What does this tell us about Moses and God? 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army...?

Question

....who returned from the battle.
15 "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them.
16 "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people.
17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man."

Is God condoning this or Moses? And how wrong is this on how many levels?

women, child, and baby murder
rape
sex slaves

Numbers 31: 14-18

Brother Micheal, not only is your interpretation off, but you are adding and taking away things from the bible, God's word>

LOL..."when they grow up", Keep the virgins for yourselves "whoever has not slept with a man", it's pretty clear about condoning child rape.
You go ahead and mold these obvious atrocities of disgusting cave men into whatever suits you.

martha: It seems you too have a problem with comprehension.

It clearly states to kill children, little boys and THEIR MOTHERS (any woman who has slept with a man)
And to keep the virgin girls for themselves.
(as obvious sex slaves)

Answer 1

Brutal stuff.... that religion of peace....

Answer 2

Remember, Moses was an exiled ex-prince, who was peeved at Egypt and so wanted to skive off with most of the working class as revenge.

Anyway. The Israelite families at the time tended to run to boys -- more boys born than girls. The imbalance was compounded by allowing the rich old men to have multiple wives and concubines. So, there's always an excess of unmarried young men that have to be dealt with some way. Here's how they were dealt with:
1. Send them off to war. Always a good way to get rid of those pesky excess young men.
2. Steal women from somewhere else. The downside of this is that the women will introduce the young men to their own culture. So, Moses wanted only the youngest of women -- those who hadn't been so indoctrinated into their own culture, and might be willing to accept the Israelites'.

This was probably Moses's idea (God wanted to kill everyone).

Answer 3

People who wish to find fault with God so as to deny the need to serve Him will refuse to see the logic in the commands of treatment of those conqueored. Would you want your son or daughter to marry someone who had participated in such sexual practice as to have serious veneral disease and other communicable diseases that there would be plagues among the people. Would you want to walk off and leave babies and children alone to starve rather than take them into your house as servants until they could be taught to serve your God and not bring disgrace on your house. We who are believers in Jesus do not turn off our brains. We understand that Father God is the most logical force in the universe even with man's obvious stupidity.

Answer 4

Num 31:16 - Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam,.... Who advised the Midianites to send their women into the camp of Israel, and allure them to uncleanness, and so draw them into idolatry, which counsel they followed and it succeeded; for, by this means, they were brought

to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor; by worshipping Baalpeor, the god of the Moabites and Midianites; whereby they transgressed the commandment of God, which forbid them having and worshipping any other gods besides him, and is a sin highly offensive to him, being greatly derogatory to his honour and glory:

and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord; for that sin; and in that plague died 24,000 persons, Num_25:9.

Num 31:17 - Now therefore kill every male among the little ones,.... Which they had taken and brought captives, Num_31:9.

and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him; who might be such, at least many of them, who had lain with Israelitish men; and as the adulterers had been put to death, so now the adulteresses; or they were ordered to, be slain, even all of them, lest they should entice the children of Israel to uncleanness, and so to idolatry again: now these were known to be such, either by conjecture at their age, or rather, through the examination of matrons, unless it can be thought, as it is by some, that it was by divine revelation.

Num 31:18 - But all the women children,.... The females among the little ones:

that have not known a man by lying with him; which might be pretty clear, and easily concluded, from their age:

keep for yourselves; either to be handmaids to them, or to be married among them when grown up, and become proselytes, and initiated into their religion.

God is righteous, God is holy, God is serious. God doesn't play. Who are you to judge God, His actions, or His servants? You are so small and finite in your thinking, your questions are hardly worth the time to answer.

Answer 5

sounds like man, not god, although no culture is without fault when it comes to using god to justify their actions. remember dear, all cultures have history books - all history books are part mythology, and all history books will try to justify the actions of their political and military leaders. the torah is a history book that tells our story as jews, it's not always pretty, the example you give is really gross actually, but it is important as the basis for who we are and what our goals are as a jewish community.

(edit: this might be easier to understand in the context of a modern american history book, where if a fight against the native americans was won, it's called a battle, and if it was lost, it's called a massacre)

Answer 6

But... but... god is love. ?