Seder 127/128: Numbers 31---Judgment of the Midianites

 At Balaam's instigation, the Midianites had tempted the Israelites to commit idolatry and adultery at Baal Peor.  God then instructed Moses to carry out judgment upon these Midianites for actively opposing God's plan and people (Num 25:16-18).  

The Midianites apparently consisted of a number of clans, some of whom were nomadic herdsmen.  Some, like Moses' in-laws, were friends of the Israelites, while others opposed them.  It was the clans in this latter group who were to be punished.  

The details of how this judgment was done are recorded in Numbers 31.  This was a special holy war, using a small percentage of Israel's army (one eleph from each tribe).  This small force totally defeated the offending Midianites, suffering no casualties in the process.  

This battle was a "warm up" for the conquest of Canaan, which would begin in a few months.  It would have given the Israelites some encouragement for that task.  As Frank Fenton noted in a short teaching at Church of the Messiah on December 10, 2022, when God gives his people a task, he provides the means necessary to carry it out.  

Seder 127: Psalm 58---Crying Out Against Injustice

 Psalm 58 is classified as an imprecatory psalm, like 35, 69, 83, 109, and 137.  It begins with a rhetorical question:  "Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?" (ESV)  Here the gods being referenced could be the members of the divine council that God placed over the nations at Babel.  As we also see in Psalm 82, these heavenly beings have often mishandled their responsibilities.  The only just government in the world comes from God.  All other authorities are imperfect.  

The psalm compares wicked rulers to venomous snakes that cannot be controlled by their handlers (vv 3-5).  Since they actively oppose God and plan, the psalmist prays for God to deal with them, expressing some of the most colorful imprecations in scripture.  He prays that the wicked would evaporate or melt away and no longer see the light of day (vv 7-8).  

Verse 9 is one of the most obscure verses in the Bible.  "Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!"  The midrash on Psalm 58 proposes that the imagery here is of destroying briar shoots before they can turn into brambles.  

The psalm ends on a note of confidence that God will judge the wicked and bring justice to the world.God's kingdom will advance, and the righteous will be rewarded (vv 10-11).