Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Numbers
Chapter 31: The Judgment on Midian
This is a hard chapter, a war of divine judgment. Midian had deliberately set out to destroy Israel not by the sword but by seduction, corrupting them at Baal-Peor through the counsel of Balaam, and a plague had killed twenty-four thousand. Now God brings judgment on Midian, and Balaam himself dies with them. The soldiers and their spoil are purified by fire and water, and, having lost not one man, the officers bring a thank-offering. Read rightly, in its own time and setting, the chapter warns of the deadliness of the seducer and the total war we must wage against sin.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Numbers chapter 31. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. The chapter records God's judgment on Midian for the seduction at Baal-Peor, the death of Balaam, the purification after battle, and the offering of gratitude. It is a sober passage of holy war, handled here in its own redemptive-historical setting, and it points to the total war we must now wage, not against people, but against sin. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Avenge the LORD of Midian
Midian had corrupted Israel through the counsel of Balaam; now God brings His judgment upon them.
The Seducer's End
Balaam, who taught Balak to seduce Israel, died with the Midianites by the sword; the way of Balaam ends in death.
Fire and Water
Even righteous warfare defiled; the soldiers and their spoil were purified by fire and the water of separation.
Not One Man Lost
Israel lost not a single soldier, and the officers brought a thank-offering to make atonement before the LORD.
Avenge the LORD of Midian (Numbers 31:1-18)
God brings judgment on Midian for its deliberate campaign to destroy Israel through seduction, and Balaam, who devised it, dies with them.
Through the Counsel of Balaam
"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho. And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter 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 that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day. And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood. And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses; Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,"
Hebrew Study
"avenge," naqam (נָקַם). To avenge, to execute justice for a wrong. God calls it both avenging "the children of Israel" and avenging "the LORD of Midian"; it was judicial vengeance, the righteous judgment of God on a people who had deliberately warred against His purposes, not private revenge. Naqam here is the just recompense of a holy God, not human hatred.
Explanation
God tells Moses, "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites," as his last great act before he is "gathered unto thy people." A thousand from each tribe went to war, with Phinehas and "the holy instruments, and the trumpets." They defeated Midian, and among the slain was "Balaam also the son of Beor," the prophet who could not curse Israel but had taught Balak how to seduce them; the covetous seer died with the people he had corrupted. Then comes the hard part: Moses is angry that the women were spared, "for behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor," the very seduction that had killed twenty-four thousand. The command to put them to death is severe, and Scripture does not soften it. This was a war of divine judgment on a people who had made a deliberate policy of destroying Israel spiritually, a judicial act of God in that unique time, like the judgment on Canaan, and not a pattern or warrant for warfare of any kind today.
Gospel Focus
This chapter is not easy, and we do it no honor by pretending otherwise. It records a war of judgment that belongs to a particular moment in redemptive history, God executing justice through Israel on a people set on destroying His covenant nation. It is emphatically not a model for how God's people are to act now. The New Testament is explicit that our warfare has changed entirely: "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). We wage war not against flesh and blood, but against sin, and the enduring lesson of Midian is aimed there. Notice why the judgment fell: the deadliest attack on Israel was not the sword but the seduction, "the counsel of Balaam." What no army could do, compromise nearly accomplished. And Moses' anger that the seducers were spared teaches a hard truth about sin: to "save alive" what God has told us to put to death is to keep the very thing that will corrupt us. The command therefore to us is total war on sin within: "mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness... covetousness, which is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5); "if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:13). Do not spare the sin that seduces; put it to death, thoroughly, or it will do to you what Midian did to Israel.
Purified by Fire and Water (Numbers 31:19-24)
Even righteous warfare brought defilement by death, so the soldiers and their spoil had to be cleansed, passing through fire and the water of separation.
Through the Fire and the Water
"Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water. And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the LORD. And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, And threescore and twelve thousand beeves, And threescore and one thousand asses, And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and twelve. And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the LORD'S tribute was threescore and one. And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty and two persons. And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD'S heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses. And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, And thirty and six thousand beeves, And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, And sixteen thousand persons;) Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses. And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses:"
Hebrew Study
Even a God-commanded victory leaves the soldiers defiled — by contact with death — and the spoils must be cleansed: "every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire," and what cannot is purified with the water of separation. Triumph does not exempt from holiness; the warriors stay outside the camp seven days and are purged. Victory in the LORD's cause still requires clean hands, for the God who gives the conquest remains the Holy One who dwells in the midst.
Explanation
After the battle, cleansing was required. The soldiers, having touched the slain, were unclean, and had to "abide without the camp seven days" and be purified "on the third day, and on the seventh day" with the water of separation (the ashes of the red heifer, from chapter 19). The spoil, too, had to be cleansed. Whatever "may abide the fire," the metals, was to "go through the fire, and it shall be clean," and still further "purified with the water of separation"; whatever could not endure the fire was passed "through the water." Even a war commanded by God left its defilement, and even the plunder had to be purged before it could be used among the holy people. Contact with death, the fruit of sin, defiled, and there was no coming back into the camp of the LORD without cleansing.
Gospel Focus
That even a divinely commanded battle required cleansing teaches a searching truth: contact with death and sin defiles, and we cannot come near a holy God without being purified. The two agents, fire and water, both speak of God's cleansing work. The fire pictures the purifying trials and the searching Spirit that burn away what is false, for our work and our lives are "tried... by fire" (1 Corinthians 3:13), and God refines His people as gold. The water of separation, the ashes of the heifer applied, pictures the cleansing of Christ's finished sacrifice, by which "the blood of Christ... shall... purge your conscience from dead works" (Hebrews 9:14). What we bring back from our battles in a fallen world, even our victories, must pass through the cleansing of God. And there is a gentle wisdom here for the servant of God: the necessary, hard, defiling duties of life in this world still send us back to be cleansed. However righteous the cause, we return from the fight needing to be washed, and God has made full provision, fire to refine and living water to cleanse, so that we may dwell clean in the camp of the LORD.
Not One Man Lacking (Numbers 31:25-54)
The spoil was divided and a tribute given to the LORD, and the officers, having lost not a single soldier, brought a thank-offering to make atonement before God.
There Lacketh Not One Man of Us
"And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of us. We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD. And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all wrought jewels. And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD."
Hebrew Study
The officers count the returning soldiers and report an astonishment: "there lacketh not one man of us." Not a single Israelite fell in the battle — a marvel of God's protecting hand. In grateful response they bring the gold they had taken as an offering "to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD." They do not credit their own swords; the flawless victory is God's, and the fitting answer is worship that gives Him back the glory and the gold.
Explanation
God directed how the spoil was to be divided, "into two parts," between the soldiers who fought and the whole congregation, with a tribute levied for the LORD, given to the priests and Levites. Then a remarkable thing is reported. The officers came to Moses and said, "Thy servants have taken the sum of the men of war... and there lacketh not one man of us." In the whole battle, Israel had not lost a single soldier, an extraordinary preservation that could only be the hand of God. In response, the officers brought "an oblation for the LORD... of jewels of gold... to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD," and it was brought into the tabernacle "for a memorial." Even in the flush of a costless victory, they did not boast; they gave thanks, acknowledged their need of atonement, and set up a memorial that the deliverance was God's doing, not their own.
Gospel Focus
The officers' response to victory is a model of grateful humility. Having lost not one man, they did not credit their own strength but brought a thank-offering and a memorial to God, and they still spoke of needing "atonement for our souls." This is the right heart in victory: to give the glory to God and to remember that even our triumphs leave us dependent on His mercy. Every real victory the believer wins is God's gift, "thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57). We do not conquer sin, temptation, or the enemy by our own might, and when we prevail, the response is not pride but thanksgiving and a memorial that God did it. That "there lacketh not one man" also whispers of the Shepherd who keeps His own; of those the Father gave Him, Jesus said, "of them which thou gavest me have I lost none" (John 18:9). The God who preserved every soldier in the battle keeps every soul entrusted to His Son. Fight the good fight against sin, and when God gives the victory, give Him the glory, rest in the atonement, and remember: the triumph is His.
Chapter 31 in Review
Numbers 31 records God's judgment on Midian for its deliberate seduction of Israel at Baal-Peor "through the counsel of Balaam," a war of divine justice belonging to that unique moment in redemptive history. Balaam, the covetous seer, died with the people he had corrupted. The soldiers and their spoil, defiled by contact with death, were cleansed by fire and the water of separation before returning to the camp. And Israel, having lost not one man, gave thanks: the officers brought a thank-offering "to make an atonement for our souls" and a memorial before the LORD.
For the Apostolic reader, this hard chapter must be read in its own setting, God's judicial judgment through Israel, never a warrant for violence now, for "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal." Its enduring lesson is the deadliness of the seducer and the total war we must wage on sin: to "save alive" what God says to put to death is to keep what will corrupt us, so we must "mortify" the sin within. Even necessary hard duties defile, and we return needing the cleansing of fire and living water that God has provided in Christ. And victory is God's gift, met not with pride but with thanksgiving, atonement, and a memorial, for He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, and of His own He loses none.
- The judgment fell for a deliberate seduction, "the counsel of Balaam"; the deadliest attack was compromise, not the sword (31:16).
- This war of judgment belongs to its own moment; our warfare now is spiritual, "not carnal" (31:1-18; 2 Corinthians 10:4).
- To spare the sin God says to destroy is to keep what will corrupt us; "mortify" it instead (31:15-17; Colossians 3:5; Romans 8:13).
- Even righteous battle defiles; we return needing cleansing by fire and the water of separation, provided in Christ (31:23; Hebrews 9:14).
- Victory is God's gift, met with thanksgiving, not pride: "thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory" (31:49-50; 1 Corinthians 15:57; John 18:9).
Questions for Reflection
- Are you waging total war on the sin that seduces you, or "saving alive" some compromise that will corrupt you?
- Do you return from the necessary hard duties of life to be cleansed by the God who has provided fire and living water?
- When God gives you victory, do you respond with pride, or with thanksgiving and a memorial that He did it?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The judgment on Midian, the seducer, and war against sin: Numbers 31:1-18; 2 Corinthians 10:4; Colossians 3:5; Romans 8:13.
- Purification after battle, cleansing in Christ: Numbers 31:19-24; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Corinthians 3:13.
- Preservation, gratitude, and victory through Christ: Numbers 31:25-54; 1 Corinthians 15:57; John 18:9.