ROOTED - Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Numbers 31:14-18
14 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. 15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. 18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.

Reflection: Oh My!
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro 
There are stories in the Old Testament that I must confess confuse me and trouble me. We will read stories like this one as we proceed into the conquest on the Promised Land… stories that are, no doubt, unsettling. Here, Moses has commanded that the men (12,000 of them) go to battle to destroy Midian. After the battle, they plundered the spoils of war and brought with them the women and children. As we read, we note that Moses becomes angry that they did not kill all the women that had “known men.” He commands that they go back and kill all the boys and older women… leaving only the virgin girls “for yourselves.” Now, I understand the heart of God in wanting to destroy all the people of this pagan land, for reasons we see here in the text: because they would cause the people of God to “act treacherously against the Lord.” God was uninterested in the people “whoring after other gods!” However, this action of killing baby boys and all women, except for virgins, is entirely disturbing.
I watch on YouTube many apologetic videos of people debating atheists. One of the common objections atheists bring up is: “why would the God of the Old Testament command the slaughter of so many kids and women… who are, presumably, innocent?” This is a legitimate question and one that is difficult to answer. The story here in Numbers is exceedingly more difficult to explain. My general answer to a question like this is (at least for this story) that God did not command the actions that Moses proposes. That might be a simplistic reading, but it is, in fact, the case. To the broader question as to why God consistently commands the elimination of so many people… I have two answers: 1) God is God and can do what he wants (even if his reasons are mysterious to us) and 2) God is holy. The first answer here is a bit convenient, I admit. But the second I think is the basic reality. God wanted a holy people, and his request that, in war, they destroy the enemies of God is a reflection of God’s highest value: his holiness. I trust that as you read difficult stories as these you will remember that God is holy in ways we cannot comprehend. Therefore, in the Old Testament, we read actions commanded by God that are incomprehensible.   

Prayer
Lord, remind us, from your Word, of your holiness. Thank you that in the New Testament your love shines through all the more, even in light of your divine holiness.