Numbers 31:3-6 (KJV)
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. [4] Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. [5] So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. [6] 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.
Avenge the LORD of Midian. This was God's vengeance. Israel was carrying out God's business, not just their own. This was not a private vengeace. It is interesting that in verse 2 God said "avenge Israel of Midian", but in this passage Moses says "avenge the Lord of Midian". What is the scripture intending here, but that the enemy of God's people is the enemy of God. By the evil they had done against Israel, Midian had made themselves an enemy of God. The same can be said of the Christian's enemies. Those who hate God's people, hate God. Those who curse God's people, curse God. Thus we Christians can be assured then that those who do evil against us, God will fight against them for us. We don't need to take revenge against them, for vengeance is God's and He will repay.
Also we learn that when we do battle for the Lord as soldiers of Christ, we are fighting the LORD's war, not our own. We are fighting for God's agenda, not our own. We are the Lord's army. A soldier does not ask questions to the general; he only obeys. Likewise, we do not ask questions but we obey and fight, for the Lord has commanded. And we know that our Lord is good, and thus our fight will be the "good fight", one that Paul fought.
Arm some of yourselves for war. Our warfare as Christians is not against people. Who are our enemies? The scripture describes our foes:
Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Our enemies are spiritual, and thus our weapons must be spiritual. Paul tells us the list of our weapons:
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (KJV)
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; [6] And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Our weapons are, first of all, casting down wicked imaginations that defy itself against God and His laws. This we do by destroying wicked imaginations with the Truth: truth about God, the world, mankind, sin, heaven, hell, the Gospel, and God's final judgment. And this truth is only contained in the Bible. Nowhere else will there be any truth. We must defeat fables and fictions and emotional stories, and strip them all down so that there will not the cold truth and fact. The Gospel is not a product of the imagination, but eye-witness accounts of those who saw the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is hard, cold truth, a historical event.
We must also pull any thing that hinders men from the true knowledge of God. Any idolatry that makes God less good or less powerful or less sovereign or less holy or less loving than He is. Any sinful or worldly knowledge that says it is better knowledge than knowing God. Any wicked doctrine in the church that says eternal life or the Christian life is something other than knowing God and Christ. These we must blow away, but how? By faithful preaching of who God truly is, and who Christ is. We must preach that God and his whole attributes truthfully and faithfully, as He is described in the bible. We can't pull any punches. We must present a living, and holy God who is our Creator, Judge and Saviour.
Also we must fight any thoughts that are disobedient to Christ. Firstly, any thoughts that despise God's commandments and desires to disobey them. Even those wicked hidden thoughts of disobedience that are so well covered with the plaster of the word "grace", like whitewashed tombs in which are dead men's bones. These must be torn down, and we must demand obedience to Christ's words. And secondly, any thought that does not bow down to Christ Himself. Any thought that does not acknowledge Jesus Christ as LORD, the Name Above All Names. Any thought that loves to exalt and rebel against the thought that Jesus Christ is all-sufficient and all in all. Any thought that says Christ's works in life and death, and in resurrection are not enough for salvation. All these things are thoughts that are disobedient to Christ.
And see what the apostles say, that they are ready to revenge disobedience. They are fighting the Lord's war, for the Lord's vengeance. When Christ comes back to earth, the apostles shall judge the twelve tribes of Israel. We the saints shall also judge the world along with them, as Paul wrote. The judgment day will be the day of the Lord's vengeance against those who have been disobedient to the Lord Jesus Christ our God.
Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest also went to war, as a kind of captain over the army of God. It was fitting that he went, for the army were to have the same zeal for the Lord that Phinehas had when he killed Zimri and the Midianitish woman with the javelin. Phinehas was to impart some of this zeal and the courage that he had to the whole army. The soldiers of Christ ought to also have this zeal for Lord's jealousy over His people. The soldiers of Christ must not fear man as Phinehas did not, but fear God and His judgments more. Most of all, soldiers of Christ must have the heart to make atonement for sin, to satisfy God's wrath, as Phinehas did by killing Zimri. This army of Israelites did it by killing the Midianites, but we do it by preaching of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that those that believe may have their sins atoned for.
Phinehas went to battle with the holy instruments, most likely the ark of the covenant. Jesus Christ is our ark of the covenant, whom goes forth with us in our spiritual warfare. It is the covenant that was promised to Abraham and confirmed by Christ's own blood that gives us the confidence and the authority to battle for Him. How can we expect to fight with courage, without the assurance of the covenant that is between God the Father and our representative, Jesus Christ? We fight whilst trusting in this covenant that can't be broken. We have confidence that God for Christ's sake will not leave us nor forsake us. We have confidence through this covenant that we are blessed, that we are counted righteous in God's sight.
Twelve thousand armed for war. The word "delivered out" means to set apart. A thousand out of the twelve tribes were thus set apart for war. We are immediately reminded of when Paul and Barnabas were "set apart" in Antioch for the ministry toward Gentiles. Paul and Barnabas were those chosen by God to fight this war against strong holds. We are reminded again that this spiritual warfare is God's war, and Jesus the General prepares and picks His choice men. How holy must we be, if we have thus been chosen by Christ to fight in His war against the devil. We ought to be like our Master in every way, and be willing to do His will, and not our own. We can't be like our enemy in any way.
We see then not every believer is ready or called for warfare. There are believers who are not mature or have not received the right training. Perhaps those in whom still is needed cleansing from particular sins. Perhaps those who love other things, such as family and friends, more than the cause of God. Whatever it may be, not everyone is prepared to go to battle for Christ. Perhaps also it may be those who cannot handle the Word of God properly, or cannot discern right and wrong.
Or perhaps some of us may need to stay behind, and equip others with the weapons of God for battle. We may need to teach those who are younger than us how to fight and survive. We also need some to stay behind and watch the camp also, lest the enemy comes and lay our homebase to waste. Those who stay behind also must battle in prayer, that those in front lines may not be defeated, and that they may receive the strength that comes from God.
Wherever we are, either staying in the camp, or having gone out to fight, we remember that we are in this war together. Either we Christians win, or we are trampled underfoot by unbelievers like salt that has lost its saltiness. When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer. We cannot give in to the wiles of the devil, who bring in whores from Midian to cause us to sin and commit spiritual adultery against God. We must resist the devil, and courageously defend the holiness of the Church as Phinehas did. We must be zealous for God. Let us arm ourselves, and volunteer to risk our lives for the sake of the cause of God. Amen.
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