Day 76: War Against Midian

Today's readings: Numbers 31, Deuteronomy 30, and Psalm 116.

I. In Numbers 31, revenge upon Midian was brought as Israel crushed them in battle. Given the grave sin against God that they had led Israel into at Peor, it's understandable why Moses was a bit bloodthirsty. Balaam also gets his due in this chapter, which, like five kings of the Midianites, is death. No Israelites are reportedly lost in the battle, but the Midianites took heavy losses. The way this is written definitely is like something from the ancient world, a very brutal time when the sanctity of life wasn't respected, and much of what we know today had barely begun to develop. Forget Just War Theory or even the Geneva Convention. War crime? What's that? The slaughter of male children and the females who are not virgins would be a horrific war crime today, but was normal business in warfare back then. I must admit to struggling with this one, which I know many have for centuries.

II. In Deuteronomy 30, we see that even if Israel sins, which Moses clearly knew they would, as they had previously, restoration with God is possible through repentance. Moses is firm in upholding God's Law, but almost compassionate to the Israelites in giving hope even in the face of grave sin, giving them a choice in this moving verse:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live (30:19)

Before this is the hope that Moses gives for those who repent and return to the Lord:

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (30:6)

In this chapter, Moses is acting like a father figure to the Israelites, stern when needed yet compassionate as well. 

III. Psalm 116 is, as the Ignatius Bible notes (verse numbers removed):

A thanksgiving psalm. The Psalmist remembers when the Lord saved him from the brink of death. In distress he called upon the Lord and vowed to offer a thanksgiving service in return for deliverance. The setting of this psalm is the fulfillment of this vow, where the Psalmist, rescued from his plight, gives testimony to God's help before the congregation in the Temple. The Greek LXX and Latin Vulgate divide Ps 116 into two psalms numbered Ps 114 (= 116:1-9) and Ps 115 (= 116:10-19). Psalm 116 is one of the Hallel psalms. (p. 932)

That's it for today!