The Curious Case of Numbers 31

If the charge is dereliction of duty, then I am guilty as charged! ("Father, forgive me for I have sinned; it's been 48 hours since my last blog posting." :0) Everything's OK--just got a little busy.

I hope by now you've gotten into some kind of routine or schedule for your reading. For example, I usually do my reading in the AM while I'm eating breakfast. Then I blog about it, hopefully before the work day begins. Usually this works, except when my schedule is full in the AM. I'm sure you have similar difficulties in your day-to-day schedules.

What I need to do is anticipate these little interruptions in my life (as much as one CAN anticipate interruptions--who was listening to Lori's sermon on Sunday?!) especially when they're scheduled. God's Word is so important that it needs to be a priority in our lives. So I do hereby vow to blog ahead of time when I know an interruption in my normal schedule is coming.
I hope that you too are making adjustments for the interruptions in your life.

So, I'm back now, and I've got lots of questions and answers from the last couple of days:

Tuesday's question and answer of the day:
Tues, March 10: What two people did God say would be left after all the other Israelites had died in the desert? (Num 26)
Numbers 26:65 65 For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

Wednesday's question and answer of the day:
Weds, March 11: While the Israelites are observing the sacred assemblies and preparing offerings, what one thing are they NOT supposed to do? (Num 29)
Numbers 29: “do no work”

Thursday's question of the day:
Thurs, March 12: What did the men take an oath to not do “until we have killed Paul”? (Acts 23)


And here's the reflection of the day:
Numbers 31 is a curious case, don't you think? Dozeman says this: "The book of Numbers is violent. The open versed characterize the numbering of Israel at Mt. Sinai as a registration for the draft, focusing on males who are eligible for war (Num 1:3). The march through the wilderness is a military expedition, with each tribe representing a division (Num 11:13-28) led by the ark (Num 13:1-14), culminating in the slaughter of Israelites (Num 14:39-45)" (NIB Commentary, Numbers).

With so many incidents of war, it seems Numbers needs a careful theological consideration. Is Numbers glorifying war? Are the ethics that the Israelites follow in war (see Deut. 20) the same ethics that we should follow in war? You probably already have some (strong) opinions about war, both about what the Bible says about it and war in the world today. In this post, I just want to share some info with you that might help you to understand what's going on in Numbers 31. And then maybe we'll talk a little about what holy war is.

It's a puzzling story, this Numbers 31. Generally speaking, "holy war" in the Old Testament is guided by the directions given in Deuteronomy 20. Specifically this means they are called to kill all the males of the town they conquer but may keep the women, livestock, and assorted valuables as booty. Which is what the Israelites did in this passage.

So they return home triumphant. God indeed gave them victory in war over the Midianites. As they reach the Israelite camp, they expect Moses, Eleazar and the leaders of the congregation to meet them with great praise and acclaim. And they are met by the leaders, but the leaders are full of anger, not praise.

Imagine the surprise of the army. They did what they were supposed to do; they followed the rules. What could they have possibly done wrong?

It turns out that the women of Midian had seduced the earlier generation of Israelites into apostasy. It was especially the women that Moses was interested in punishing for their part in leading the first generation of Israelites astray! Hence why Moses was so angry: because the women who caused the problem in the first place survived and were still a threat to the second generation of Israelites. Usually a holy war was waged in order to remove temptation from the Israelites; here the temptation to sexual sin and idolatry still existed. That's also why the virgins were spared, because they had not been an active part of the temptation.

So that's what's going on in this chapter of Numbers. Now, read on if you want to know more about whether "holy war" should still be the norm for today or if "holy war" is something temporary.

I know this whole notion of "holy war" is bound to stir up a variety of emotions. Much from this book of Numbers is foreign to our post-modern experience. The days of holy war in the Christian Church are long over; even today we look back on wars in the Bible and the Crusades with disapproval and shame.

One commentary I read says this about "holy war" in the Bible, particularly Numbers: "It is important to see that the holy war is portrayed as only a temporary measure in the Bible, confined to the conquest of Canaan. . . . No later texts in the prophets or elsewhere ever urge Israel to take up a holy war again. The holy war as an act of violence does not provide a continuing paradigm for the actions of God's people" (Dennis Olson, Numbers, p 178).

The goal of the holy war against Canaan is to eliminate all the inhabitants who could tempt Israel to follow other gods. It was meant to establish a boundary between the Israelites and "the other." It was to preserve their purity as a people. Remember God says, "Be holy because I the Lord your God am holy."

But this strategy failed because Israel "continued to wage battles against the enemies of God's will, but it became more and more a battle of words, persuasion, obedience, and education through devotion to God's word of Scripture" (Olson, Numbers, p. 178).

So, does this help you sort through the issue of war, at least in the Bible? Does it explain why God used war in the Old Testament in Israel's journey to the Canaan, the Promised Land? How or should "holy war" guide our ethics concerning war? What do you think?

Post a comment below or check a reaction box. Let me know what you think!
Allison