Numbers 31:25-54
Division of the Plunder
25 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 26 “Count up the plunder that was taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; 27 and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. 28 And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; 29 take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD. 30 And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately. 36 And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; 37 and the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 So Moses gave the tribute which was the LORD’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought— 43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand cattle, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons— 47 and from the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. 50 Therefore we have brought an offering for the LORD, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.
This division of the spoils followed the war against the Midianites after the children of Israel had unlawfully taken the men and women whom they had been ordered to annihilate to stop the immorality and idolatry by taking the women to themselves and not just the female children who were still innocent of these divine crimes. Now that they set this straight with God as communicated through Moses, they were free to divide the spoils among the tribes of those who went into the fray and among those who had to stay behind. The Levites also received a tithe of the whole as well. Amazingly enough, not one of Israel’s army had perished. The officers in charge of the armies reported this and brought the spoils of jewelry as atonement for their sins, presumably either for taking spoils of gold for them or for having to,shed so much blood in case they did so with impure motives or selfish aims. The offerings of the officers were mad into articles for the temple, dedicated to the LORD God. As we fight the good fight (1 Timothy 1:18) of the gospel of Jesus Christ, do we offer back our gain into the lives of those we minister to, or do we need to confess selfishness in keeping the fruits to ourselves instead of investing (2 Timothy 2:2) in others? The battle belongs to the Lord (1 Samuel 17:47, 2 Chronicles 20:15) and all we have is His which we offer back as the spoils of this cosmic war for the souls of men and women who all need to be set free from idolatry and immorality to enter the promise heavenly land after the final judgment on sin reigning now on this earth. The spoils of the divine battles then are the souls of men and women offered up to the Lord by His atonement for each one on the cross. May we share equally in these!
No comments:
Post a Comment