במדבר, פרק כ״ה, פסוק ט״ז

God's communication with Moses at this moment serves as both a closure to the tragic events of Baal Peor and a preparation for a new phase of leadership. It establishes the proper perspective regarding both Phinehas and the Midianites. God clarifies that the reward given to Phinehas is not simply for saving the Israelites from the plague, but primarily for his dedication to God's honor and for stopping the sin. By the same standard, the upcoming command to strike the Midianites must not be driven by personal revenge for the lives lost to the plague. Instead, it must be an action taken purely for the sake of heaven, because the Midianites harmed God's honor by leading the people into sin [אלשיך].

The timing of this message is deliberate, arriving only after the plague has completely ended rather than during its peak. This delay allows the grief and anger of the Israelites to settle, ensuring that their actions against Midian are measured and focused on God, rather than fueled by emotional turmoil. Additionally, waiting prevents the people from feeling frustrated. If God had demanded spiritual revenge immediately, they might have felt He was ignoring their profound personal sorrow [אלשיך].

Immediately following this, God orders a census of the nation, a step driven by three specific reasons. First, Moses is preparing to finish his role and transfer leadership to Joshua. Just as God originally entrusted the people to Moses fully counted and cared for, Moses now hands them over to their new leader with an exact count. Second, the recent sins with the Midianite women created a risk that other nations would mock the Israelites, claiming their families were no longer pure. The census, which links God's name to each family, serves as a public testimony to their unbroken purity.

Finally, the fullness of God's presence rests upon the nation when they have an army of six hundred thousand men. Because twenty-four thousand people died in the plague, the Israelites feared they had fallen below this number and lost God's presence. The census proves they still meet this threshold, confirming their ongoing holiness. Yet, the command to count them is delayed slightly after the plague ends, ensuring the people do not panic and mistakenly believe that the act of counting itself might trigger another disaster [אלשיך].