SERMON SUMMARY
Pastor Jason discusses the penultimate sermon in a series on Numbers, focusing on Chapter 31's account of Israel's war against the Midianites. He explains that this war is a rehearsal for the battles at Canaan and a fulfillment of God's vengeance on the Midianites for their role in tempting Israel. The Israelites achieve a decisive victory, killing every Midianite male and plundering their cities. Pastor Jason emphasizes God's dual nature as both merciful and wrathful, using the analogy of an elephant to illustrate different perspectives on God. He also highlights the importance of prayer and gratitude in the Christian life.

SERMON TRANSCRIPT

We are looking at the penultimate or the second last sermon in our series through Numbers. Next week, we'll wrap up this Old Testament book in a five-chapter overview, and then we are going to look at the book of James in the first week of March. Hope you will read up in advance, so that you will benefit from the preaching in James.

The Context of Numbers 31
Now, I want to remind you today. Numbers is called Numbers because there are two occasions of numbering men ready for war. This was part of the preparation in order for Israel to conquer the Promised Land of Canaan. Now the first campaign, however, was aborted because Israel lived in unbelief. They would not obey God to enter the Promised Land, out of fear for the enemies. So God made Israel wander in the wilderness for 40 years as a punishment for their unbelief, till 99.99% of the first generation would die out. And then God, in His mercy, raised a second generation 40 years later to prepare to enter the Promised Land once again.

Now this time in Chapter 31 we're going to read about them entering warfare. But this is not really the battles at Canaan. This is a battle outside Canaan. But you could probably read this as a kind of full dress rehearsal. So Numbers 31 is about God's holy war, not against the Canaanites as yet, but against the Midianites as we have read. I have a lot of ground to cover, so I go straight to God's holy war, how this is borne out of, number one, vengeance.

God’s Vengeance and the Midianites’ Sin
God said to Moses, “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites.” Now this is a throwback to Numbers 25. Balak, the king of Midian, and Balaam, the false prophet, conspired together to bring down Israel. They tried to curse Israel, but could not succeed, but they managed to hatch a ploy, a scheme, a snare, to tempt the Israelite men with a bevy of beautiful Midianite women. And when they had relationships with these women, they will reel these men in, inviting them to some religious feasts to eat of the food sacrificed to the idols, and to cause these men to bow before the false gods.

What happened then was that God's wrath was kindled against Israel for their disobedience, and 24,000 people died as a result of their disobedience. So this is simply, Numbers 31 is simply recording for us what God had already said earlier in (chapter) 25: “Harass the Midianites and strike them down.” Now this war campaign is the final campaign for Moses, because God said, “Afterward, you shall be gathered to your people.” This is his last act before retirement.

Now, Moses understood there's not so much as just a personal vendetta against the Midianites, but that God Himself is executing vengeance upon Midian. Midian or the Midianites are a sinful people, and that kind of tipped over when they caused Israel to sin. And so now Moses understands Israel, the nation, is just instruments of vengeance in God's mighty hand.

Some of you right now who are maybe not Christians, this is the first time to church. We totally understand this. You might be very concerned. You may be very unsettled to hear that the God of the Bible is a God who executes vengeance, because you might have come in thinking that God should be a God of love and compassion and mercy and acceptance. Why are we reading that God is going to execute vengeance on a certain people group? And this disturbs you, but I want to remind you that the Bible reveals God, not just as a God of mercy and love and grace, but also a God of wrath and vengeance and holiness.

The Psalmist’s Perspective on Vengeance
Remember Psalm 94. The psalmist––a psalmist is a songwriter––he writes a song. It's called a psalm, and he writes this Psalm 94. Opening words are, “O, Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.” So the psalmist is saying, “Hey, I'm praying, I'm longing for the true God of the Bible to manifest His glory, and one of His glories is how He takes vengeance upon His enemies.” There's nothing wrong, according to the psalmist, that God should be known as a God of vengeance. It's a glorious thing that God is a God of vengeance. It's a glorious thing for God to be a God of love, and it's a glorious thing for God to be a God of wrath.

Again, back to Numbers or Exodus 34. Last week, we looked at this self description given by God. God reveals His glory, and He says, “I'm a God of mercy and grace and love and steadfast love and forgiveness.” That's all wonderful. That's all what we want to hear. But equally, in verse 7, God continues to describe Himself as someone who will by no means clear the guilty. In other words, He's a God who will judge, a God who will punish, a God who is severe. And again, I understand this disturbs you. You very much wish that God is not like this, but this is who God is, as He reveals Himself in the scriptures.

Maybe you are familiar with this story of an elephant and six blind men. Six blind men wanted to find out what an elephant is, but because they can't see, they can't really know the elephant. So they try to get near the elephant, to feel the elephant, and to figure out by their senses what this elephant is all about. You will see them at the side of an elephant, at the knees of an elephant, at the tail of the elephant, at the tusk of the elephant, and near the ear of the elephant. And there is someone who wrote a brilliant poem to describe this process:

It was six men of Indostan (ancient India)
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant,
(Though all of them were blind)
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approach’d the elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
“God bless me! But the Elephant
Is very like a wall!”

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, “Ho, what have we here?
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me ‘tis mighty clear,
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!”

The Third approached the animal
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
“I see,” quoth he, “the Elephant
Is very like a snake!”

The Fourth reached out his eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
“What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain,” quoth he,
“‘Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a tree!”

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: “E’en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most:
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a fan!”

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Then, seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
“I see,” quoth he, “The Elephant
Is very like a rope!”

The Elephant Analogy and Theological Disputes
So these six men tried to figure out what an elephant is, and with their touch, they said, “An elephant”, the first one, “is a wall”. The second says, “An elephant is a spear.” The third says, “The elephant is a snake.” The fourth says, “The elephant is like a tree.” The fifth says, “The elephant is a fan.” And the sixth says, “The elephant is a rope.” Well, they are all somewhat right, but also very wrong. An elephant is not a wall nor a spear, nor a fan, nor a rope. So the poem goes on to say, “And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long, each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong, though each was partly in the right and all were in the wrong!”

What's the moral of the story?
So oft in theologic wars (wars about knowing God),
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

The poet here is saying many people complain, or not complain. They dispute, they argue about who God is, what He is like. But to imagine God based on our own speculation is just like figuring God out like these blind men––somewhat right but also totally wrong. So you see, when we sit down in our armchair and we say, “God should not be a God of wrath, but He should only be a God of love”, we are very much like the blind man saying that's what I want my God to be. But that's not who God reveals Himself to be.

One of the things I like to ask people in our membership class and baptism class is a series of three simple questions. When you understand the Bible, when you understand the gospel, you would see these three important questions. What are we saved from? Many of the people will say, “We are saved from sin and from hell and from judgment.” I say, “Those are great answers. Correct.” Then I'll ask them a second question, “What are we saved by?” And they will say, “Saved by grace, saved by Jesus, saved by God, saved by the gospel.” And I say, “That is perfectly right.” And the third question I'll ask is “saved for what?” They will say, “Saved for service, saved for good works, saved for the glory of God, saved for God.” And I say, “Perfectly right.” Then I'll ask the last question, “What is that one word that you can put in all three blanks that would satisfy these three questions?” The answer, in the beginning, very few know, but over time in Gospel Light, people know, and the answer is “God”.

The Surprise of God’s Holiness
And this is the surprise. Huh? I understand when you say, “saved by God and saved for God”. But why do we need to be “saved from God”? The reason why you need to be saved from God is because He is a holy God and is a God of wrath, and He will execute vengeance on His enemies, on sinners who refuse to repent and who will rebel against Him. That is who God reveals Himself to be, and I think this is beautifully and totally displayed in this holy war against the Midianites.

The Stunning Victory of Israel
I'm going to speak more about God's vengeance in a while, but let me move on. Following the flow of Moses, after we note the vengeance, we then take notice about the victory. This was a stunning victory. If you play a basketball game, this is equal to 100,000 versus zero because as you will read, Moses is commanded to send out 1,000 from each tribe, so 12,000 men will go out to war. They will kill every Midianite male in this warfare. Now, how many soldiers from Midian? We are not given exact numbers, but based on the plunder that you will read about later, people estimate this to be at least 30,000 to 50,000 Midianite men in war. So this is an underdog situation, but they killed every single Midianite male. And not only that, they killed the kings of Midian––the five kings there––and killed Balaam. Ah, that thorn in the flesh. He is killed here. They also plundered everything. They plundered the women, the cattle, the flocks, the goods and the cities were burnt up, and all the spoil was taken. It was an absolute victory. It was so absolute that we read in verse 49 that zero Israelite men were killed. So like I said, if this was a basketball game, it is 100,000 to zero. Every enemy defeated; none, none lost his life for Israel.

Why is this the case? Is it because Israel is a mighty fighting machine? Is it because they have great weapons, like nuclear weapons? Is it because they were well trained in the art of war? No, because they were a wandering people in the wilderness. Moses gives us a clue why they were so, so victorious. It's found in verse 6, and in a subsequent statement, “Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe.” Now that's what is expected. You go to war, you send your men. But this is not expected––together with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets. (laughs) When you go to war, you bring your swords and your spears and your shields. But Eleazar went out with the vessels of the sanctuary and with the trumpet!

Now, what is this all about? You would probably do well to recall trumpets mentioned earlier in Numbers 10, God saying, “when you go to war, sound an alarm with the trumpets that you may be remembered before the Lord, your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.” In other words, Moses is telling us the secret to Israel's victory is not Israel, but the God of Israel, whom Phinehas, on behalf of Israel, called upon with the trumpets. And this, I think, is the consistent narrative in the Scriptures. For example, in Numbers 14, when they sinned against God and God said, “I'm not going with you”, Moses said to them, “Do not go up.” Or God said to Moses, “Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down from before your enemies.” But the people of Israel were stubborn. Now they’re saying, “It's okay, God don't go with me, I'll still go. We'll still defeat the enemy.” So they presume to go up for battle. And what happened is that they did not bring the ark of the covenant. Moses did not go, and so they were defeated and were pursued even to Hormah. So, there's nothing great about Israel. When God did not go with them, they absolutely collapsed. But when they called upon God, they had victory, even back to the same place at Hormah 40 years later. It is crystal clear that the secret to the success is when they call upon the Lord.

I want to apply this for our church, because this is a painful reality, but it is a stark reality. We have a sizable church. We are not small, but I would say we have a very small group that prays regularly in prayer meetings. Now I know you probably pray in your homes; you probably pray in your care groups; you pray in your ministry groups. But as a whole, I don't think we are a church that would say we go out to war calling upon God in a good representation. We have prayer meetings on Wednesday nights, Sunday mornings; but very few come. I think people look at prayer meetings and say, “Ah, that's such a silly activity. You just bow your head, you say a few things, and you expect things to happen? Let's get practical. Let's get working. Let's get going.” Maybe that's how we think––prayer meetings are a waste of time; we have to travel so far just to pray. Why do it when we can just go work? But it's akin to how maybe Israel might think, “Ah, we just send our best elites, our commandos, for battle. They will win.” No, they never win. They never win without God, and we will never win without God. Prayer meeting is a discipline. Prayer meeting is a commitment. It takes time, it takes effort, but I think it takes faith to believe that somehow, when God's people pray, God works.

It's a miracle. It's faith. But that's what I learnt when I think about Israel and their war against the Midianites, victory comes from God. Except the Lord builds the house, we labor in vain and build it. Perhaps food for thought: how would your faith be expressed in your life? Would it be your dynamism in ministry, or would it be that patient, humble, quiet calling upon God? What is faith?

The Vulnerability of Israel
Well, let me move on, because we are going to see, even after the victory, there is a problem, because we see, thirdly, a vulnerability in Israel. Moses was very upset. He was angry. Now, you say, why was he angry? They had just won the battle. Why are you angry with the officers of the army? They did a great job, didn't they? They had an absolute trouncing of the enemies. But Moses was angry because he said to them, “Have you let all the women live? The Midianite women who caused you to act treacherously against the Lord? Have you led them alive? Don't you know that they will lead you back into sin?” So Moses was angry, because he knew how vulnerable Israel will be, and if they are not nipped in the bud, it will cause another downfall of the nation.

I read about this man. I think many of you will know him. Ravi Zacharias, a well-known Christian apologist. Now, what's an apologist? An apologist is not someone who apologises, but an apologist is someone who defends against accusations or questions about the Christian faith. He’s world-renowned, but he fell in sin and Christianity Today had an article about him. Let me quote that article: “A four-month investigation found the late Ravi Zacharias leveraged his reputation as a world-famous Christian apologist to abuse massage therapists in the United States and abroad over more than a decade. A 12-page report released by his own ministry confirms abuse by Zacharias at day spas he owned in Atlanta and uncovers five additional victims in the US, as well as evidence of sexual abuse in Thailand, India and Malaysia. Even a limited review of Zacharias’s old devices revealed contacts for more than 200 massage therapists in the US and Asia, and hundreds of images of young women, including some that showed the women naked. Zacharias solicited and received photos until a few months before his death in May 2020 at age 74. Zacharias used tens of thousands of dollars of ministry funds dedicated to a ‘humanitarian effort’ to pay four massage therapists. One woman told the investigators that ‘after he arranged for the ministry to provide her with financial support, he required sex from her.’ She called it rape. She said Zacharias ‘made her pray with him to thank God for the “opportunity” they both received’, and as with other victims, ‘called her “his reward” for living a life of service to God’.”

Now, my son saw me read this article, and he said, “This guy can't be a Christian, right?” He has some wisdom there, but let's look on: “Zacharias warned the woman––a fellow believer––if she ever spoke out against him, she would be responsible for millions of souls lost when his reputation was damaged.”

Now this is treacherous, this is devious. This is painful to read, but let's move on to what the board said in a statement: “Ravi engaged in a series of extensive measures to conceal his behavior from his family, colleagues and friends. However, we also recognize that in situations of prolonged abuse, there often exist significant structural, policy and cultural problems. We were trusted by our staff, our donors and the public to mentor, oversee and ensure the accountability of Ravi Zacharias and in this we have failed.”

What I learnt from this is that we are very vulnerable to temptations, and when that should happen, any organisation, any church, should really try to nip it in the bud, because we are all very vulnerable, tempting as it might be, we must deal with it decisively. As Jesus said, “To cut off that right hand and to gouge out that right eye better than to have your whole body burn in hell.” Israel didn't quite do it. If only RZIM (Ravi Zacharias International Ministries) had a Moses in the midst, who would be vehement, who would be angry, who would act decisively against temptation and sin. I think that's the great danger in our church. That's the great danger in our ministry. That's the great danger in our lives. We are reminded of our own vulnerabilities, and swift, decisive actions are often needed to preserve the ministry.

The Vengeance of God
All right, let me move on quickly to number four: the vehemence. If it was vulnerable, then they must deal with it strongly and fiercely. And look at the reaction from Moses: “Now, therefore, kill every male among the little ones”––in other words, children, every boy is to be killed. Now, if I said earlier on, you might be disturbed that God would take vengeance. You would take exception with this. You would say, this is deeply distressing and disturbing that God would allow Moses to say, “Kill all the baby boys and to kill every woman who has had sexual intimacy.” Now the virgins are spared, but still, killing every baby boy and killing every woman like this sounds really malicious. Maybe you're very concerned right now. Why would a God who is supposed to be filled with love and mercy be so vindictive? Why would He commit genocide? Why would He not follow Geneva peace treaty? Why would He eliminate an entire race of people? And so people ask this question, and that's why pastors, preachers, Christian authors write to address this question that atheists have in their minds. And atheists often ask, “Is God a vindictive bully? Is He a moral monster? Is He just bloodthirsty?” Now that… those things I said are what people think about and struggle with.

There is an author. His name is Richard Dawkins, well-known atheist, who wrote this book, “The God Delusion”. And in page 51, this is what he says about God: “The God of the Old Testament”––ah, he is focusing on texts like what we are reading this morning, God commanding all the Midianite children and women to be wiped out––“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction.” First of all, he doesn't believe the Bible is true. He thinks it's all a figment of man's imagination. It's all fictional. But he says, granted, even if it is in a story, the God of the Old Testament is the worst character ever. Why? Because “he's jealous and he's proud of it. He is a petty, unjust, unforgiving control freak, a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malicious bully.”

Now I know his English very tok kong (Hokkien for “excellent”), very powerful. But what he says here are things that atheists think about and object to. In their minds, God is somewhat like this. They may not express it in these terms, but they think of Him as such. Therefore they don't like this God of the Bible. And maybe you are here today because you're forced by your parents, forced by your family, and you don't really like God because you say, “How can a good God allow suffering in this world? And how can God who is supposed to be good destroy people groups like the Midianites and the Canaanites and kill babies and wipe out races? I don't want this God. I don't think this is a good God. I don't want to believe Him, so I'm wasting my time reading the Bible.”

But could you just give me five more minutes? Five, ten, I don't know how long, but five minutes. Let me share with you. I want to say that your concern for justice is not necessarily wrong. It's a good thing that we should be concerned for justice. You are concerned that this God of the Old Testament is not really just. But can I address that? First of all, I need you to think along with me, according to what the Bible says. These are not my words. I think these are principles drawn out from Scripture. The Bible tells us that God is the giver of all life. And for the giver to take away, there is no injustice. Just like Job in the Bible says, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” If God is the one who gave life, there is no injustice for Him to then take away that life.

Moreover, we are all sinful. We are all rebels. We have all sinned against God, and God has already said that the wages of sin is death. He said to Adam and Eve, “The day you eat of that forbidden fruit, you shall surely die.” So there is no injustice if man should die for his sins. In fact, every day you live is mercy from God. You don't deserve to live. I don't deserve to live because I'm a sinner. So for God to take away life, there is no injustice.

And thirdly, I'd like you to think about how Numbers 25 is written to reveal the heinousness of the Midianite people, how they sinned, how they corrupt Israel, how they worship false gods and lead Israel to worship idols. They are, by their deeds, damnworthy. They deserve to be judged. They are a sinful people who will only get worse and pollute others likewise. And just in case you think this is biasness against the Midianites, I want to remind you that throughout the Bible, God judges people of all kinds. Just think about Noah's days. The whole world was sinful and God wiped out the whole world. It was not specific to a race. He judged Sodom and Gomorrah. He judged Pharaoh and Egypt. He even judged His people, Israel, Nadab, Abihu. We read about their sins at Taberah when they complained about food, how God sent serpents, and how God killed 24,000 at Peor––Israelites. So it's not as if God is biased. He judges sin justly.

And can I also suggest to you in Numbers 25, there is a clue that actually God is not bloodthirsty because He does not relish the killing of the people. When people die, the land becomes unclean. And so when Israel touches the dead men, they have to clean themselves. Now, which one of you likes to be dirty? I mean, some of you don't even want to eat chicken wing because “hand dirty”. We don't like to be dirty, and God doesn't like to be dirty, and He doesn't delight in the killing of people, hinted in the cleansing rituals. So we also see this in Ezekiel 33: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” So that charge that God is a bloodthirsty monster is not a fair one when you consider this evidence. God is not unjust to deal with sinners and sinful nations and peoples who had just caused greater pollution. In fact, the holy and just God must judge sin and sinners. No wonder the psalmist says, “Shine forth, shine forth Your glory, O God of vengeance.” Because you need to cleanse the world and the people of sin, you need to deal with it.

[Pastor Jason goes on to screen a picture of wounded feet] Well, if this is already “eee” to you, the next one––I better ask you to don't see, okay? I'll give you a warning. But I do think it's important for you to see the horror of it. I used to do medicine, and as a medical student, we will see diseases in the hospital. And one of the commonest problems we face in the hospital is this condition called the diabetic ulcer. This is caused by diabetes. An ulcer is a wound, and in diabetes, these ulcers frequently happen in the legs. Why? Because the legs are where… Okay, diabetes affects blood vessels and nerves, so the ones that are furthest from the circulatory or nervous system often get the worst hit. So the feet are where the blood vessels are very far away. The vessels are small, the nerves are far so they get damaged. So when your nerves and your blood vessels are damaged, it is very likely for you to get very bad ulcers, because you can't feel. You can't feel the pain. Pain is a good thing given by God to warn you about problems, but you can't feel it. So when you injure yourself, you keep injuring it. Just gets worse and worse. And the problem is that you can't heal. They can't heal because the blood supply is compromised. So oftentimes the wound just gets worse. It gets infected. It gets gangrenous. In fact, it's going to die off. Toes may drop off.

So for the shock factor, for those who are ready for the R-rated picture, you can see, but I'll count to three, and if you don't want to see, just close your eyes. All right? 1, 2, 3, close your eyes. Because it might look like this. Okay, you see already, ah? Okay, I'll go back. I go back. Okay, okay, come back, come back! (audience laughs) Now, when the feet become gangrenous, or when there is an ulcer, when they come to the hospital, what do doctors do? Well, sometimes you try to help by cleaning it, putting bandages, cream, antibiotics and so on. When I was a medical student, I see, “Ah, like that also come hospital, ah? Just put plaster, lah!” That was what I thought! But often, when the ulcer progresses. It gets infected. It gets gangrenous. The doctor comes, takes a look, examines a bit, does some investigations, and he will say, “Schedule for BKA.” Simi si BKA? (“what is BKA?”) Burger King Added, or what? BKA? Well, BKA stands for below knee amputation. Like that you chop off the leg, ah? Siao (crazy), ah you doctor? You're my senior! Put plaster can already! Why you need to chop off his leg?! That was literally what I thought. I thought the doctor was crazy! He's nuts. He's so excessive, he's ridiculous! Why chop off?! But they actually sent the patient. Close your eyes okay? 1, 2, 3, close. Okay, okay, now you can open for sure. All right, you chop off the leg for what? Only later on, after somebody explained, that I realised you can try to clean the wound, put antibiotics and so on, but because there is no good blood supply, it will never heal. In fact, the infection will just rage on. The picture I showed you just now, already very kind. Because if you search the internet, you see a lot worse pictures. Toes drop off. It becomes green and purulent. It will be weeping. It is wet, everything and the infection will just spread up. It gets worse, and if you don't deal with it decisively, you will be poisoned in your system. You become toxic and you die. So you try to put plaster––three, four weeks later, a few months later, you won't see that man in a bed; he will be in a coffin. So who is the one who is naive? So who is the one who is wrong? As a medical student, I say “my doctor stupid”. I say “my doctor ridiculous”. I say he's excessive. But actually, I'm the naive one who doesn't really know the real picture, and I complain against him.

Isn't it the same thing today for us spiritually? We look at sin and say, “Aiyoh, so drastic! Aiyoh, so excessive! Kill the Midianites. Kill people. Aiyoh, why can't God just put plaster?” Oh, you do not know the pollution of sin. You have totally underestimated sin. You don't understand they will not heal. And the decisive, vehement clearing out of sin and sinners is totally in order. Who is man? What is man? How can we dare to question a God who knows far more than we ever will? So, O Lord God of vengeance, shine forth. Deal with the infection, deal with the cancer, deal with the gangrene of sin in this world. Because You are a just and holy God, this is the right thing to do.

So the holy and just God must judge sin and sinners. But one more thing before I close is that the God of justice is also the God of mercy. You realise that? It is the right thing for God to judge sinners, but that is not all He does because He shows mercy to sinners. This is not a bloodthirsty God. This is a gracious God, for while we were yet sinners, Jesus, His Son, was sent to die on the cross to bear your sins. On the cross, we see both the wrath and the love of God, the vengeance of God against sin, and the love of God and mercy of God to save sinners like me. This is the God of the Bible, not someone we figure out in our own imagination, like blind men figuring out the elephant, but how He has revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture. I urge you to repent of your sin and to believe in this righteous, good and merciful God.

The Cleansing and Gratitude of Israel
My time is up, I know. But let me end off lastly, with the veneration very quickly. Very, very quickly. We see the cleansing. God would have the people of Israel be cleansed. After the victory, this is what they need to do––live clean. Cleanness before God is important. That's part of their worship to God. Not only that, they were to bring their contributions to God. And so we have an elaborate account of how the plunder was numbered, and how this plunder is to be divided into two halves. One half will be given to the soldiers––the 12,000 men who fought––and the other half will be given to the rest of Israel. And from these two halves, one out of 500 will be given to Eleazar, the high priest, for temple ordinances, and the other half, 1/50 would be given to the Levites. So if you do your math correctly, I think it's 1.1% of the plunder will be given to the ministry of God. This is mandated. But they did not just give what is mandated, because we read later on that their soldiers brought the gold. This is, I think, voluntary. They brought some 200 kilograms worth of gold, and it was set up as a memorial for the people of Israel before the Lord. I think this is an acknowledgement of their gratitude before God: “God, You are good to give us Midian.” And so I end with a challenge for Christians once again. If Israel was grateful to God for the victory at Midian, would you be a grateful people because of the victory on the cross? And that gratitude cannot remain as a feeling alone, it will be manifested in cleanness, in living and contributions and sacrifice and giving in our lives.

The Final Veneration and Conclusion
God is holy. He wages war against sin. That's the right and glorious thing to do. But this is also a God of mercy who judged my sins on His own Son, and if I believe in Him, it is only my joy and privilege to live a clean life and to give for His glory. Would that be your response as well? Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Father, thank You again for this morning we can study the book of Numbers. We pray the lessons learnt would find deep recesses in our hearts, be lodged therein and blossom one day in obedience and worship to Your name. Dispel the misconceptions and bring people to the truth. Bring, dear God, your people to Jesus, Your Son. Thank You. We pray this in His name. Amen.