Numbers 31:7, 17, They slew all the males … every male among the little ones … and kill every woman that has known man by lying with him. Do you suppose that every Midianite who was slain was directly culpable for causing Israel to fall into idolatry and sexual immorality? If not, why were they slain?

We see a similar situation with Korah and his malcontents where the earth swallowed up not only Korah, Dathan and Abiram, but their families as well (Num 16:31–33).

Even those who are not directly culpable for a particular sin, if they maintain company with sinners they will become morally tainted (1 Cor 5:6; 15:33; Gal 5:9). If the righteous dwell near the wicked is it possible for YHVH’s judgments against the wicked to overlap onto the righteous? If this were not possible then why did YHVH instruct the righteous Israelites to separate themselves from the environs of Korah’s camp (Num 16:23–27), and why does YHVH call his people to come out of Babylon the Great in the end times? (Read Rev 18:4 for the answer.)

How do we separate from the wicked? In the examples just cited, we see two kinds of separation from evil: physical and spiritual. We can start by separating spiritually without separating physically, but will there ever come a time when YHVH’s people will have to separate physically? (See Rev 12:14.) How will the spiritual woman of Revelation 14 know when to do this and where to go? Will the Good Shepherd abandon or lead his sheep in the day of trouble? (Note John 10:1–5.)

May we always be pressed into Yeshua, our spiritual Shepherd, so that we will always hear his voice concerning what to do and where to go and when.