The Contraband

Studies in Numbers

III The Finale

B The Celebrations

4 The Contraband, Text: 31:25-54

Title: Divine Distribution

INTRODUCTION

As God gave instructions for the battle, He now gave instructions for the distribution of the plunder. It was His battle and His right to order the way in which the captured people, creatures, and goods were to be distributed. This is no small matter. The things taken in battle were considered to be korban which means that they are devoted to the Lord, that is, property which is forbidden for others to simply take. We look at the combatants, the commitment, and the contribution.

I THE COMBATANTS

Let us compare the glorious success of this divinely ordered and directed mission with a past event that illustrates first of all the importance of the Lord’s direction and support. As we read about it here last us be sure to apply it to the missions we undertake in our spiritual lives. We need God’s favor in all that we do. There is a story in Joshua 7:1-5 which forcefully illustrates this point, But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel. Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. Note that in our passage today God sends a few to defeat much larger numbers as He often does, and He deserves the glory. In Joshua it is the spies who claim that fewer men can succeed. This is the mission following a great victory and the people are pumped up, unfortunately, in pride, and they foolishly conclude that in their own power they can prevail. In Joshua because of the theft from the previous raid by Achan, they are, first of all defeated, secondly, men die, and ultimately Achan and his family are put to death. Yet in the harder battle with the Midianites in our text no life is lost because God leads.

II THE COMMITMENT

And so we come to the distribution which is found in verses 25-47, The Lord said to Moses, “You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the community are to count all the people and animals that were captured. Divide the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part. From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.” So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. The plunder remaining from the spoils that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man. The half share of those who fought in the battle was:337,500 sheep, of which the tribute for the Lord was 675; 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72; 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61; 16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the Lord was 32. Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part, as the Lord commanded Moses. The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men—the community’s half—was 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys and 16,000 people. From the Israelites’ half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle. These huge numbers indicate the extent of the victory and it is not surprising that the soldiers were greatly rewarded. But the remarkable thing is that the people who stayed behind were also rewarded with some of the spoils of battle. Frankly, it reminded me of a song forged during World War I in England which also became popular during World War II in America when I was a boy “Keep The Home-fires Burning.” “Overseas there came a pleading, ‘Help a nation in distress.” And we gave our glorious laddies -Honor made us do no less, For no gallant son of Freedom To a tyrant’s yoke should bend, And a noble heart must answer To the sacred call of ‘Friend.’ Keep the Home Fires Burning, While your hearts are yearning. Though your lads are far away. They dream of home. There’s a silver lining Through the dark clouds shining, Turn the dark cloud inside out Till the boys come home.” They also serve who only stand and wait. Recently at his State Of The Union address the President, Donald Trump singled out the recently widowed survivor of a U. S. seal, and the room erupted in the longest applause ever at such an event. And of course we must not forget that the Lord God, is always the central figure. The ultimate purpose of all this division and numbering is to render a portion to the Lord as the real victor in the battle, and the Lord deserves the longest applause. This narrative shows that we are dealing here with the execution of a divine sentence. It implies an extraordinary divine protection, which is in accordance with the view that they were in a peculiar sense the Lord’s instruments. The Lord’s portion was proportionately divided between the army and the people. The fewer soldiers of course received a greater reward, and the offering to the Lord was computed differently than that of the people. The ratios were 500 to one for the army and 50 to one for the people who obviously had less at stake.

III THE CONTRIBUTION

In the final verses, 48-54, we read about an offering that was not required or commanded. It was a free-will offering, a thank offering. Then the officers who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses and said to him, “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing. So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.” Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles. All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels. (This was 420 pounds of gold worth today well over 80 million dollars.) Each soldier had taken plunder for himself. Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord. It clearly was not because they had done wrong in failing to destroy all the enemies of Jehovah, but rather in the feeling that they were not worthy of the grace of victory and total survival, for, as they explicitly stated, “no one was missing.” Although they framed it as an atonement it was only loosely that. They well knew that a real atonement for sin required a bloody sacrifice.

CONCLUSION

Let us ask ourselves whether we are fighting the good fight of faith in the conviction that we cannot succeed without the Lord and the equally important conviction that He is with us. May we also ask if we respect God’s korban on our wealth and set aside the tithe He has ordered, and also whether we render appropriate thank offerings to Jesus. Our victories are surely greater than any won by Israel’s armies. In Christ we are more than victors through Him who loved us.