**One of the most particularly violent episodes** in the Old Testament committed by the Israelites is found in **Numbers 31** (the War Against the Midianites).
### What Happened:
After the Midianites were accused of leading the Israelites into idolatry and sexual immorality (Numbers 25), God commanded Moses to wage war against them. The Israelites, under Moses’ orders, attacked the Midianites and:
- Killed **every male** (including all the kings and the prophet Balaam).
- Killed **every non-virgin woman**.
- Took the **virgin girls** (estimated in the thousands) as captives.
- Burned all the Midianite cities and towns to the ground.
- Looted massive amounts of gold, silver, livestock, and other plunder.
Moses became angry with the returning soldiers because they had spared the women, and he ordered them to kill **all the boys and all the non-virgin women**, keeping only the virgin girls for themselves.
### Key Verse (Numbers 31:17-18, NIV):
> “Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.”
This episode is widely regarded as one of the most brutal and morally disturbing passages in the Old Testament because it explicitly includes the killing of non-combatants (women and children) and the taking of young girls as war spoils.
When “Our” God does it it’s OK.
Some we are Good.😄
Because they didn’t do what Moses told them to do, they paid for it later.
The Midianites practiced child sacrifice and child prostitution. God gave them at least 4 centuries to repent, but they didn’t. God was doing the world a favor by ordering their annihilation.
Thank goodness we don’t live in the OT anymore.