Read Numbers 31:25–54
Questions from the Scripture text: Who spoke to whom in Numbers 31:25? What did He tell him to do (Numbers 31:26)? With whom? And divide it into how many parts (Numbers 31:27)? For which two groups? From which group, would how much be taken for Whose portion (Numbers 31:28)? And given to whom to do what with it (Numbers 31:29)? And from which group, would how much be taken, for Whose portion (Numbers 31:30)? And given to whom to do what with it? So who did what? How many sheep were there (Numbers 31:32)? Cattle (Numbers 31:33)? Donkeys (Numbers 31:34)? Persons (Numbers 31:35)? Which persons, specifically? How many sheep did the warriors receive (Numbers 31:36)? How many for YHWH (Numbers 31:37)? Cattle (Numbers 31:38)? And for YHWH? Donkeys (Numbers 31:39)? And for YHWH? Persons (Numbers 31:40)? And for YHWH? What did Moses give to whom (Numbers 31:41)? According to what? Whose half does Numbers 31:42 begin to detail? Separated from what? How many sheep (Numbers 31:43)? Cattle (Numbers 31:44)? Donkeys (Numbers 31:45)? Persons (Numbers 31:46)? How many did Moses give to whom (Numbers 31:47)? Of what did they keep charge? According to what pattern did they do all this? Who came near in Numbers 31:48? What did they report (Numbers 31:49)? How are they responding (Numbers 31:50)? Who do what in Numbers 31:51? How much did it all weigh (Numbers 31:52)? What had who done (Numbers 31:53)? And who brought what, where, as what (Numbers 31:54)?
What does the Lord show by the distribution of the plunder from the battle? Numbers 31:25–54 looks forward to the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In these thirty verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord demonstrates great generosity and mercy in His provision for His people by the plunder from the battle.
Disproportional Generosity for Participation. We noted, in the earlier part of the chapter, how comparatively few of Israel’s warriors were sent to the battle. Now, we see that fully half of the spoil is to go to just these twelve thousand men. How great is the generosity of God!
Disproportional Generosity for the Priesthood. The priestly family, though much smaller than one tenth the size of the rest of the Levites, receives one tenth as much as the rest of that tribe. They are to receive it in YHWH’s behalf and bear the weight of it in their hands before Him as a heave offering. Just as He gave a disproportional amount of the spoil to the warriors, to whom He gave to be the people’s special representatives in the war; so also, He gave a disproportional amount the priestly family, to whom He gave to be the people’s special representatives in the tabernacle, before God.
Generous Bounty for All. The amount received by everyone else is, taken by itself, very generous. Half a sheep per household, beside cattle, donkeys, and maidservants. Just as in Jesus’s parable (cf. Matthew 20:1–16), which treated a different point, God’s exceeding generosity to others was not a reason to be ungrateful for His rich generosity, even if proportionally smaller. The Lord even gives them the generosity of the opportunity and occasion to be generous themselves—something He continues to do, as He employs His people in providing for His preachers and for the poor among them. In all of this, His richest provision is Himself.
Miraculous/Divine Preservation. Again, we have noted how less than two percent of Israel’s warriors were sent to the battle. How vastly they must have been outnumbered! But God didn’t just give them to win the battle. He gave them to do so without losing a single man! Realizing that they had tried to keep maidservants for themselves, from among those who had brought the plague upon Israel, they now recognize the amazing patience of God with them.
Those who had taken spoil for themselves (Numbers 31:53) bring a very generous amount of the most valuable spoil (Numbers 31:50-52) to make “atonement” for themselves by giving it to the Lord. It becomes a memorial before YHWH for the children of Israel (Numbers 31:54), a reminder that He had not only given them success but spared them from His own wrath.
Gracious Production of Gratitude. Finally, let us not leave this passage without seeing what a wonderful work of grace is this gratitude and generosity in the hearts of these men. They go from lust and selfishness to recognizing God’s great mercy to them and desiring to be reconciled with Him. This, of course, can come only by the Spirit of God. What a merciful work He did in them!
How has God been generous with you? How, perhaps, has He been even disproportionately generous beyond what He gives most of His people? How have you responded to this generosity?
Sample prayer: Lord, thank You for Your great generosity to us. Truly, we had deserved Your wrath, just as the Israelite troops did. But You have given us not just plunder from battle but Your Son Himself, together with all other things. And You have given to us to give ourselves to You as living sacrifices. So, forgive us our sin for Christ’s sake, and continue Your gracious work in our hearts, we ask through Him, AMEN!
Suggested songs: ARP32AB “What Blessedness” or TPH128B “Blest the Man Who Fears Jehovah”
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