MIDIAN, and the DOCTRINE OF BALAAM. Numbers 31 The fourth son of Abraham and Keturah was the ancestor of an Arabian tribe that primarily inhabited the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. They grazed their flocks around Sinai. As the largest tribe in the area, they held significant influence and were heavily involved in trade. Joseph was sold to them, and later, they sold him to Egypt.
When Moses fled Egypt about 400 years later, he traveled to Midian and became a servant and later a son-in-law to the priest of Midian, Jethro. The Midianites were friendly to the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt, but only as long as they stayed on the outskirts of their land. However, when they crossed the southern end of Edom and headed north into the land of Midian, they allied with Balak, the king of Moab, to plot against Israel.
Balaam was sent to curse Israel but was forbidden by God to do so. However, he remained among the Midianites and lured them into mixing with the Israelites in sexual orgies associated with the worship of Baal. This became “The Doctrine of Balaam.” This advice from Balaam succeeded, and the apostate Balaam caused Israel to turn away from God, resulting in 24,000 of them dying.
This war was the “Lord’s vengeance” because of the Midianites' plan to defeat Israel by seducing them into sexual immorality and spiritual adultery through worship of the Baal of Peor. The Midianites had intentionally brought this war upon themselves by following the “doctrine of Balaam.” Balaam could not defeat Israel with sorcery, but he was nearly able to do so through the treachery of seduction.
The command to kill all the adults was harsh but necessary because of the moral corruption of the Midianites and their relentless desire to eliminate Israel. God meant for Israel to be a holy nation through which the Savior of the world would arrive. However, the allure of immorality intertwined with worship was so strong that the people of Israel were tempted to follow the paths of idolatry.
It is crucial for God’s people to dedicate themselves to following the Lord regardless of what others do. We are to “come out from among them” and be set apart for the Lord, avoiding involvement with the sinful practices of society, business, and religion. We should seek the lost with the Gospel and demonstrate God's love, but we must not compromise with evil practices that weaken faith in God.
1000 men from each tribe of Israel were called to serve in the military. Under Phinehas's leadership, the Midianites were defeated, their cities burned, five kings were slain, and the nation was completely overpowered. Balaam was also killed in this war, receiving the “wages of his unrighteousness.” Sadly, the temptations of sin remained, and warriors returned with women they had sinned with. The only people to be kept alive were the young ones who would be assimilated into Israel.
The officers who led the warriors had not obeyed the Lord's command. There is no excuse for disobedience. The stain of sin must be removed by following God's commands. The warriors in battle had to follow the law's prescribed protocol. Obedience to God in one area does not cancel out the responsibility to follow the law in another. The four hundred pounds of gold they brought back was taken to the Tabernacle and given to the priests.
The people who remained in the congregation and the warriors who went to battle shared the plunder equally. Half of the soldiers' share of the animals and captives was given to the priests, and half of the people's share was given to the Levites. This emphasized that God was with them and was the source of their victory.
There is no reason for self-satisfaction or for praising people when God uses His people to bring victories into our lives. The Lord holds the keys of life and death in His hand. He is the one who grants victories over sin, temptation, and the tendency to compromise. He is also the one who allows defeat for His own sovereign purposes.
The entire country of Midian was divided among Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. 250 years passed before Midian regained strength, formed an alliance with the Amalekites, and waged war against Israel during the period of the Judges. There is currently no evidence of the Midianites in the Middle East, although some Arabian groups may have descended from them.
When a nation or group of people attempts to destroy God’s people, they are fighting against God. Ignoring remnants of them out of pity is to preserve what is determined to destroy what belongs to God. Trying not to offend a doctrine or a people that is anti-Christ, anti-God, and anti-Bible, just to maintain a friendship, is wrong. It is a sin. God desired a people for His name. He intended Israel to be a kingdom of priests. He wanted them to live separate. He wanted Israel to choose to love and serve Him. But Balaam and the Midianites promoted both moral and spiritual compromise. Israel fell under that influence and was drawn to the immoral ways of that nation. They had to be stopped, or God's work would have been compromised. May we, too, never allow any group or doctrine to weaken what God has clearly given us in His Word.
The last official act of Moses before his death was to lead, along with Eleazar and Phinehas, the army of Israel in a holy war against the Midianites. Joshua was not mentioned as leading this campaign because it was God's sacred matters, not the conquest of the promised land of Canaan, that were at stake. The doctrine of Balaam had spread among God's people, and the infection of sexual immorality in the name of false gods had taken hold.
Those descendants of Abraham through Keturah, his second wife, believed, influenced by Balaam, that they couldn’t defeat Israel from outside. So, they took measures through their women to weaken them from within. Midianite women were used as subtle warriors to try to bring down Israel. The false gods of the Middle East in ancient times were inventions of Satan, used by men to control people by appealing to their basic instincts. Women were exploited as prostitutes to morally, physically, and spiritually corrupt enemies, aiming to cause their defeat.
It is possible for God's people to be defeated by the subtlety of immorality today, even more than by opposition or persecution. Historically, God's people have thrived under opposition and persecution. Now, the infiltration of immorality has invaded so-called Christendom to the point that what the scriptures condemn is now practiced, even by spiritual leaders. Through the internet, television programs, literature, and suggestions from unbelievers, ideas have been introduced into the minds of God's people that can lead to their defeat. The world has devised ways to appeal to the basest instincts of men, enticing them with things that will ultimately destroy them morally and spiritually. The doctrine of Balaam remains alive and thriving to the extent that many will reject biblical principles and claim they do not apply to us. Satan uses this to draw Christians back into the bondage of sin.
Moses' wife and her family were from Midian, but this did not prevent him from fulfilling God's purpose. How quickly one generation or two can turn to evil and accept it as normal life. Through sexual immorality, the Israelites fell into the worship of Baal, led astray by immoral people - and it happened almost instantly. We must be so careful not to let even the visual temptation of a person or thing linger in our minds. Yielding to temptation means ignoring God's provision, which offers a way of escape from such temptations. Our flesh is so easily attracted that we must constantly watch ourselves.
The way we handle sin and temptation is by avoiding situations that lead us into temptation, to "flee youthful lusts," and to "bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Our human nature can deceive us in everyday life and also in our spiritual activities if we're not careful. Obedience to Christ will distinguish us from what is popular and accepted by most people. We must distance ourselves from what the scriptures condemn.
The battle with the Midianites was a divine war between the One True God and the false gods of the Midianites. People fought in the conflict, but it was more than just a clash between two nations over power and property. It represented a struggle between good and evil, darkness and light, Satan's influence and God's power. Some people express outrage against God for destroying an immoral nation whose beliefs and practices threaten not only their own land but also every nation that associates with them. The virgins were kept alive so they could be made pure and kept safe from the tragedy that happens when people indulge in sin.
The reason for such serious judgment was the gravity of their sin and the consequences that would follow if it was allowed to continue. The punishment for adultery was death. The harm caused by ignoring this sin and its spiritual implications was that the whole nation was being corrupted. The very presence of widespread adultery brings chaos to any nation and will eventually lead to its downfall. Unchecked sin will destroy people, whether it affects a family, a church, or a society. Indifference to sin and its severity will ruin us as God's people. We will lose our spiritual strength because the Holy Spirit is grieved. We will also lose our testimony in the community because people around us will see no difference between us and them.
Although fascination with the world can trap God's people, His goodness can turn evil into blessing. The Israelites were enriched through the conquest of Midian. In everything we claim or gain in this life, God has His share that we must ensure He receives. All our possessions come from God, and He has permitted us to use them lawfully. The soldiers of Israel received their share, the nation as a whole received its share, and they made sure God received His share. We need to learn from this principle to avoid claiming what isn't ours, which leads to condemnation through greed. The soldiers' loot had to be purified before it could enter God's camp. It is our duty to ensure everything among God's people is purified and free from the worldly fleshly stamp.
The previous immoral acts of men with the Moabite and Midianite women were stopped by Eleazar, who used incense, and Phinehas, who drove a spear through an arrogant man and a defiant woman caught in sexual activity right in the camp. However, the men had not learned their lesson and still brought women back for themselves. Moses' final act of authority was to command them to do what was right and to remove the source of the problem. Balaam was dead, but the influence of his teachings persisted. God does not permit impurity to be ignored among His people.
We might think something is right because society around us accepts it, but that is not the standard for determining right or wrong. There are unchanging absolutes, and we must dedicate ourselves to maintaining holiness among God's people regardless of what others say or do. When we take steps to obey God's revealed will, God provides ample reason for us to rejoice. Not one warrior died in the battle with the Midianites. God does not abandon us to our own devices when we commit ourselves to obeying Him.
The work of God may not be understood by some people who think in worldly terms. When we know what God wants from us or what work He wants to accomplish through us, our responsibility is to do it. We may not know the end result of a matter or event, but that is okay - God does. God takes care of that Himself. Any success we might think we have achieved is really a work of God through His servants, whom He has chosen as His tools to use. Our responsibility is to do it with our might and to give God all the glory, "for it is God who worketh in you to will and to do of His good pleasure." The benefits that follow any enterprise we are engaged in can be given to God and kept as a memorial for us at the same time. How wonderful a divine paradox is!
It may not seem significant at first because, after all, it is common among people worldwide. But man has an innate inner thirst to fill the emptiness caused by sin. The issue arises when people seek what satisfies the natural man and sinful pleasures. From God's word, we learn how God offers to give us what no one else can.
A spiritual man understands that when he faces a test, the Lord is his only refuge when temptations of sin arise. When he is in body and soul, he recognizes the point at which he is pressured to yield to temptation, and he knows where to find the resources to give him strength and motivation to resist in advance. His safety lies in his separation, which keeps him protected from temptations that attract and bonds that tie. We must not give an inch to temptation because it will take a mile. It is our responsibility to avoid any situation where the world looks on with a knowing smile and says, “Go for it. Nobody will know.”
Grace will bring us divine blessings; the world uses velvet chains. Faith will lead us to do the Lord's will and not deny His name. Confessing the actions and results of sin and forsaking them will bring forgiveness. Acting in self-will for self-centered reasons will result in pain and long-lasting negative effects.