Spoil Counted Before the Lord: Victory, Stewardship, and Atonement

Numbers 31

31:25The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

31:26“Count the plunder that was taken, both of man and of animal, you, and Eleazar the priest, and the heads of the fathers’ households of the congregation;

31:27and divide the plunder into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.

31:28Levy a tribute to the LORD of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred; of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks.

31:29Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for the LORD’s wave offering.

31:30Of the children of Israel’s half, you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the livestock, and give them to the Levites, who perform the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle.”

31:31Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

31:32Now the plunder, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,

31:33seventy-two thousand head of cattle,

31:34sixty-one thousand donkeys,

31:35and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of the women who had not known man by lying with him.

31:36The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;

31:37and the LORD’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred seventy-five.

31:38The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two.

31:39The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one.

31:40The persons were sixteen thousand, of whom the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

31:41Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD’s wave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

31:42Of the children of Israel’s half, which Moses divided off from the men who fought

31:43(now the congregation’s half was three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

31:44thirty-six thousand head of cattle,

31:45thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

31:46and sixteen thousand persons),

31:47even of the children of Israel’s half, Moses took one drawn out of every fifty, both of man and of animal, and gave them to the Levites, who performed the duty of the LORD’s tabernacle, as the LORD commanded Moses.

31:48The officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses.

31:49They said to Moses, “Your servants have taken the sum of the men of war who are under our command, and there lacks not one man of us.

31:50We have brought the LORD’s offering, what every man found: gold ornaments, armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make atonement for our souls before the LORD.”

31:51Moses and Eleazar the priest took their gold, even all worked jewels.

31:52All the gold of the wave offering that they offered up to the LORD, of the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred fifty shekels.

31:53The men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.

31:54Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the Tent of Meeting for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.