Following the slaughter of the Midianites, we’re given an inventory of the plunder of livestock as follows:
“The booty, over and above the portion which the soldiers took, came to 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 persons in all, consisting of the women who had never slept with a man.”-Numbers 31:32-35
These figures are so huge that many scholars will say no way can these figures be real.
Well, unless you’ve been to Israel, there’s no way for you to know this, but the fields in the upper Trans-Jordan provide exceedingly EXCELLENT pasture.
In fact, out of all the places in that region where large numbers of livestock would have been possible, the upper area of the Trans-Jordan would have been it!
In fact, the area is so fertile, in the next chapter we’re going to see that a couple of the 12 tribes decided to forgo entering into the Promised Land just so they could live in this area.
Let’s take a look at the last couple of verses of Numbers 31.
“The officers in charge of the thousands who fought, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe and said to him, “Your servants have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing. We have brought an offering for Adonai, what every man has obtained in the way of gold jewelry — armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and belts — to make atonement for ourselves before Adonai.”-Numbers 31:48-50
Wow, now doesn’t that just bring a lump to your throat?
In a world filled with self-seeking leaders whose only aim to is gain fame and fortune for themselves, right here we’re presented with an inspiring example of what Godly leadership is all about.
Every commanding leader from every rank, from the sergeants all the way up to the top leader, handed over all of the gold and silver jewelry they had acquired as spoils from their battle with the Midianites.
What motivated them to be so generous?
Well, check out these verses.
The officers in charge of the thousands who fought, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, approached Moshe and said to him, “Your servants have counted all the soldiers under our command, and not one of us is missing“.-Numbers 31:48-49
Gosh darn AMAZING!!!
After the battle, not even ONE Hebrew soldier was killed or missing!
Have you ever heard of a major military conflict where not even one soldier was killed or captured?
This was a pure NESS GADOL (Humongous Miracle!) if I ever did hear of one!!!
Actually, I would say this is may be one of the biggest overlooked miracles in all of Scripture!
Remember, we’re talking about 12,000 soldiers here folks and NOT ONE WAS KILLED!!!
The leaders were so thankful and overtaken with emotion that they turned over all their booty to the priesthood in humble recognition of what HASHEM had done for them.
And the common soldiers kept their entire shares.
Now that’s servant leadership!
We’re next told that in order to commemorate this day, the priests took all of the precious metals they received and used them to form a variety of ritual objects that would be used in the Tabernacle.
Up until this point in time, we’ve witnessed a lot of highs and lows in the Lord’s dealings with His Chosen People.
Without a doubt, this is one of the highs.
This is also a perfect example of the blessings that will overcome a committed and faithful leadership.
Moving forward, as we see Israel cross the Jordan River into Canaan, we’re going to see God’s army win battle after battle at lightening speed.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN NUMBERS CHAPTER 32
Boy, talk about casting your crowns before the Lord. Do you suppose this was a type and shadow event for when we do that same thing before Yeshua??? He saved our lives for all eternity so we willingly cast our crowns before Him. Got to live it…. Yeshua is all within the Torah!!