Numbers 31:1-24 NKJV
31 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”
3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian. 4 A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”
5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.
9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast.
12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.
15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. 19 And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord commanded Moses: 22 Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”
In one of the final events of Moses’ leadership, the Lord commanded a battle against Midian, a nation that had led Israel into sin through deceit and idolatry. What followed was not only a military campaign, but a spiritual reckoning. Israel’s warriors returned victorious, but they brought back reminders of a past failure—a compromise with evil that had once drawn God’s fierce anger. Moses was not pleased. Neither was the Lord. The point of this confrontation was not just to win a battle, but to remove the temptation and pollution that Midian had introduced. The people were being called back to holiness, back to a life set apart. And even in the aftermath, there was still a need for cleansing—not just in body, but in purpose.
So the men were instructed to remain outside the camp for seven days. Every garment, every item of leather, every object of goat hair or wood, and every person who had come into contact with the dead had to be purified. God’s camp was holy. His presence dwelled among His people. And nothing unclean could remain.
This cleansing was not merely about hygiene or ritual. It was about identity. God’s people were not to look like the nations around them. They were not to carry sin lightly or forget the damage it does. Their victories were not their own, and their strength was not the point. Obedience was. Faithfulness was. Holiness was.
We are not under the same purification laws today, but we are called to the same God. His holiness has not changed. He still desires His people to be clean—not outwardly, but inwardly, washed by the blood of Jesus and renewed by the Holy Spirit. Victory over sin, when granted, is not a time to boast, but a time to give thanks and stay watchful. The Christian life is not a trophy room. It’s a walk through a world that still tempts and stains. And so we keep returning to the cleansing water of God’s Word, and the mercy of Christ, who makes us fit for His presence.
Let us pray: Cleanse us, O Lord, from all that defiles, and keep us faithful in heart and life, that we may walk in Your holy presence each day. Amen.