiers compromised the LORD’s clear command to execute divine judgment against Midian (Numbers 31:2). • Allowing the women to live suggested partial obedience, which Scripture equates with disobedience (1 Samuel 15:22–23). • Spiritual purity of the covenant community was at stake; idolatry always spread relationally first (Exodus 34:15–16). Further Divine Instructions • Moses directs: “Kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has had relations with a man. But spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man” (Numbers 31:17–18). • The virgins could be assimilated without reproducing the prior moral threat; the guilty participants faced judgment. Lessons for God’s People Today • Partial obedience invites ongoing temptation and invites God’s discipline (Hebrews 12:6). • Holiness requires decisive separation from influences that lead to idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:14–18). • God’s justice, though severe, flows from His righteousness and covenant love; He disciplines to protect His people’s spiritual life (Proverbs 3:11–12). |
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