These verses described four events after the war with the Midianites. The first event described in Numbers 31:13-18 was Moses’ anger. When he learned that the men of Israel spared the Midianite women, he became angry with them. For these were the cause of Israel’s sin and downfall and should not be spared. So he commanded that all of them be destroyed except the virgins. This tells us that sources of sin must be removed so that they would not remain to bring trouble to the people. In the same way we need to deal with the root causes of sin in our lives. They must not be left to bring trouble to us. Every time we identify something that can cause us to sin, it is wiser to deal with it swiftly and immediately. Keep short account with God.
The
second event was the cleansing of the men of Israel who had returned from the
war described in verses 19-24. Since they had contacted many dead bodies that
they had slaughtered in the battle they had become unclean and were all in need
of ceremonial cleansing. Their clothing was washed and purified. Any
metal stuff that they used was made to go through the fire of purification and
then washed. There is always a need to renew our life to God. None of us dare
to claim that we have not soiled our feet in our journey in life. Hence,
periodical introspection will help us to identify areas that we need cleansing
and rededicate those areas of shortcomings to the Lord. It will help us to live
a life of sanctification.
The
third event was the dividing of the spoils that they had seized from the
Midianites described in verses 25-47. They were divided three ways. A portion
went to the men that went out to fight. Almost the same amount was distributed
to the people who remained home. And a small percentage of it was given to the
Lord which was given to the Levites. As Christians, we don’t live for
ourselves. We are a community, and we must see to it that everyone is equally
taken care of. Each of us is given different tasks in life and ministry. Let us
be sure to deploy them to serve the people and the
Lord.
The
fourth event described in verses 48-54 was the offering they made to God. When
they made a count of the people who had gone out to war and returned, they
found that the number was intact. They lost none of them. In gratitude, they
collected gold, and jewellery of all sorts and offered them to God, in
thanksgiving for preserving their lives. Interestingly, in verse 50 it is
said that their offering of gold and precious jewellery was made voluntarily
to atone for themselves before the Lord. Why did they feel the
need to do so? It was probably when they went out to war, that they realized
their lives rightly belonged to the Lord. Here they were exterminating the evildoers
and became aware that they like their forefathers were also equally rebellious. If
not for the mercy of God, they would also have to suffer the same end.
Realizing their own unworthiness, and the mercy of God, they offered offering
to align their own relationship with God.
The Bible is clear that we are engaged in a spiritual battle in our journey with God. We need to be vigilant to ensure that we do not have any besetting sin that will cause us to stumble on the way. We need to constantly evaluate our lives and jeep short accounts with God. If we need to make the needful adjustments to ensure a fuller dedication, we must make time to do it. Always show gratitude to God for His unfailing mercies in our lives. From God we have received freely, so let us also give freely of ourselves to serve Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment