Numbers 32:6

Numbers 32:6 says, And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?  Since the people of Gad and Reuben had asked for land already captured, Moses asked them if the rest of the people of Israel should go to war while they sat there in peace.  We as followers of Christ today are at war with the sin in the world, and we should not expect to sit back at peace and prosperous while our fellow believers struggle to survive and fight the war.  Verse seven adds, And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?  Moses asked them why they would want to discourage others from going into the land that God had given them.  If we have seemingly gained great riches of this earth as Christians, seemingly without any problem, we may discourage other Christians who are struggling if we just sit back in ease.  Verse eight continues, Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.  Moses said this was what their fathers had done when he sent them to spy on the land originally.  They returned with a negative report, except for Joshua and Caleb, and the people were afraid to go into the land.  We should never let our success as followers of Christ serve as a discouragement to others.  Verse nine states, For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.  As just stated, Moses said the negative report of the spies discouraged the people of Isreal from going into the Promised Land a generation earlier, and if the tribes of Gad and Reuben stayed in the already conquered land, it could likewise discourage the rest of the people from wanting to cross over the Jordan where they would then have to fight for the Promised Land.  Though as Christians we are already assured of entering into our Promised Land, Heaven, we are not exempt from fighting the war against Satan in the world today.  Verse ten adds, And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, Verse eleven continues, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:  Moses reminded them of what had happened when the people of Israel chose to believe the report of the ten spies instead of putting their faith in God.  None of the men who came out of Egypt who were twenty years old or older would be allowed to go into the Promised Land.  Though if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord we will never be kept out of heaven, we still must actively follow God's will today.  We are not exempt from fighting the war against God by the forces of evil today, and if we just sit back and enjoy life if God has blessed us with prosperity and refuse to take an active role in fighting the war against evil, we may very well discourage other believers who are less fortunate.  Verse twelve says, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.  Moses pointed out that Caleb and Joshua were the exception to the other spies, because they wholly followed God.  We need to be like them, and not like the rest of the spies and the people of Israel.  Verse thirteen continues, And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.  Moses then reminded them of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness that God had them endure until all those men twenty years and older died.  God still expects His people to live by faith in Him and not by fear of what may happen to them in this world if they follow His will.  Verse fourteen states, And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.  Moses said that the people of Gad and Ruben were in danger of being like their fathers by not wanting to cross over into the Promised Land,  because of the land where they were looking so good.  No matter how good things are for us in this world, we must make sure this does not come between us and God's will for us.  Verses fifteen adds, For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.  Moses told the people of Gad and Reuben if that if they stayed on this side of the Jordan and settled in peace that they might cause the rest of the nation to continue in the wilderness because they would question the need to cross over into the Promised Land and fight for it by faith in God.  We must likewise engage in the battle against the forces of evil as followers of Christ, no matter how prosperous and at ease our life may be.  Above all else, we must never allow our life to discourage others from putting their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Numbers 32:1

Numbers 32:1 says, Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;  The tribes of Rueben and God had a lot of cattle and saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead were good land for cattle.  Verse two adds, The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,  They came to Moses and Eleazar and spoke to them.  Moses and Eleazar were the spiritual leaders of all the people of Israel, so they came people of God and the leaders of the tribe of Ruben came to them when they wanted something.  We, as followers of Christ, should always come to Jesus when we want something today, but we must come to Him seeking His will.  Verse three continues, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,  There were also some of the other leaders of Isreal there, and whatever we are wanting from God as Christians should not be sought secretly if it affects our fellow believers.  Verse four states, Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:  Verse five adds, Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.  The Gadites and the Reubenites said that this was a good land, and asked Moses if they had found grace in his sight to allow them to settle there and to not cross over the Jordan.  This was still not really in the Promised Land, unless God made it a part.  We need to never want to stop short of God's everlasting Promised Land, Heaven, as followers of Christ. 

Numbers 31:48

Numbers 31:48 says, And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:  The officers of the army came to Moses.  Verse forty-nine adds, And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us.   The officers said that they had taken a count of the men under them, and thay hadn't lost a single man in the battle.  As followers of Christ, when we are at war with the world today, not one of us will ever be lost from the everlasting perspective.  We are God's forever if we have truly put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse fifty continues, We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.  Every man had made an oblation of the gold in all forms that they had taken in the war, justly, and brought it to Moses as an atonement for their sins.  God had not demanded this through Moses telling them to do so, but they did it on their own initiative.  We should not wait for the spiritual leaders in the church today to tell or ask us to give to support God's work, but we should give freely on our own.  We should never look for material blessings for our work for God, but should dedicate all that we have to Him.  We do not do this in order to attempt to buy forgiveness, but in gratitude for what God has already blessed us with as Christians, everlasting life that can never be lost.  Verse fifty-one states, And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels.  Moses and Eleazar accepted the gift.  Verse fifty-two adds, And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.  The total of the offering was sixteen thousand, seven hundred and fifty shekels, which is about a fourth of a pound according to Google.  This was a very valuable offering that the men who went to war offered to God. Verse fifty-three continues, (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)  The amount was this large because every man who had gone to war had taken some spoils of war.  Individually, what we can offer to God may not be much, but if all Christians give liberally to God, then we have a vast amount of resources to accomplish His work.  Yet, too often we see what God blesses us with as ours to use for our self alone, and even want more.  Verse fifty-four concludes, And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.  Moses and Eleazar did not keep this gift for themselves, but brought it into the tabernacle to be used for God's glory.  Spiritual leaders today should likewise use all that is given to the church, in the local congregations, for God's glory and the advancement of His kingdom.  They should never use it for their own advancement. 

Numbers 31:32

Numbers 31:32 says, And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep,  The men who went to war captured a total of six hundred seventy five thousand sheep as spoils of war.  Verse thirty-three adds, And threescore and twelve thousand beeves,  They also captured seventy-two thousand cattle.  Verse thirty-four continues, And threescore and one thousand asses,   In addition, they captured sixty-one thousand asses.  Verse thirty-five concludes, And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him.  They had also captured thirty-two thousand people who were allowed to live, and that was women who had not had sexual relations.  Verse thirty-six states, And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep:  The half that went to those who had actually gone to war was three hundred seven thousand five hundred sheep.  They had done more and risked more so they received a greater reward.  I am not sure how heavenly rewards work, but I do understand from the Bible that there will be rewards, but also that we are not to work for Christ just for rewards.  We are to work to advance God's kingdom by spreading the gospel and for God's glory and never for our own.  Verse thirty-seven adds, And the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen.  The Lord’s tribute from the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.  This was God's tithe on the total number of sheep captured.  Verse thirty-eight adds, And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was threescore and twelve.  Verse thirty-nine continues, And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD’s tribute was threescore and one.  There were to give God His tithes on the total number of animals, and as followers of Christ, we are to give our tithes on all that God blesses us with.  Verse forty concludes, And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty and two persons.  Out of the sixteen thousand people, God set thirty-two aside to Himself   Verse forty-one says, And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses,  Moses gave the tribute of the LORD which was to be used as a heave offering to God to Eleazar the priest.  We are to give today so that the church can do God's work,but more importantly so that He can be glorified.  Verse forty-two adds, And of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided from the men that warred,  Verse forty-three continues, (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep,  Verse forty-four continues, And thirty and six thousand beeves,  Verse forty-five continues, And thirty thousand asses and five hundred,  Verse forty-six concludes, And sixteen thousand persons;)   This is a listing of the half of the spoils of war given to the people of Israel who did not go to war.  Verse forty-seven states, Even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.  From their share, those who did not go to war had one portion out of every fifty, both of the people and the animals, given to the Levites.  This was in addition to what had already been dedicated to God, and it was to support the Levites, who were in charge of God's tabernacle.   We need to give generously today so that those who are in the ministry are well provided for.  

Numbers 31:21

Numbers 31:21 says, And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;  Eleazar the priest told the men who who had gone onto battle what God had told Moses was His ordinance or the law was.  We as followers of Christ go into battle against sin daily, and we need to know what God says that we are to do.  Verse twenty-two adds, Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,  Verse twenty-three continues, Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.  All the metals that had been taken in the war that would last through the fire, from gold down to lead, were to be put in a fire to be cleansed and then it was to be purified by the water of separation.  If they would not last through the fire, they were to be cleansed by the water.  Either way, they had to be purified to be used by God, and so must we today, and this can only happen by being purified by the blood of Christ.   Verse twenty-four states, And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.  The men who had gone to war were to remain out side the camp of the Israelites for seven days, then wash their clothes, and then they would be clean spiritually and could come into the camp.  There is no physical act that can cleanse us spiritually today, but only accepting Jesus Christ can, and when we do we will be spiritually clean.  Until we do, we will remain outside the kingdom of God, and once we do, we are immediately a part of His kingdom.  Verse twenty-five says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse twenty-six adds, Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation:  God instructed Moses that Eleazar, the heads of the tribes, and he were to number the people and the animals taken as prey, or spoils of war.  Verse twenty-seven continues, And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:  The prey was to be divided into two parts, between those who went to war and those who didn't.  All were to share in the spoils of war, but not all would share equally.   We as Christians all share in the spiritual reward of salvation, but we may not all share equally in the material rewards.  Matthew Henry points out that only the people and animals were to be thus divided and not the metals and jewelry, since the people and animals could be used to populate the land, and the other things could not.  We too often want the riches of the world more than we want to reach the lost for the kingdom of God, it often seems.  Verse twenty-eight states,  And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep:  A tribute to God was to be levied on the men and animals that the men who went to war had been given.  They were to give one of every five hundred as a tribute to God.  We must always remember to give God His tribute of all that we have as followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-nine adds, Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD.  This was to be given to Eleazar as a heave offering to God.  Verse thirty continues,  And of the children of Israel’s half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.  The half given to the rest of the people of Israel were to have one of every fifty, the people and animals, given to the Levites, who were in charge of God's tabernacle.  We need to always make sure that we support God's work and those who are doing it.  Verse thirty-one concludes, And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.  Moses and Eleazar did what God had commanded Moses to do, and so must we do what God commands us to do today.  

Numbers 31:13

Numbers 31:13 says, And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.  Moses and Eleazar went out to meet those returning from the war.  Today, we as followers of Christ often go to meet those returning from mission trips, where they have been spiritually at war with the forces of evil in the world.  Verse fourteen add, And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.  Moses did not meet them to celebrate, though, but he was angry with them.  Verse fifteen continues, And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?  Moses asked them if they had saved all the women alive, which was not what God had told them to do.  We as Christians may not always agree with what God tells us to do, but we cannot change it and be successful spiritually.  Verse fifteen declares, Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.  Moses said it was the woman of the Medes who had caused the men of Israel to commit the sin of following Baal at Peor, which caused a plague amongst the Israelites.  Now, they had not only been spared, but they had been brought back to Israel.  We must do our best to keep those who would lead us away from God from being placed in a position where the can tempt us to stray away from God.  Verse seventeen adds, Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.  Moses told them to kill all the male children and all the women who had been sexually intimate.  We may think this to be excessively cruel, but it is not what happens in this life that matters.  Verse eighteen continues, But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.  Those women who had not been sexually active could be kept.  Verse nineteen states, And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.  All those who had killed someone or had touched a dead body were to remain outside the camp for seven days, and they were to purify themselves and their captives on the third and seventh day.  The fact that they had been sent to war and returned victorious did not releave them of the responsibility of following God's law.  Verse twenty adds, And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.  They were also to purify all their clothes, anything made of skin or goats' hair,  and everything made of wood.  Matthew Henry said these were the spoils of war that had been used by the Midianites and must therefore now be purified before being used by the Israelites.   

Numbers 31:1

Numbers 31:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.  God told Moses that he was to lead the people of Israel to avenge themselves of the Midianites, and then Moses would die.  We are to do what God has called us to do as long as we live.  Verse three continues, And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.  Moses told some the people of Israel that some of them were to arm themselves for war.  Not all were going to go and fight, just as we as Christians do not all fight the enemies of God the same way today. They were to fight the Midianites because they had defied God.  Verse four states, Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.  Every tribe of Israel was to send a thousand to war, no matter the size of the tribe.  Verse five adds, So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.  Twelve thousand men, one for each tribe, were gathered for war with the Midianites.  No matter how large or how small we may be as congregation of Christ today, we are all equally responsible for carrying out the sharing of the gospel, and we must be willing to go to war with the world in order to do so.  This is a daily battle.  Verse six continues, And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.  In addition to the thousand from each tribe, the twelve thousand total, Moses sent Phineas, Eleazar's son with them as their priest, along with the holy instruments and the trumpet.  When we engage in battle with the world today, we must go armed with the whole armor of God and under His direction and power.  Verse seven says, And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.  The people of Israel went to war with the Midianites under God's direction, and they slew all the men of the Midianites.   Matthew Henry says this was all the men in the army, but that is not what the verse actually says, though in a later verse it seems to be accurate. Though we are not sent to kill the people of the world, we should be ready to go to war with them if they attempt to force us to not follow God, but even then we should do so under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eight adds, And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.  They also killed the five kings of Midian, as well as Balaam, the son of Beor.  Matthew Henry says it is unclear how Balaam came to be with the Midianites, but it is likely that they had paid him to attempt to cast a spell on Israel, and he paid with his life.  If we profess to be Christians only for material gain, we to will ultimately pay the price for doing so.  Verse nine continues, And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.  All the women and children of the Midianites were taken captive, and all their goods were taken as spoils of war.  We should not attempt to follow God so we can gain materially from doing so, and this was not why the people of Israel went to war with the Midianites.  They went to war to glorify God and defeat those who fought against Him.  Verse ten says, And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.  All the cities of the Midianites and their castles were destroyed.  Verse eleven adds, And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.  Since this verse says that they took men as prey, it would seem to support Matthew Henry in saying only the men in the army were slain.  Verse twelve continues, And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.  They brought all the captives and the spoils to Moses and Eleazar.   They did not attempt to just profit materially from their victory, and neither should we today when we are victorious over the world.