Numbers 35:22

le> 25 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast, thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the congregation: 27 And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation: 28 And levy a tribute unto the Lord of the men of war which went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: 29 Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an heave offering of the Lord . 30 And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites, which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord . 31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses. 32 And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five thousand sheep, 33 And threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34 And threescore and one thousand asses, 35 And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of women that had not known man by lying with him. 36 And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and five hundred sheep: 37 And the Lord 's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore and fifteen. 38 And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the Lord 's tribute was threescore and twelve. 39 And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the Lord 's tribute was threescore and one. 40 And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord 's tribute was thirty and two persons. 41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the Lord 's heave offering, unto Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses. 42 And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, 43 (Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred sheep, 44 And thirty and six thousand beeves, 45 And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, 46 And sixteen thousand persons;) 47 Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites, which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord ; as the Lord commanded Moses. We have here the distribution of the spoil which was taken in this expedition against Midian. God himself directed how it should be distributed, and Moses and Eleazar did according to the directions, and thus unhappy contests among themselves were prevented and the victory was made to turn to the common benefit. It was fit that he who gave them the prey should order the disposal of it. All we have is from God, and therefore must be subject to his will. I. The prey is ordered to be divided into two parts, one for the 12,000 men that undertook the war, and the other for the congregation. The prey that was divided seems to have been only the captives and the cattle; as for the plate, and jewels, and other goods, every man kept what he took, as is intimated, v. 50-53 . That only was distributed which would be of use for the stocking of that good land into which they were going. Now observe, 1. That the one half of the prey was given to the whole congregation, Moses allotting to each tribe its share, and then leaving it to the heads of the tribes to divide their respective shares among themselves, according to their families. The war was undertaken on the behalf of the whole congregation; they would all have been ready to go to the help of the Lord against the mighty, if they had been so ordered, and they did help, it is likely, by their prayers; and therefore God appoints that those that tarried at home should divide the spoil, Ps. lxviii. 12 . David, in his time, made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel, that, as his part is that goes down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff, 1 Sam. xxx. 24, 25 . Those that are employed in public trusts must not think to benefit themselves only by their toils and hazards, but must aim at the advantage of the community. 2. That yet the 12,000 that went to the battle had as much for their share as the whole congregation (which were fifty times as many) had for theirs; so that the particular persons of the soldiery had a much better share than any of their brethren that tarried at home: and good reason they should. The greater pains we take, and the greater hazards we run, in the service of God and our generation, the greater will our recompence be at last; for God is not unrighteous to forget the work and labour of love. II. God was to have a tribute out of it, as an acknowledgment of his sovereignty over them in general, and that he was their king to whom tribute was due, and particularly of his interest in this war and the gains of it, he having given them their success; and that the priests, the Lord's receivers, might have something added to the provision made for their maintenance. Note, Whatever we have, God must have his dues out of it. And here (as before) the soldiers are favoured above the rest of the congregation, for out of the people's share God required one in fifty, but out of the soldier's share only one in 500, because the people got theirs easily, without any peril or fatigue. The less opportunity we have of honouring God with our personal services the more it is expected we should honour him with our substance. The tribute out of the soldiers' half was given to the priests ( v. 29 ), that out of the people's half was given to the Levites, v. 30 . For the priests were taken from among the Levites, as these soldiers from among the people, for special and hazardous service, and their pay was proportioned accordingly. 48 And the officers which

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Numbers 3:7

And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the tabernacle of the congregation, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Numbers 3:8

And they shall keep all the instruments of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel, to do the service of the tabernacle.

Numbers 3:25

And the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof, and the hanging for the door of the tabernacle of the congregation,

Numbers 3:31

And their charge shall be the ark, and the table, and the candlestick, and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the service thereof.

Numbers 3:36

And under the custody and charge of the sons of Merari shall be the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof, and all the vessels thereof, and all that serveth thereto, under: Heb. the office of the charge

Numbers 18:1

And the LORD said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Numbers 18:23

But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

Numbers 18:24

But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Numbers 35:28

Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.

1 Chronicles 9:27

And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them.

1 Chronicles 23:32

And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the LORD.

1 Chronicles 26:20

And of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasures of the house of God, and over the treasures of the dedicated things. dedicated: Heb. holy things

1 Corinthians 4:2

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

1 Corinthians 9:13

Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? live: or, feed

1 Corinthians 9:14

Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

Colossians 4:17

And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

Hebrews 13:17

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. have: or, guide