Numbers 31:13-24 / Divine Purification and Protection
📖 Scripture
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.
14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.
15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them.
16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people.
17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
19 “Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed must stay outside the camp seven days. On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves and your captives.
20 Purify every garment as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle, “This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses:
22 Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead
23 and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing. And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water.
24 On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean. Then you may come into the camp.”
✅ Scripture Summary
✅ Memory verse
✅ Reflection
Deeply Rooted (31:13–18)
God, through Moses, commanded that the captured Midianites be put to death. However, the soldiers did not listen and instead kept alive those they wanted to. Yet we see in Numbers 25 that the Midianites enticed the Israelites to rebel against God so that His wrath would fall on them. God commanded the execution of the Midianites in order to protect the Israelites from idolatrous temptations. As believers in Christ, we face temptations from our sin that tries to entice us to disobey God. If we make peace with it, it will take deep root within our hearts. It must be completely uprooted so it does not take hold of us. But we do not fight sin alone; God gives us the strength to overcome it.
What risk do we run if we neglect to fight our sin? Ask God to search your heart and show you if you have made peace with any sin.
Ultimate Purification (31:19–24)
God commands the Israelites to purify themselves and their captives before re-entering the camp. Moses emphasizes that both people and objects must undergo purification to be fit for God’s presence. This is a somber reminder that humanity carrying the effects of sin cannot enter in the presence of God’s holiness and needs cleansing from sin’s defilement. We must remember that God is both holy and gracious. God’s requirement for purification reminds us that, on our own, we cannot approach Him. We must first be cleansed. And in Christ, the ultimate purification has been accomplished for us. Jesus became the perfect priest and sacrifice, offering Himself to cleanse us from our sins once and for all and usher us into the presence of a holy God.
Reflect on the truth that Jesus’ sacrifice is what allows you access to God’s presence. Thank Him for the cost He paid for your cleansing.
“If we don’t proactively attack sin, it will prove deadly.”
– Grant Gaines
✅ Prayer
✅ Essay
Selective Obedience
In the animated sitcom King of the Hill, Peggy Hill, the wife of the main character, says that she prayed about a decision and that God told her not to do it, but she knows better. While this is intended to be humorous, it is nothing new for humanity to be overly confident in its own wisdom. The Bible is full of examples of people who thought they knew better than God. God commands one thing and the people to whom the command is addressed think they know better and do the opposite. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave His people clear commands regarding how they were to live, worship, or fight their battles. Yet, instead of listening to God, the Israelites found ways around obedience and did things as they saw fit.
The Israelites’ selective obedience demonstrates their desire to maintain control rather than fully surrendering to God’s authority. And the disastrous consequences of their disobedience underscore that God’s commands, while sometimes difficult to understand, are rooted in His protective love and perfect wisdom. We are sometimes no different as believers. We seek God’s wisdom through prayer, Scripture, and other Christians, yet, often, we already know what we want to do and if God’s command runs contrary to our wishes, we disregard it. Yet, when God says something, it is for our good. Believing in Him means we fully embrace what He desires for our lives, trusting that He knows what is best.
Written by James Eppley
