The Divine Connection

11.10.09
J.A. Matteson

"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately." Numbers 31:17

Instinctive to the fallen Adamic nature is the tendency to extend leniency towards wickedness that is reprehensible to the holiness of God. If the pilgrim grimaces at the wisdom of the Lord he must catch himself before his heart is lead astray into entertaining the possibility that that there may be injustice with God, for to entertain the possibility of such is contrary to Scripture and, therefore, sin, "The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He” (Deut. 32:4). The wisdom from above confesses that God’s ways are higher than mans, and that the divine prerogative and holiness of God preserves His right to dispose of His creatures as is right and pleasing in His sight. Taking into account the fallen human condition of man the apostle thus speaks, “…for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”, and “…the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 3:23, 6:23).

The passage under consideration is difficult to the human mind; we can apprehend it as Scripture is plain, but the comprehending of it is more challenging. At stake in the case of the extermination of the Midianite women and male children is the righteousness of God. That God is holy and “…dwells in inapproachable light….” (1 Tim. 6:16) is clearly established in Scripture. In the text we witness the divine connection between actual sin and latent sin; actual sin referring to a state of being. In this regard king David while under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit reflected upon his own sin nature, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Ps. 51:5).

Actual sin pertains to the radical fallen state of human existence in mind, soul, and body; people sin in thought, word, and deed because it is their nature to do so and they can do no other; they sin out of necessity in accordance to their nature, and to this end the apostle reminds his brethren that through regeneration the Lord in the new covenant has given them a new nature with the Law of God written on their hearts, “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:3). Latent sin is the fruit of an actual sin nature, it is observed through deeds of unrighteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the connection between actual and latent sin when He said, "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit” (Matt. 7:18), for both produce fruit, sweet or bitter, in accordance to their natures.

In the text the women brought forth the latent fruit of sexual immorality and idolatry from the fertile soil of actual sin, leading the children of Israel astray. The male children, while not responsible for the sins of their fathers (Deut. 24:16), were nonetheless the offspring of Adam and as such carried within them an actual sin nature, one that in due season would most certainly produce latent sin in the form of wicked thoughts, words, and deeds, latent sin that would perpetuate the evil of their fathers in leading Israel into idolatry.

To conclude that the male children were innocent is to overlook their actual sin worthy of death (Rom. 3:23). To the events in the text pilgrims will do well to honor the name of the Lord and in humility confess their ignorance of His wisdom which is infinite. With Daniel let us humbly declare, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him” (Dan. 2:20). And while in our finite understanding our hearts and minds may be left perplexed when attempting to understand the wisdom of the Lord, we are at the same time filled with joy in the knowledge that His loving kindness, righteousness, praise, and dominion endure forever (Ps. 21:1; 113:3, 10; 145:13).

Let us offer praise to the name of the Lord our God Who is able to keep from stumbling all who love Him and long for His appearing on that Day.

Copyright (c) Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isa. 40:8).