August 23, 2013
A RIGHT RESPONSE
Numbers 31:25-54
Justin Griffin
Central Truth
When God moves, the right response is to share in the joy of the victory He provides with gratitude and praise.
Key Verse | Numbers 31:49–50
[A]nd they said to Moses, "Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord." (Numbers 31:49-50)
Numbers 31:25-54
25 The LORD said to Moses, 26 “Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation, 27 and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation. 28 And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks. 29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD. 30 And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD.” 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys, 35 and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep, 37 and the LORD's tribute of sheep was 675. 38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 72. 39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD's tribute was 61. 40 The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 32 persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army— 43 now the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 and 30,500 donkeys, 46 and 16,000 persons— 47 from the people of Israel's half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses 49 and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us. 50 And we have brought the LORD's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles. 52 And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels. 1 31:52 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams 53 (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.
Dive Deeper | Numbers 31:25-54
When I read through the Old Testament, I can't help but wonder about the Israelites. I often ask myself, "What are these guys thinking?" Every part of me wants to sit the whole nation down and say, "Listen guys, don't y'all remember how God rescued you from the Egyptians by PARTING THE RED SEA (Exodus 14)?! Don't you see how He has provided for your needs by raining manna down EVERY DAY for you to eat (Exodus 16)? Don't you remember when God made water come forth FROM A ROCK in the desert (Exodus 17)?" In that moment, though, I often recognize that I am just like the Israelites, quick to forget the goodness of God and chase my own way. I can easily deceive myself into the belief that I DESERVE bread from heaven or a means of escape when, in reality, those things are gifts from my Heavenly Father who loves me (and you!).
Earlier in Number 31, God tells the Israelites to take vengeance on the Midianites. He then grants the Israelites COMPLETE victory -- no man was lost. And we finally see a right response: "[A]nd they said to Moses, 'Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing. So we have brought as an offering to the Lord what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.'" (Numbers 31:49-50). God flexes in a big way. He delivers them from their enemy, and they respond by bringing an offering to the Lord!
Our Heavenly Father is "a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." (Psalm 86:15, NIV). He is for us, and He loves us. We know this by the gift of His Son on the cross, who died to save us. So when we are witness to His grace and love, we have the privilege of offering praise and living in humble gratitude towards Him and sharing this blessing with others.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe that God has a plan for you (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11)?
2. What distracts you from rightly responding to God's grace in your life?
3. What are some ways that you have seen God flex in your life or in the lives of those around you?