Based on Numbers 31:1-18 (New King James Version)
“And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.’ So Moses spoke to the people, saying, ‘Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.’ So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword. And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast. Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. And Moses said to them: ‘Have you kept all the women alive? Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.’”
To be able to understand this passage better, we need to understand what happened, although we are given a glimpse of the problem. The issue that happened was that many of Israel developed relationships with these Midianites that they encountered on the way to the promised land, a people that were dedicated to paganism, to Baal worship, basically a personification of Satan himself. And when Israel intermixed and even married their women, God’s wrath came upon Israel, and many died because of His punishment. The worse problem with this relationship with the Midianites was that not only were they dedicated to Baal worship, but they tried to influence and even convert Israel against their God. They tried to conquer Israel in a very subtle and calculating manner to destroy them as a nation, by trying to make them abandon God, and convert them to becoming like them, in the end, converting them into becoming Midianites instead of retaining their identity as Israel and remain being the people of God on the earth. If they would have accomplished that, the world would not have had any kind of hope, and there would have been complete spiritual darkness over all human civilization. They were a terrible influence, of the worse kind. That was the problem that God had with them, and the reason for why He was so inflexible in His direction to destroying them.
Unfortunately, this issue of the devil trying to use people with bad intentions to take believers away from way of the Lord still remains today, and worse than ever. We know that the world is the world, and that it is directly opposed to God, as it has always been. But now the big problem is that much of that world is trying to conquer God’s people, so that they abandon the Lord, and like that, establish a completely evil reign over the planet. That has always been Satan’s plan, but now, it’s worse than ever. And to our disgrace, Satan is fully immersed in our churches and in ministries, because of that evil and subtle influence that he employs. God’s people are falling today precisely because of this evil, for developing relationships with the forbidden, by forming an intimacy with that which goes completely against God. That’s why you need to be careful with who you deal with.
The Word is very clear with this issue of forming relationships with people that have no attraction for the Lord. For it says like this: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?” 2 Corinthians 6:14-15. Quite simply, we cannot unite with people that want nothing to do with the Lord. In other words, there are differences between people that are in the world, those that are neutrally foreign to God because they have never heard of the Lord, and those that know about God and refuse to believe in Him and in His Christ. This is the ugly truth, but also the difference within that ugly truth, that the whole world is under Satan’s dominion, but there is a difference between those that don’t know the truth at all and those that refuse to accept the Truth, having known it in some way, and I say in “some way” because the majority of the world does know Who God is and that Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son, but refuse to accept Him.
Now then, how should we conduct ourselves, those of us that truly know the Lord? We are still under the dispensation of God’s grace, so then, we shouldn’t kill anyone, just in case. This is what the Word says: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” Jude 1:20-23. We need to give people an opportunity, so that they know the Lord, but not by forming an intimate relationship with them, because the Word also says this: “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4. “Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘If you return, then I will bring you back; you shall stand before Me; if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them.” Jeremiah 15:19. That is why we see in the key passage that the Lord gave an order to leave alone the girls and boys in this occasion, because they were redeemable, because they could be taught in the ways of the Lord. And we also see this: “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.” Matthew 19:13-15. Within all of the evil and rebellion against the Lord, there can always be a childlike person that can listen to and accept the Truth of Christ. But otherwise, it is good to depart from everyone that can be a bad influence. So then, are you a good influence for the world, or are you allowing yourself to be drawn away by its evil influence? Lord bless! John