This is another difficult passage unless you bear in mind:
(a) that it records only the bare outline of an event far greater in scope;
(b) that it is recorded from a particular standpoint (the Midianite account was probably quite different from this one) ; and
(c) that its message concerns a God of love who must purge of evil everything that is his.
What are the forms of purging found in this account?
In what direction ought a Christian to act with comparable severity? Cf. Col. 3:5-11.
What does the chapter teach about sharing and giving?
On What grounds were portions given to the priests and Levites?
